Rav Nochum Binder shares insights on teshuvah, introspection, and preparing for the Yamim Noraim

Facilitated by Meir Kass

 

Rav Yisrael Salanter once passed by a shoemaker late at night and saw him still working by the light of a small candle. The flame was low and the hour was late, but the shoemaker was still bent over his work, carefully repairing a shoe.

Rav Yisrael asked him why he was still working at such a late hour. The shoemaker answered simply, “As long as the candle is burning, it’s still possible to repair.”

Rav Yisrael saw in the shoemaker’s words a powerful lesson. If a shoe can still be repaired as long as the candle is burning, Rav Yisrael said, then a Yid can still repair himself as long as the neshamah is still burning inside him. If a person is alive, there’s still time.

That’s one of the most important messages of Elul. It’s a serious time, but the first feeling of Elul should be hope. As long as our candle is still burning, we can still grow, change, and move closer to Hashem. Elul is the best opportunity we have.

 

A DOOR OPENS

Many people hear the word Elul or teshuvah and immediately feel dread. Elul is coming, Selichos is coming, the Yamim Noraim are coming, and a person may think, “Oy, now I have to confront myself.”

But teshuvah isn’t meant to feel like a dark cloud settling over our lives. Teshuvah is a gift. It’s a door the Ribono Shel Olam opens for us, inviting us to come closer to Him.

Of course, Elul is serious. Rabbeinu Yonah writes about the fear and trembling a person should feel during these days, and that has its place. The coming year is being decided, and a person can’t ignore that.

But at the same time, Elul is an eis rachamim. Hashem gives us a special opportunity to make changes that may feel too hard during the rest of the year.

 

THE SHOFAR’S LESSON

The minhag to blow shofar during Chodesh Elul goes back to a seminal moment in the history of Klal Yisrael.

Chazal teach us that Moshe Rabbeinu went up to Shamayim three times, each time for 40 days. The first 40 days were when Moshe received the Luchos Rishonos. They ended on Shivah Asar B’Tammuz, when Moshe came down, saw the eigel, and broke the Luchos. Moshe then went back up for another 40 days to plead for Klal Yisrael.

After that came the third 40-day period, beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul and ending on Yom Kippur. At the end of those days, Moshe came down with the Luchos Sheniyos.

When Moshe went up for the third time, Klal Yisrael blew shofar to mark the beginning of the 40 days. The first time, confusion over Moshe’s return had helped lead to the cheit ha’eigel. This time, the shofar sent a clear message: pay attention, count properly, and do it differently this time.

Teshuvah is a gift. It’s a door the Ribono Shel Olam opens for us, inviting us to come closer to Him

That is one of the messages the shofar gives us in Elul. It tells us to stop drifting and start thinking ahead. Instead of getting stuck only on what went wrong, the shofar tells us to look ahead and ask, “What can I put in place now so I can grow?”

 

FORTY DAYS

Moshe Rabbeinu recognized that the 40 days between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur are a shaas rachamim, a time when Hashem’s mercy is especially open to Klal Yisrael. That’s why, during those final 40 days in Shamayim, Moshe asked Hashem, “Hareini na es kevodecha—Please show me Your glory.”

It was an enormous request. No human being can truly understand Hashem’s glory, but Hashem still gave Moshe a level of understanding that had never been given to anyone before.

The sefarim also speak about the power of 40 days in general. Rebbe Elimelech of Lizhensk writes that a person who wants to fix a middah should work on it for 40 days. Change is hard, but 40 days of consistent effort can make a real difference.

That’s the opportunity Elul gives us. Elul is serious, but it’s also precious. It’s a time when Hashem’s rachamim is more open to us, which is why the Selichos are built around the yud-gimmel middos harachamim.

A person should never feel that he’s trying to do teshuvah on his own. During Elul, Hashem is with us, giving us extra rachamim to help us come closer, change what needs to be changed, and become the person we’re supposed to become.

 

 

 

PUTTING IT TO WORK

Teshuvah can seem overwhelming. A person hears the word “change” and thinks, “Me? But I’ve been doing things this way for years! It’s not possible.”

But the truth is, teshuvah doesn’t mean becoming a different person overnight. It begins with one small turn. Dovid Hamelech says, “K’rachok mizrach mimaarav hirchik mimenu es pesha’einu—As far as east is from west, that’s how far Hashem removes our aveiros from us.”

How far is east from west? A person can walk east for years and still be heading east. But the moment he turns around, he’s facing west. He may not have traveled far yet, but his direction has changed. That’s all it takes to begin the process of teshuvah.

 

SMALL SUGGESTIONS

Changing directions isn’t a major undertaking. Choose one small kabbalah for the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur. Make it clear enough that you know whether you kept it, small enough that you can actually keep it, and meaningful enough that it moves you closer to Hashem.

Some possibilities:

• Learn five extra minutes a day
• Daven one tefillah a little slower
• Recite Birchas Hamazon from inside a bentcher
• Come to minyan on time or a few minutes early
• Choose one hour a day to watch your speech
• Do one small extra chessed
• Take a minute each night for a quick cheshbon hanefesh