The phrase "Ba'alei Cheshbon" refers to people who take stock of their behavior, confronting themselves and trying to improve. Literally, the term means, "owners of accounts."
Reb Shmuel Gronem used the following parable to illustrate the relevance of the term's literal meaning. At the close of a fiscal year, a merchant was having a business meeting with his accountant. Pouring over the books, the accountant described how the yearly balance was very poor. Indeed, the business was bordering on bankruptcy. Caught by surprise, the unfortunate businessman collapsed in shock and was revived with great difficulty.
Why did he faint and not the accountant? The accountant knew the sorry state of the businessman's affairs much better than he did. Nevertheless, his knowledge was abstract, for the account belonged to someone else. In contrast, the businessman was "the owner of the account." It was his financial future that hung in the balance.
"Such an approach," Reb Shmuel Gronem explained, "also applies in regard to improving our behavior. We shouldn't look at our faults abstractly, but rather see them as problems which affect us."
Reprinted with permission from "My Father's Shabbos Table" by Rabbi Y. Chitrick.
