You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem, your God. (Deut. 29:9)

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It was the first day of the new school year, and the principal entered the classroom with a stern look on his face. He announced, “There will be absolutely zero tolerance for any mischief this year. Anyone caught misbehaving or leaving school grounds without permission will be immediately expelled from the school.” He stormed out of the room.

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The teacher stood up and said, “Guys, you have nothing to worry about. I’ve been in this school for 10 years and every year he makes that announcement, but no one has ever been expelled, nor even been suspended!”

What was the teacher thinking?! He completely destroyed any fear that the principal instilled on the class. Now they will not take anything the principal said seriously!

The preceding Torah portion dealt with the many curses that will befall Klal Yisroel if they violate the Torah. In the beginning of this week’s Torah portion Moshe tells the Jews, “You have nothing to worry about. You have done many sins in the past and you got God angry, but look: you are still standing; God didn’t destroy you.” (1) Wasn’t Moshe ruining any fear that the Jews were supposed to feel because of the curses? What was he trying to accomplish?!

When the Jews heard the 98 curses their faces turned white and they said, “Who can bear these?” They were frightened to death and turned into zombies. However, that was not the intention of the curses. God wants us to do the commandments with joy. He created us for pleasure and the Torah is our guide for how to get the most out of life. The curses were intended merely to instill fear in them so that they should know that their actions have consequences. The problem was that the Jews took the curses the wrong way and became terrified. Moshe therefore attempted to remove that intense fear enabling them to function normally.(2)

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The verse states, “Serve God with joy.” The way to attain this joyfulness is by studying the meaning of the mitzvot, which will help you to understand and appreciate what you are doing.

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And you shall choose life, so that you will live, you and your offspring. (Deut. 30:19

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The Torah stresses that choosing life is not only for the benefit of the one making the choice, but also for the benefit of his offspring so that they will live. How does your decision to want life help your children? Don’t they have to choose life as well?

It is possible for a person to learn Torah and do mitzvos, and yet these actions won’t have any positive effect on his children. If one does mitzvot because he believes in God and knows that he has to do it, but does so half-heartedly, or with the attitude that they are a heavy burden, his children may well choose not to follow his path of Torah and mitzvot. For example, after spending $100 on an etrog he says, “Oiy, s’ iz shver tzoo zaiyn a yid“ (it is hard to be a Jew). Naturally, his children will be reluctant to follow the Torah. They’ll reason, “Our father is doing all this because he has to. We are not as strong as him and it is just too hard for us to keep the Torah.”

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However, if one does mitzvot with joy and pride, making it clear that this is what gives him life and energizes him, then they will want to experience the same enjoyment in life that their father experienced. Therefore the Torah tells us, “You shall choose life in a way that will inspire your children to choose it and live.”

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Rabbi Eliezer Zusia Portugal, the Skulener Rebbe, lived in Communist Romania immediately following the Holocaust and did much work to support the Jews of the country in reviving their Judaism and in getting them to Israel. Because of his efforts, he was arrested by the local authorities for what they considered treachery.

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When the Skulener Rebbe was imprisoned in Romania, he determined to use his time wisely. He began to review all the daily prayers, to insure that when he would pray he would do so knowing the full meaning and intent of every word. When he reached a certain phrase, “Baruch gozer u’mekayem (”Blessed is He who decrees and fulfils – from the Baruch She’amar blessing), he was a bit puzzled. Generally, when we talk about a decree, we are referring to what we perceive of as a negative, seemingly evil phenomenon. Why then do we thank Him for carrying out evil decrees?

The Skulener pondered this phrase for days and days, attempting to ascertain exactly what was the intent of this prayer. He even announced, “I will not leave this prison cell, even if I am freed, until I uncover the meaning behind this phrase.”

Finally, insight came; revelation dawned upon him. The word “fulfils” does not refer to the Al-mighty who issues the decrees — the subject of the verse. It refers to mankind, the object. G‑d enacts the decree and also gives (or has given) us the strength to endure it, to withstand the trial. In understanding this verse, we must read it, “Blessed is He who decrees and enables us to fulfil.” We must see ourselves not as victims of the negativity of the universe but rather as victors who, using the power bestowed on us by God, continue to fight until we win.

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It is the willingness to never lose hope that has kept us through 4000 years of struggling and the last 2000 years of exile. It is an unmatched willpower and determination that brought us through the Crusades, the Almohad, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Holocaust to come out fighting and flourishing on the other side. The State of Israel and the sprouting of Geulah which we fast approach is not the result of victimhood that we have allowed ourselves to partake in but rather a sense of victory that allows us to keep going even in the face of destruction and devastation. It is the willingness to survive and audacity to continue that makes the stiff-necked people the longest standing nation in world history.

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As the month of Teshuva starts its third week, I think it is important to think about how we approach Hashem when we do Teshuva. Previously, in the article about the Mussar movement, we discussed what attitude you should have towards yourself: whether you should see humanity as inherently good or as inherently flawed. Now, I would like to focus on how we should speak to Hashem in that state of prayer.

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There are many people who hold that you should cry out to Hashem when you daven, and through your shouting and tears it will inspire you to do Teshuva and develop a stronger connection to Hashem. It is a valid approach and if it’s what works for you then keep it up. I personally feel that there is a another source based way of davening that connects to me more. I hope that others will appreciate it too.

When Eliyahu HaNavi fled for his life to Mount Chorev from Achav and Izevel who were hunting him down, he arrived at the mountain and hid in a cave crying out to Hashem in prayer. God asked him what the issue was and Eliyahu responded that he had acted as a zealot for Hashem and now he was suffering for it. Hashem explained to him why zealotry and big, showy proofs were not what God wanted.

…There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks before Hashem; but Hashem was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but Hashem was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake—fire; but Hashem was not in the fire. And after the fire—a small thin sound. (Melachim 1 19:11-12)

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It was not the obvious and dangerous acts of God in which He revealed His presence, but in the small, almost unnoticeable, sound. It seems clear to me that if Hashem shows Himself to humanity in the quiet breezes, then we should communicate with Him in the same way. If someone is whispering into your ear, you want to whisper back to them to show how close you are with them. So too, when we daven, it feels right to me to speak to Hashem in this quiet voice so that I can remember how close I am to God and how close He is to me.

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Our Parsha reintroduces to us the concept of blessings and curses that Hashem gave to us originally in Parshat Bechukotai. Similar to the last time, we are given a list of great blessings if we fulfill Hashem’s Word and a parallel list of curses if we don’t. In both cases, the curses that parallel the blessings are followed by a much longer and much more devastating list of curses which have no parallel within the blessings.

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Throughout the Torah we often find these cases of blessings and curses in which the blessing seems to just be a regular positive day without too many troubles, while the curses seem to be a list of devastations that go far beyond their opposites. What is God telling us by saying that if you do good then life will be comfortable but if you do bad then everything you’ve ever held dear will be torn away from you and your life will be miserable? Why is God not working proportionately?

It seems to me that the blessing and curse in the world is not equal to those listed in the Torah. Hashem is giving us a list of possibilities for what can be done in the world and some of those options are the blessings and the curses given directly by Him. In addition to these, there is also another permutation for the world: that we create a world of our own blessings and/or curses.

Hashem gave us the ability to create just like Him. This means that we can design the world in our own ways and build it or destroy it as we wish. Unfortunately, we often do this in a passive way, how we go through life on autopilot most of the time, but if we do this actively, we have the power to change the world. So how do we actually create a world of blessing?

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We all come into a world that seems built already without a real need for any of us. That doesn’t mean that there is no work to be done. We each have specific strengths and skills that we have that nobody else is using and it is our duty to put those into practice as doctors, lawyers, writers, social workers, rabbis, or whatever other job that you can do. Take the uniqueness that Hashem gave you and turn this country into a land of blessing.

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Parshat Ki Tavo opens up with the Mitzvah of Bikkurim which are the first fruits that were brought to the Beit Hamikdash as a thank you to Hashem, and the text that was said in the Beit Hamikdash during the giving of bikkurim. Many might recognize much of the text which describes our national history as they are the pesukim in the haggadah during leil haseder that we use tell to the story of Yetziyat Mitzrayim. However, in it’s original context the whole story seems to be entirely out of place, why do we need a history lesson when bringing Bikkurim? Wouldn’t a perek of tehilim focused on being grateful for everything we have be more appropriate?

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The Sefer Hachinuch explains that when a person comes and brings bikkurim they aren’t just coming and thanking Hashem for all the success and help that was given to that individual over the course of the last 8 months. When an individual Jew succeeds it’s because they are part of something much bigger than themselves, and their success reflects that they are apart of the greater Am Yisrael. When viewed in this light the history lesson about the founding of our nation makes sense as in our times of success in reminds us that “כחי ועצם ידי עשה לי את החיל הזה” my success isn’t just because of my efforts but rather being apart of something greater then ourselves.

The Ramban stresses the need to bring Bikkurim to the temple. The Beit Hamikdash in the world of the Ramban represents the revealing of God’s presence in this world. In this light it would seem that the significance of then bringing Bikkurim to the Beit HaMikdash and reading the text of Bikkurim not only is meant to connect us to something greater then ourselves, ie. Am Yisrael, but to remind us of Am Yisrael’s purpose, ie. bringing Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s presence into this world. That can be done through korbanot, tefilah, learning torah but also through the mundane day to day farming. Everything we do, if done within a certain perspective, can reveal Hashem’s presence in this world, it is up to us however to have that perspective. The bringing of bikkurim every year and the text read alongside was meant to remind us of that and give us chizuk if we need it.

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We currently find ourselves in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah a time of reflection of where we currently are in life, in order to look ahead to where we are going to. If we properly internalize the messaging from Mikra Bikkurim it can help as a guide during this time. God willing this will help us bring Hashem’s presence both into the holy but also mundane.

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The Midrash Shir Hashirim Raba on the pasuk “אני ישנה, ולבי ער; קול  דודי דופק, פתחי לי”, (“I sleep, but my heart is awake; a sound! My Beloved knocks: ‘Open for me!’”) says the following:

רבי יסא אמר: אמר הקב”ה לישראל: בני! פתחו לי פתח אחד של תשובה, כחודה של מחט, ואני פותח לכם פתחים שיהיו עגלות וקרניות נכנסות בו.

Rabbi Yosi said: G-d says to Israel: “My children! Open [yourselves] up to teshuva, even an opening the size of the point of a needle, and I will make an opening for you that wagons and coaches can pass through.”

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The Kotzker Rebbe comments in his classic style:

What G-d requests of a person is openness and awakening, even of limited “size” or importance; as long as it is true, coming from the depth of a person’s heart and soul, with no twists and no separation, like the hole made by a needle, which despite being small in size nonetheless goes right through the cloth.

G-d doesn’t need us to quit sinning cold turkey. Grandiose 180 degree changes in our lives, while impressive, aren’t always a good idea; they are scary, they can be unsustainable, and as nice as it would be to wake up tomorrow and never do anything bad ever again, let’s be honest: it’s not going to happen.

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What G-d wants from us is honesty: the willingness to open ourselves up, to expose what we keep bottled up inside - not to other people necessarily (although talking to a friend or a professional can be a good and helpful thing), but to G-d Himself. To make the statement: “I know that I have done wrong, I want to fix it, help me.”

That little opening - honest acknowledgement of reality and a declaration of intent to make a change - is all that is needed to start the process of teshuva. G-d hears our cry and gives us all the help we need.

May we all merit to make true and meaningful change, with G-d’s help.

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Continuing the discussion from yesterday, I would like to delve further into the Mussar movement and its different approaches to growth and connection to God. The Mussar movement branched out after the passing of Rav Yisrael Salanter and the smaller Mussar houses that he had helped build were budding into larger Mussar Yeshivot. The 2 biggest off shoots of the Mussar movement were the Yeshivot of Slabodka and Novardok, both named after the places in Russia that they were started. Most places that teach Mussar use the ideology of one of these two Yeshivot and, therefore, it is important to understand what their contributions were to the world of Mussar and growth.

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The Yeshiva of Novardok, which was started slightly earlier developed a methodology which focused on the lowliness of humanity. Rav Yosef Yuzel Horowitz, the founder of Novardok, used to focus on breaking down the negative traits that a person has, leaving room for only his positive traits. They would deliberately wear their less nice clothing in order to squash their arrogance. Rav Horowitz was not a uncaring educator by any means, he loved all his students as if they were his own kids. Rather, because he was so concerned for their growth, he made active efforts to help them do away with their negative traits. It could be compared to a parent who vaccinates their child, it may seem like they are harming their child but the act of injuring them is what rids the child of disease.

On the other side we have the Slabodka Yeshiva focused on the greatness of man. Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Yeshiva’s founder, used to speak about the original sin of Adam and Chava eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. He used to discuss how the “punishment” for Adam and Chava that they had to leave the Garden of Eden and do real Mitzvot in the world was all part of their plan. They didn’t want to live in a situation that growth was impossible and therefore they worked to find their way into this world where growth is more than possible, it’s required. He believed that humanity is capable of immense greatness and all we have to do is believe in ourselves. “How could you possibly sin when you realise how much Hashem values you?” Rav Finkel used to say.

Seemingly, in the past the approach of Novardok was a lot more commonplace. There are still many who associate with it more than other approaches. In some ways, it almost feels more religious to beat yourself up over your failures rather than just focusing on your positive traits. I am sure that there were generations over time that needed this approach more than the other. Since mental health has become more significant and more relevant to our lives, there seems to be a trend towards the Slabodka approach, even if people don’t know that it comes from there.

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I believe that the time has come to reinvigorate the Slabodka approach and remind ourselves how valuable we are to Hashem. God calls us his children and it is important for us to remember that, especially as we approach Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. When we start saying Avinu Malkeinu, our Father our King, it is very easy to focus on the Malkeinu part and how regal and distant Hashem is to us. It is exactly at that moment that we have to precede that with the Avinu. God is Almighty and rules over us all, but we are his sons that live in His palace. We have the Image of Hashem living inside of us and it is our opportunity and duty to express it wherever and whenever we can, and in the best way we can. We are capable of immense greatness, all we have to do is use it to create good in the world.

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For most of Jewish history, the people of Israel would learn Torah and Middot through observation and experience. They would watch their parents and teachers acting in the right ways and follow accordingly. Rav Dr Haim Soloveitchik refers to this style of learning as the memetic tradition. Unfortunately, as time went on and the Jewish world expanded beyond the home and smaller learning groups into the Yeshiva system, a certain level of the memetic tradition was lost and many people lowered the level of their good character traits. This is not to say that no Jew had positive character traits anymore, but there was a huge need that arose for a revitalisation of moral improvement.

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It was in this context that Rav Yisrael Salanter and his Mussar movement developed. He and his many students established Mussar houses throughout Eastern Europe to provide a place for people to learn Mussar consciously rather than just assuming that everyone is thinking ethically. There were certain books that were learned, most famously Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) and Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Just), but most of the activity done in Mussar houses were introspection and group based development (something similar to group therapy) in which they would focus on one character trait they needed to work on each week.

Although Mussar books have become commonplace in Jewish libraries across the world, I believe that we are in desperate need of a refresher in the values they are meant to imbue into our lives. Torah has once again become either purely Halachic or purely spiritual. There are so many people who consider themselves religious and will shove other people out of the way so they can get to Shul on time. There are people who will wrestle on the streets and beat up other people to make sure that Torah isn’t tampered with. Similarly but differently, there are those who just see Torah as a spiritual endeavour to connect you to your creator and maybe even to make you into a nice person, but there is very little practical Mitzva observance that comes with it.

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During the month of Elul, people often recommend opening Mussar books in order to improve our characters and to work on the above mentioned problems. I believe that in order to truly grow in our service of Hashem, it takes more than learning the books but rather being able to input that Mussar into our everyday lives. Elul is not meant to be the only time we improve ourselves, it is meant to be the time that we start our growth journeys that last us through the year ahead. Elul is the season that we plant ourselves in the ground and we spend the year ahead growing into the trees that we are destined to be.

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When reflecting and taking stock, do it in a nice way. So, when you see what you didn’t like, and when you see how disappointed you were with your progress, and what could have been, what should have been, and what you’re still expecting to have happen, and do. Sit with it. Be okay with it. Mourne the loss or lack of action/ event. And then also take stock on what did work, why it worked. Notice the progress, see the jump, and let the two realities exist. Have a radical acceptance that you’re imperfect, and that Hashem made you that way, and have compassion on yourself, just like Hashem has compassion on you and sees you in your higher state. Tap into that compassion and allow it to spread to the disappointments of the year, and forgive yourself for them, and renew yourself to be able to tackle your challenges with more gusto, your progress with a happier, more full heart, to a new year, to a new you, to a compassionate you.

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During the month of Elul we start focusing on ideas of repentance - Teshuva. Many areas that are generally covered in the concept of Repentance are the actions between us and G-d and our actions between us and our fellow man. However one aspect seems to elude many of us, that is our very own expectations. The Gemara in Chagigah 15a describes the uncomfortable stories of a Rabbi, Elisha Ben Avuyah. After the unfortunate story of the four Tanaaim entering the Pardes and him venturing into a different path, he is known as “אחר”, the other “one”.

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One aspect of the story describes the following:

“A Heavenly voice comes down and calls out “Return, Return my lost ones except for ‘the other one’.”

This is quite striking that the Gemara would perhaps suggest that for some people Teshuva, Repentance is no longer an option. For once “אחר” heard this, he went further down a path on enjoying this world. This left him without focusing on the eternal aspects of Kedusha that affects a person long after he or she passes away from this world.

Rabbi Yehuda Amital has an incredible message from this story that explains further the importance of Teshuva on our expectations. Rabbi Amital explains that this heavenly voice didn’t actually happen. Now for historical purposes it doesn’t really matter if it actually happened or not rather if the Gemara states this story, the Heavenly Voice must have some meaning for us to learn from. For what Rabbi Amital means by “it didn’t happen” is much deeper than that. The heavenly voice didn’t occur to everyone rather only to “אחר”, it was all in his head. So many times we find ourselves in a position where we set ourselves expectations, but we don’t succeed. This little voice that lives in our head speaks to us saying “ you’re not someone that goes to shacharit”, “ neither are you someone that gives tzedaka or helps the stranger with an errand. And often we fall into that trap even if we do succeed in some of those battles. The little voice grows and asks us “ did you really find meaning in that chessed?” or perhaps “ was going to shacharit really that conducive to your day?” And then we fall further and further. When in fact what does define is the will to do, and to improve. Judaism isn’t all or nothing and sometimes growth isn’t linear. Elul is the time to reconnect to our true selves, the inner desires of being better people and striving to grow without the little voice dictating to us where we’ve gone wrong.

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The vehicle to which arises our attention to spiritual growth in the month of Elul is the shofar. Starting from the beginning of Elul right till the day before Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is a loud call for us to think about self improvement, making moves to add to our relationship to Hashem. However, the blowing of the shofar not only forces us to hear the cry of Teshuva and as a wakeup to the High Holidays but also to block out the noise of this little voice that lives in our heads. The sound of the shofar can be the sound of silence and a time to reflect and return to our true selves.

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Yesterday we began a discussion about loving your fellow Jews. As we are already well into Elul, I believe it is an important time to expand that topic further. Rav Hirsch taught us that love is about devoting ourselves to another and we explained that we can do that for each individual at a time. We can focus on someone wholeheartedly while they are in front of us and then return to all of our other thoughts when we leave them.

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For many of us, even this is a high level to reach. The majority of us are encountering hundreds if not thousands of people in our day to day lives and we cannot give them all the time and focus that they require. Even when you are sitting on the couch talking one on one with a friend of yours, it can be difficult to not be distracted by all the other tasks that need to be done in the day or in the week ahead. So how do we give people the love and care that they truly deserve if we cannot give them the attention that we are supposed to?

Rav Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler in his book Michtav M’Eliyahu explains that love is not just a feeling that we develop out of nowhere. Love is an emotional response to a particular set of actions. He says that the Hebrew word Ahavah is related to the Aramaic word Hav meaning “give”. People make a serious mistake in thinking that you give to those whom you love. The real answer is you love those to whom you give. How does that make our lives easier here?

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To each person we interact with, we can give to them. That giving can either be a smile or a hello when you see someone passing by in the streets or it can be a call or a home visit when your friend is sick or lonely. The one thing we should be aware of is that the giving should be for the other person and not just for ourselves. My giving to you shouldn’t burden or insult you. It should be because I am creating a bond between us. Just as baseless hatred, this sectarianism that divided Am Yisrael during Bayit Sheini and continues to divide us today, destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, so too this type of love will help us to rebuild it.

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As we have discussed previously, there is a value to living as an individual Jew in the form of Kiddush Hashem, and there is a separate value that comes from being a part of the larger Jewish nation in the form of chosenness. I would like to add an additional value of being part of a nation as an individual. In other words, being a member of a people alongside many other members of the same people.

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It is fairly easy for us to understand the importance of a person connecting to God on their own. When we spoke about the issue of loving Hashem, we discussed the idea of devoting ourselves to God, which can only come from a one-on-one relationship with Him. We also mentioned that Am Yisrael as a whole is meant to represent Hashem in this world and so it is valuable to be a part of that collective because there is a lot more an entire nation can do than one lone soul. What we have to answer is whether there is a value in connecting with our fellow Jews as people or whether our goal is a life of Torah and people are only there to help us accomplish that.

Famously, the Torah includes a Mitzva of loving your neighbour as yourself which Rabbi Akiva considers the most important Mitzva there is. This includes every single Jew, no matter their religious, political, or national persuasions. On this idea, Rav Hirsch explains that love is more than just having friends, it is about dedicating and devoting yourself to someone. Even those with the biggest hearts cannot devote themselves entirely to every one of their friends. What we can do is give 100% of our attention to whomever we are speaking to at that moment. We can’t always focus on everyone, but we can make an effort for the person in front of us right now. This is how we show real love for each other beyond sending gifts or pretending to listen to a person. Just a moment of genuine care makes all the difference.

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Hashem wants us to actually care about our fellow Jews. It is not enough to be together with others for Minyanim or for Shabbat meals because that is our obligation. We have to want to connect with others. Most of us are not going to get along with everyone we meet, but we should put in some effort to show them even a fraction of the love that everyone deserves.

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We are given a Mitzva in the Torah to sanctify the name of Hashem. The Gemara explains that the essence of this Mitzva is to live life as a proud Jew. When the Jewish people stood tall in the days of the Batei Mikdash and in the Jewish communities in Bavel during the times of the Sages, this was a straightforward way to practice Kiddush Hashem. It was not easy, commitment to Judaism involves its own set of challenges, but it was straightforward. Hashem told us to keep the Torah, therefore by keeping the Torah we are representing Him in the world.

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The dilemma came in when we spread further into exile across the world. Being a proud Jew was no longer a symbol of honour, it was a target on our backs. Crusaders, Almohads, and Inquisitors alike searched for anyone looking like a Jew and hunted them down. Living as a Jew changed to surviving in the outside world under the threat of death. Kiddush Hashem evolved into a Mitzva of martyrdom, an obligation to sacrifice our lives as Jews rather than to remain without Jewish life. This was our exile.

In 1940, Rav Yitzchak Nyssenbaum, one of the founders of Mizrachi who died in the Warsaw Ghetto, spoke to the Ghetto leaders in a meeting and instructed them in the concept of Kiddush HaChaim, a call to Jews being persecuted and murdered by the Nazis not to give up their hopes for life. He said, “In the past, the enemies of the Jews sought the soul of the Jew, and so it was proper for the Jew to sanctify the name of G-d by sacrificing his body in martyrdom, in that manner preserving what the enemy sought to take from him. But now it is the body of the Jew that the oppressor demands. For this reason the Jew must defend his body to preserve his life.”

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Even today, these ideas must guide us. We need to preserve our physical lives as much as our spiritual lives. Both parts were given to us by God and need to be treated as such. We have all been created in the Image of God and we should live with that in mind.

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Although we often consider it obvious in a Hashkafic framework that Hashem loves us and chose us from all the nations, it is important to pause once in a while to discuss what that actually means. What does it mean that Hashem loves us? What is chosenness? What does Am Yisrael have that other nations don’t?

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To answer the first question we must understand what the concept of love is in the Torah. Rav Hirsch explains that love means to devote yourself to another. The Derech Hashem, one of the Ramchal’s classic early modern works on philosophy, explains that the whole universe was created purely because of Hashem’s Kindness. In order to be kind, says the Ramchal, you must have something/someone to give to and so God created the world to give to us. Hashem shows His love for us by giving us life and the ability to exist in this world.

Secondly, chosenness is a bit more complicated. We can explain chosenness as God choosing us to bear his name in the world. This shouldn’t give us a feeling of arrogance because we are chosen, but a feeling of responsibility because of the work we must spend our lives doing. At the same time, we know historically that we chose Hashem before He chose us. Avraham went out to seek Hashem 400 years before Hashem sought out Moshe and the Jewish people. We chose God amongst all the other options out there, and we must keep choosing Him every day.

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Our third issue is more subtle than the previous ones. If Hashem chose us and we chose Hashem then surely that answers the question of what makes us special? To a certain extent, yes, we aren’t inherently different from the rest of the human race, but we do have one thing over other nations: our name. Our name Yisrael means we who wrestle with God. The Torah tells us that Yaakov was given the name because “he fought with God and with man and overcame them (Vatuchal)”. Why isn’t our name Vatuchal, the ones who overcame? My teacher Benny taught me that the thing that makes us unique isn’t the fact that we succeed, but the fact that we keep fighting. That is what makes Am Yisrael different. We don’t just succeed or fail, we fight until the sun comes up.

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In Judaism, we often talk about free choice and our ability to decide our destiny, even though Hashem knows everything that has happened and will happen. It is the classic Jewish paradox that God knows all and yet we are still able to choose. How does this make any sense? The following is one way to understand it.

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When God showed Avraham the stars He said to him:

And He took him outside, and He said, “Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So will be your seed.” (Bereishit 15:5)

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Our sages explain that when it says He took him outside it means that he took him outside of fate. Avraham’s fate was to be childless, but God showed him that he doesn’t have to stay that way. It’s not who you are that matters, but what you do that defines you. Even if it seems inevitable, you can grow beyond it. Nothing is set in stone until it’s done, and once it’s done we can then try again to do better.

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Fate and circumstance don’t get to hold us back from becoming the person we are capable of being. Look at what you are able to do in each individual moment and do your best to achieve that. If you can’t, then you have the next moment after that to be the best again. Growth isn’t easy, but it’s definitely worth it.

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This concept, often called Tanach B’Gova Einayim (Tanach at eye level), is a concept developed by Rav Yoel Bin-nun. I cannot recommend his work on this topic enough. I hope that this article does the idea justice.

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A common trend seems to be appearing amongst many people and publishers to see the Gedolim of Tanach and of more recent generations as superhumans that were born in greatness and just increased their levels from there. The Tanach seems to have the opposite approach and calls out even the greatest leaders when they seem to have messed up. Why do we have this discrepancy between the Tanach and others? What is the pedagogical approach behind either of these positions?

To the credit of the first group, it is not an ideology that comes from nowhere, rather it’s based on a very long discussion in the Gemara in Shabbat 55b-56b. There is a series of debates there about different people in Tanach who the text seems to say sinned and the Gemara seems to say that they didn’t really do so. The most famous line in that Gemara is the following phrase:

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Anyone who says that David sinned with Batsheva is nothing other than mistaken.

For Rabbi Yonatan, there seems to be an inherent problem with thinking that David sinned. Without going into the actual conflict about David and Batsheva, we must understand the ramifications of seeing David as having committed adultery and/or murder (see Shmuel II chapters 11-12). The proofs brought in the Gemara for why these great people couldn’t have made these mistakes gives us a clear insight into why we are striving to clear their names.

Rav said: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who descends from the house of David, seeks to teach the verse in favour of David.

We, the ones who inherited the legacy of David, must explain why there is no taint in our transmission. It is a pedagogical approach of clarity. There must be very little doubt that we received the correct message from God and the best way to do that is by vindicating those who passed it down to us. If Torah is meant to be the moral message to the world shared through its adherents, then how can we give it over to others when we can’t even keep it ourselves?

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Educationally, this approach makes a lot of sense but there is another approach brought within the same Gemara. In the final stretch of this discussion, the Gemara talks about King Yoshiyahu, one of the unfortunately lesser known kings of Yehuda, who revitalised Torah and Avodat Hashem after over 50 years of spiritual decay and destruction by the kings before him. Through a close connection with the Kohanim, he began the nation’s return to Torah by almost completely removing all the idolatry from the kingdom and repairing the collapsing Beit HaMikdash which hadn’t been renovated in 200 years. Following this whole project, he organised an enormous Pesach seder for the whole of Yerushalayim, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since, at least, the times of the Judges almost 400 years earlier (see Melachim II chapters 22-23).

There was no king like him before who turned back to Hashem with all his heart and soul and might, in full accord with the Teaching of Moshe; nor did any like him arise after him.

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It seems so clear that Yoshiyahu came from a background that had very little concern for Torah and transformed his world into a Torah focused one. This seems to be the highest of compliments. Rav’s argument with Rabbi Yonatan explains this.

The Gemara notes that Rabbi Yonatan disagrees with Rav, as Rav said: There is no greater penitent than Yoshiyahu in his generation, and there is one in our generation.

Rav understands that Yoshiyahu’s Teshuva process, is not just written as a critique but rather as a lesson for all of us today. He is not just a standalone figure that we can look at with awe, but rather a model for all of us to replicate, “and there is one in our generation.”

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Obviously, we are all works in progress. Nobody is born perfect. Even those who are born into huge rabbinical dynasties that always seem destined to be great, or those born to families of tremendous wealth who seem to have unlimited opportunity ahead of them have the ability to choose who they want to become in life. For those of us who come from much simpler backgrounds without flashy ancestry, we are able to create greatness for ourselves. Just because you aren’t born into an important family doesn’t mean you can’t create one for yourself. God gave us unlimited potential for improvement and we cannot let it go to waste.

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Tonight, is ג’ אלול, which is HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook’s Yahrtzeit, and so I thought to take the opportunity to share a short idea related to working on character traits from him.

There is a Gemara at the beginning of Masechet Brachot (5a), that says as follows:

אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ: לְעוֹלָם יַרְגִּיז אָדָם יֵצֶר טוֹב עַל יֵצֶר הָרַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״רִגְזוּ וְאַל תֶּחֱטָאוּ״ אִם נִצְּחוֹ — מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — יַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אִמְרוּ בִלְבַבְכֶם״. אִם נִצְּחוֹ — מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — יִקְרָא קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״עַל מִשְׁכַּבְכֶם״. אִם נִצְּחוֹ — מוּטָב, וְאִם לָאו — יִזְכּוֹר לוֹ יוֹם הַמִּיתָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְדֹמּוּ סֶלָה״.

Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama said that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: One should always incite his good inclination against his evil inclination, as it is stated: “Tremble, and do not sin.”
If one subdues his evil inclination, excellent, but if he does not succeed in subduing it, he should study Torah, as in the verse: “Say to your heart.”
If he subdues his evil inclination, excellent; if not, he should recite Shema, as it is stated in the verse: “Upon your bed,” which alludes to Shema, where it says: “When you lie down.”
If he subdues his evil inclination, excellent; if not, he should remind himself of the day of death, whose silence is alluded to in the continuation of the verse: “And be still, Selah.”

HaRav Avraham Yitzhchak Hacohen Kook זצ”ל, commented and expanded on this Ma’amar, saying, in his explanation on Agadata in Ein Ayah (פרק א, כד). He explains that all character traits have a place in the world and so the approach of trying to eliminate them from one’s actions and personality is a negative thing.

He learns from Reish Lakish’s saying that there is a better way of going about fixing one’s traits and dealing with the Yetzer HaRa. HaRav Kook, through a deeper understanding of the inner spiritual and mental workings of people says that by nature, egative character traits have the control and ideally a person should work to make his positive traits have constant surface level control. Make positive traits part of first instincts.

When this effort doesn’t work, a person should learn Torah. Not in general, but that of the trait that needs strengthening, both in that of the positive aspects of where to use a negative trait and how to work on and strengthen the positive opposite of the negative Middah. This is through the mind.

When a person isn’t connected enough to his logical mind, Reish Lakish says to read Kriyat Shema. HaRav Kook explains this is to activate his emotive state of mind, using it to connect to his Avodat Hashem and Avodat HaMiddot.

As a last resort, a person can, in a case where the above doesn’t work, try to weaken his negative traits. HaRav Kook makes an emphasis on how Bedieved, last resort, this approach is and one should try hold onto his bad Middot to be used in the right time in the right circumstance.

Through this thought, we see a little bit of the depth that HaRav Kook understood Chazal’s sayings as well as the nature and mind of people. This Elul, we should challenge ourselves to try learn and see what good do we each have within us and where can certain traits be used for the better.

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As we are at the beginning of Elul, I often feel a bit of an intense tension in the air, both from within but more from those around me. Within a day or two, the rush to become better people swirls in and I am often left wondering where this all comes from, why do I not always connect and get pulled into this Teshuva tornado.

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אֲנִי יְשֵׁנָה וְלִבִּי עֵר קוֹל דּוֹדִי דוֹפֵק פִּתְחִי לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי שֶׁרֹּאשִׁי נִמְלָא טָל קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה. (שיר השירים ה:ב)

I was asleep, But my heart was wakeful. Hark, my beloved knocks! “Let me in, my own, My darling, my faultless dove! For my head is drenched with dew, My locks with the damp of night.” (Shir HaShirim 5:2)

In Shir HaShirim, Shlomo Hamelech tells a love story of Am Yisrael and Hashem. A story that is truly filled with ups and downs, one that upon reading as both an individual as well as a nation, we can understand, based on our history, both personal and national, in our relationship to Hashem.

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Throughout the year, especially towards the end, we sometimes fall asleep. Become negligent in our Tefila, in the way we act towards others, in respecting our parents, helping a friend or neighbour in need.
Come Elul and Hashem knocks on our door. Kol Dodi Dofek! Hashem has come all the way to our door and cries out to us “Pitchi Li”, open up! Hashem is right here, begging for us to come back to Him, to open up to him, to let him in, in any way we are willing. We need to remember that Hashem reveals Himself to us in infinite ways, Avinu Malkeinu, as Our Father, Our King, Dodi, My Beloved, and more.

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As Elul begins, I believe, although it happens naturally, it is up to us to hear the knock on our door, each one with their own knock, each one with their own thing to work on, from Tefilla, Kibbud Av V’Eim, Bein Adam L’Chaveiro, our interpersonal relationships, or our relationship between us and Hashem, Bein Adam L’Makom.

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After the giving of the Torah in the desert on Shavuot, Moshe ascended the mountain for 40 days, bringing down the first tablets on 17 Tammuz and, due to the Golden Calf, shattered them on the ground before the people. The next day he went back up for 40 more days to do Teshuva for the people, coming back down on 28 Av. 29 Av, Hashem instructed him to carve a new set of tablets that would be brought up Har Sinai the next day. Rosh Chodesh Elul Moshe goes up to God for a final 40 days, coming down with the second tablets on Yom Kippur, forever turning the day into one of atonement and return to Hashem.

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Just as Yom Kippur gained that status as a day of returning to God, the final 40 days were also transformed into a build to that day. A 40 day journey to return to Hashem. The Mussar movement specifically used to speak a lot about Elul as the opportunity to return and a time of preparation before Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and the Chassidic movement popularised the term “HaMelech Basadeh, the King is in the field” to imagine what the month is like. It is a time where Hashem is much closer to us and therefore we do our best to be closer to Him.

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Historically, we can now understand how Elul became this time of growth and how the spontaneous shouting of “ELUL!!!” by Rabbanim throughout the ages has been a summoning call to reconnect to Hashem. But now that Elul exists as it does now, what are we supposed to do with it?

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As we have been discussing previously, the month of Av was the time for Tikun, a national correction, while Elul is the time for individualised Teshuva. It is an opportunity to look at ourselves from last year and see how we have been doing until now, before looking at what we can be by next year. It is a time to truly evaluate our growth and make it count as best we can.