TorahWellsprings‘אר_הפרשה_כי_תבוא.pdfBut then the father remembered that no one told...

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TorahWellsprings

ParshasParshasParshasParshas KiKiKiKi SavoSavoSavoSavo

BikurimBikurimBikurimBikurim

T he Midrash states Hashem createdthe world for bikurim.TorahWellsprings-Ki Savo

We will state four points that make thismitzvah so unique:

1] Bikurim teaches us that everythingcomes from Hashem.

2] Bikurim teaches us to praise Hashem.

3] Bikurim trains us to be happy.

4] Bikurim brings much more goodnessfrom Heaven.

We will study these benefits, one by one:

1] Bikurim helps us recognize that allgood comes from Hashem.

It states (26:3),íéîéá äéäé øùà ïäëä ìà úàáåíääåéìà úøîàå'ä òáùð øùà õøàä ìà éúàá

åðì úúì åðéúåáàì, “Go to thecohen…and sayto him, ‘I came to the land….’”

Rashi writes, åéìà úøîàåäáåè éåôë êðéàù : ,“Tell the cohen you aren’t a kafuytovah.” A kafuy tovahis someone whoclaims he didn’t receive anything at all.He thinks everything he owns is bychance, or by "the strength of his hand."By bringing bikurim one acknowledgesthat Hashem gave him the land and its

produce. And this awareness extends toall the good he enjoys in life. He

recognizes they are all from Hashem.

Chazal tell us about the very joyousmanner bikurim were brought to the BeisHaMikdash. The Mishnah (ch.2) states,"An ox walked in front of them. Its hornswere covered with gold, and it wore anolive-leaf wreathe. A flute played beforethem… Officers came fromYerushalayim to greet them… Thecraftsmen of Yerushalayim would stand

up for them…"

The Alshich asks, “Why all this joy andexcitement over a few fruit which costsless than a half-dinar? An even greaterwonder is the Midrash that states,‘Hashem created the world for bikurim.’”What is unique about bikurim that makes

it so special?

The Alshich answers, “When a person isin the land that is flowing with milk andhoney, living comfortably and fearlesslyunder his fig tree and vine, his homefilled with goodness… he may think, ‘Iearned this on my own.’ Hashem gaveus the mitzvah of bikurim…” toremember that everything we have is

from Hashem.1111

1. (I heard the following story from the baal maaseh, the father in this story):A couple was very excited. Their son was about to get engaged to a girl who seemed to bethe perfect shidduch for their son. They planned to finalize the engagement that very night.But then the father remembered that no one told his mother-in-law, an almanah, that ashidduch was brewing. “She will feel slighted and left out if we make the shidduch withoutconsulting with her” he told his wife. So, he and his wife paid a visit to the mother-in-law,and during the conversation they told her about the shidduch in the offing.

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The Kav HaYashar (18) writes,“Everyone experiences miracles.Especially in recent times, when there isso much strife and hardships in theworld, and it is perpetually getting worse.There are evil decrees, war, hunger,people caught in captivity, distress,various diseases. When Hashem…saves aperson from all of the above, he shouldcontinuously be thinking about Hashem’skindness. Whoever is able to live withpeace and security and withparnassah,

he must praise Hashem.”

Reb Yitzchak Mordechai Silbersteinshlita (may he have arefuah sheleimah)writes in the introduction to hissefer

Rimzei Machshavah: “My brothers anddear friends, I'm speaking to you frommy life experiences: I'm paralyzed forfive years now. I can’t move a limb. Noone can say, ‘It will never happen to me’because…one’s ability to move his handsand feet is a gift from Hakadosh BaruchHu. If he can breathe on his own, that’sa gift from Hakadosh Baruch Hu.Hakaodsh Baruch Hu doesn’t oweanyone anything, and in a moment,everything can stop,rachmana litzlan.”

Indeed, we certainly have a lot to praiseHashem for, but people tend to forget. Themitzvah bikurim is our reminder that thegood we have is Hashem’s kindness to us.

The mother-in-law immediately made some inquires, and then said, “In my opinion, it's sucha good shidduch. You should finish it today.”The parents smiled, because that was exactly what they were planning to do.The mother-in-law added, “But I suggest you tell my elderly mother about it. Visit her, andnonchalantly mention the shidduch. It will be a mitzvah. She will feel honored.”When they told the grandmother about the shidduch she said she remembers that she usedto play with this girl’s grandmother when she was a little girl. She also made some inquiriesand they were all very positive. She said, “Grab this shidduch with two hands. In my opinion,finish it tonight.”And that is what they did.That night at the vort, the mother-in-law thought her encouragement made the shidduch, andher elderly mother was convinced that the shidduch was made because of her involvement.They didn’t know the shidduch would have happened that night without them.Later that night, after all the guests left, the father thought about how his mother-in-law, andher mother, thought their input finalized the shidduch, and he found it amusing. They wereso proud… they didn’t know that the shidduch would have been finalized that nightregardless.Then the father thought some more and he realized that he didn’t make the shidduch either.This shidduch was determined forty days before his son was formed. The shidduch wouldhave happened even without his imput. Because Hashem does everything, and it only seemsthat people do things.Chazal say a bas kol announces, לפלוני פלוני שדה לפלוני פלוני .בית Where one lives, theparnassah one chooses, and all aspects of one’s life are directed and determined byHashem. It seems as though we make decisions, but everything is from Hashem.

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There was a wealthy man who felt verylonely, and he sought attention. So hewent to a high roof and threw downcoins to the people below. He thoughtpeople would honor him for hisgenerosity, and that everyone would betalking about him. He hoped that wouldquench his thirst for attention and aconnection with people. But when helooked down he saw the peoplescrambling to gather the money and noone looked up to see who was throwing

the money.

So the wealthy man, desperate for someconnection with people, began throwingstones. Now everyone looked up to see

who was throwing stones at them.

The nimshal is: People don’t recognizeHashem when Hashem bestows Hiskindness on them. People recognizeHashem when hardships come. Bikurimis designed to teach us to recognize

Hashem in the good times, as well.

2] Bikurim teaches us to praise Hashem.

The next step after being aware ofHashem’s kindness is to thank Him.Therefore, the Torah states (26:5),úéðòåéáà ãáà éîøà êé÷ìà 'ä éðôì úøîàå and Rashi

writes:

úéðòå: “This means one should raise hisvoice. éáà ãáà éîøà: and tell Hashem’s

kindness…”

As the Sefer Chareidim writes, “Bikurimis to remind people to praise Hashem…”

3] Bikurim trains us to be happy.

The result of recognizing Hashem’s

kindness and praising Hashem ishappiness. He focuses on all the good hereceives from Hashem, and his heart isfilled with joy. As the Sefer Chareidimwrites, “They shouldn’t complain like theunsatisfied people who cry and complaintheir entire lives, as though they don’thave anything… Actually, everything in

their life is good…”

Therefore, about bikurim it states(26:11), êé÷ìà 'ä êì ïúð øùà áåèä ìëá úçîùåêúéáìå, “Be happy with all the good that

Hashem gave you…”

4] Bikurim (and its lesson of recognizingHashem and praising Hashem) brings

down much goodness from Heaven.

Tzaddikim taught that when one praisesHashem for the good he enjoys in life,Hashem says, "Do you think this isgood? I'll show you what good is!"and Hashem bestows greater kindness

on him.

The Rebbe of Ruzhinzt'l once heard hisdaughter upset about something and shemoaned. The Rebbe told her that it isn'tgood to complain, "Because a sighbrings on moretzaros, and praise brings

more goodness."

The Rebbe of Ruzhin told his daughterthe following story: There was once awealthy man who always focused onwhat he didn’t have. Heaven said, "Youthink your situation is bad, you’ll beshown what's really bad," and he lost all

his money.

Now he complained even more. Heavensaid, "You think that this situation is bad,


we will show you what's bad," and hebecame a leper. Now he wasn’t even ableto go to people’s homes to ask forhandouts, because no one let him near.They were afraid of catching hiscontagious disease. He complained somemore, and once again, Heaven showedhim that matters could become worse. Hebecame hunchbacked, and it was hard forhim to eat. When he hit this very low

level, he said, "At least I'm alive."

Heaven said, "You think this is good,you'll be shown what's really good," andhis hunched back straightened out. Hepraised Hashem for this, and therefore hewas granted another gift. He was healedfrom his leprosy. Now he could speakwith people, and ask them for help. Hepraised Hashem for Hashem's kindness.

Heaven said, "You think this is good,you will be shown what's really good."Someone gave him a big loan. Hereopened his business, and his financialsuccess returned to its original status. Sowe see that praising Hashem bringsgoodness, and complaints bring on

hardships.

When Dovid HaMelech was king therewas a mageifah in which one hundredpeople died each day. The Levush writes,"Dovid investigated the cause of theplague, and understood with hisruachhakadosh that it was because peopleweren’t praising and blessing Hashemproperly for all the goodness Hashembestows on them... Therefore, Dovidestablished for Bnei Yisrael that theyshould say one hundredbrachos each

day. Since then, the plague ceased."

Because when we praise Hashem,Hashem bestows even more kindness.Thus, bikurim, which teaches us to praiseHashem, will earn for us even greater

dividends from heaven.

Also, even before one praises Hashem,just his acknowledgement that everythingcomes from Hashem is conducive to

receiving Hashem's blessing.

The Alshich writes, “When one thinkshis wealth is the product of his ownmight and wisdom, Hashem will take itaway from him. But when one knowseverything he has was given to him byHashem, Hashem will allow him to keepit. This can be compared to a wealthyperson who hired a gardener to tend tohis orchard. When the figs and grapes ofthe orchard ripened, the gardener placedthem in a beautiful dish and broughtthem to the landowner. He said, 'Look atthe sweet fruit your field is producing.It's yours because it grew in yourorchard…' When the [landowner] sawthe derech eretzof his gardener, hereplied, ‘You can keep all the rest of thecrop.’ This is the explanation of themitzvah bikurim. We bring the first cropsof wheat, barley, olives, and grapes tothe Beis Hamikdosh, and weacknowledge that it isn’t our own.Everything we have belongs toHashem… And then, Hashem will allow

us to keep the rest of the crops.”

BikurimBikurimBikurimBikurim inininin ourourourour GenerationGenerationGenerationGeneration

We learned wonderful benefits ofbikurim, but what should a person dotoday, when we don’t have bikurim?The Midrash (Tanchuma Ki Savo1)


teaches, "Moshe saw that in the futurethe Beis HaMikdash will be destroyedand the mitzvah of bikurim will cease.Therefore, he instituted davening threetimes a day.” All the lessons of bikurimare taught to us now through the dailytefillos. The praises and the requests oftefillah remind us that all the good wehave, and all the good we need, comes

from Hashem.

ShabbosShabbosShabbosShabbos SelichosSelichosSelichosSelichos

It states (Yeshayah42:18), åòîù íéùøçäúåàøì åèéáä íéøåòäå, “Deaf ones, listen! Theblind, see!” The Chidushei HaRimzt’lasks, how can the deaf hear? How canthe blind see? He answers, “There aremoments that are so lofty that even thedeaf hear and the blind see.” He wasreferring to those who are deaf andblind to spirituality. At specialoccasions, even they can begin to

become attached to spirituality.

This is applicable for ShabbosSelichos. Even if someone pushed offdoing teshuvah until now, noweveryone is aroused and they want to

improve their ways.2222

This year, we have two Shabbosimduring the days ofselichosbefore RoshHashanah. Chazal say, “If Klal Yisraelkeep two Shabbosim they willimmediately be redeemed.” RebYechezkel Levinsteinzt’l (and also theChidushei HaRim zt’l) teach that thisalso applies to an individual. When klalYisrael keep two Shabbosim they will beredeemed from galus, and when anindividual keeps two Shabbosim, he willbe redeemed from his personal strugglesand problems. Therefore, as there aretwo Shabbosim before Rosh Hashanah,Reb Yechezkel would urge his studentsto take advantage of them, to beredeemed and to merit a good year on

Rosh Hashanah.3333

2. It isn’t too late to do teshuvah. Although most of Elul passed, we can begin now.Our custom is to blow shofar every day in Elul. The shofar rouses us to do teshuvah. If onedidn’t wake up to teshuvah on the first day of Elul, we blow shofar the second day. Perhapshe will do teshuvah then. And if he wasn't roused, we blow shofar the next day, too, becausewe always give another chance to do teshuvah.3. A mashal is told about a supervisor whose job was to check the hostels for the mentally

ill. He came to one hostel and asked the person in charge how he determines who ismentally ill and needs to be hospitalized?The home manager replied, “We put him near a bathtub, and we give him a spoon, a pot,and a bucket and we tell him to empty out the water from the bathtub. We watch what hedoes, and then we can determine what treatment he needs, and whether he is insane ornot.”The supervisor found this technique intriguing. “I understand” he said, smiling broadly. “If hetakes the water out with the bucket, that means he is wise and well. But if he uses a spoonor a pot, he is a fool.”


TheTheTheThe FirstFirstFirstFirst DayDayDayDay ofofofof SelichosSelichosSelichosSelichos

The sefarimwrite that theyamim noraimbegins on the first night ofselichos.Rebbe Uri of Streliskzt’l said, “Theäáéúëäáåè äîéúçå of Rosh Hashanah begins on

the first night ofselichos.

Motzei Shabbos, the first night ofselichos, we say thepiyut “ äçåðî éàöåîá.”This prayer is written according to theorder of the alef beis. As it states:ïéîé úàìéç úåùòì äøøåò æò, the first word of thisphrase is an'à, and then it statesã÷òð ÷ãöáìéà åøåîú èçùðå, beginning with a 'á.Similarly, each phrase begins with thenext letter of the alef beis. The exceptionof this rule are the letters'ðand 'ñ, as

they are written in two words, asíáâñ àð,instead of two phrases.

Rebbe Pinchas of Koritzzt'l explainedthat this is because'ñ 'ð spell ñ"ð, miracle,and we don’t want to separate them,since the days ofselichos are mesugal

for miracles.

The letter 'ú of this selichosis êñéð íàøúúåìåãâ äùåò, "show them Your miracles…"Because during these days ofselichos,we want Hashem should show usmiracles, and grant us our heart’s desires.

Some people fast on the first day ofselichos; some say the entireTehillim.Rebbe Yissacher Dov of Belzzy’a saidthat his avodas Hashemon the first

“By the way” the hostel manager said to the supervisor, “we have a very modern facilities,and you may want to spend some time living here…”“What are you talking about!” the supervisor said. “I am well, baruch Hashem.”“But you failed the test” the manager said. “If you want to take the water out of the bathtub,all you have to do is take away the plug.”The nimshal is, the Torah says לבבכם ערלת את ,ומלתם “Circumcise your heart.” If a personwants to improve his ways, have good middos, love Torah, etc., the counsel is simply to“circumcise the heart.” Take away the plug that is preventing your heart from opening up,and then everything will naturally fall into place.The old custom (before the event of alarm clocks) was that the shamesh of the beis medreshwould go from home to home, knock on the window, and shout “Wake up for selichos.”There were those who woke up on their own, even before the shamesh came. If theshamesh saw a light on in the house, and heard them getting ready to go to selichos, hewould pass that home without knocking on their window. Some people heard the shameshknocking on their neighbor’s window, and that awoke them.But when the shamesh came to a house where everyone was sleeping, he would bang ontheir window.The nimshal is:Sometimes afflictions come to awaken people to do teshuvah. The fortunate people wakeup and do teshuvah; they don’t need punishments to rouse them. There are people who arearoused to teshuvah when they see their neighbor’s suffering, chalilah. However, those whoaren't aroused, they may a need knock on their window, afflictions may chalilah come, torouse them to teshuvah. It's best when one awakens himself, without yesurim, chalilah.


day of selichos is more intense thanhis service on Rosh Hashanah and

Yom Kippur.

For generations, Belzer chassidim havethe custom to say the entireTehillim on

this day, in beis medresh,íò áåøá.

When Rebbe Yissachar Dov was old andnot well, his gaba’im tried to convincehim that he shouldn’t sayTehillim in beismedresh on the first day ofselichos. Buthe came to the beis medresh withmesirus nefesh. He said, “How can youprevent me from the greathisorerusandhislahavus of saying the ïåöø éäé after

Tehillim with the congregation?”

Rebbe Dovid of Lelov went to hisRebbe, the Chozeh of Lublinzt’l, andsince he was poor, he had to travel backhome to Lelov by foot. Someonestopped his horse and buggy next toRebbe Dovid, and asked him where he

was heading.

“To Lelov.”“Come aboard. I live in a villagenearby.”When they arrived at Lelov, RebbeDovid thanked him and said, “I have abeis medresh in Lelov. Come there onthe first night ofselichos.”The man thought to himself, “I did hima favor, and now he wants to takeadvantage of me, to make certain he hasa minyan in his beis medresh forselichos. One thing is for sure: I will not

go to his beis medresh forselichos.”

On the first night of selichos, RebbeDovid entered his beis medresh andlooked around. The person who gave him

a ride wasn’t there yet, so he went backto his room.

A few times he entered the beis medresh,looked around, and returned to his study.

At this time, the one who gave him aride was in his village. He thought tohimself, “Rebbe Dovid is a holy man. Heasked me to come to his beis medresh for

selichos. Why shouldn’t I go?”

He drove to the Lelover Rebbe’s beismedresh. This time, when the Rebbecame out, he saw him and immediately

began sayingselichos.

Afterwards, he told him, “You did me afavor this year, and I wanted to give youa brachah. I asked you to come on thefirst day of selichos, since it is a greateis ratzon in heaven, and thebrachostake effect. I bless you that you and yourdescendants should have immense wealth

and long lives."

This story was told by this man'sdescendant to my grandfather RebMoishe Mordechai of Lelov. He said,“I'm his great-grandson, and I can testifythat thebrachah was fully materialized.All subsequent generations had wealth

and everyone lived long.”

The Tur (581) writes, “Most people faston the first day ofselichos. “ The ImreiPinchas (445) writes that Rebbe Pinchasof Koritz zt’l “ was very machmir totovel on the first day ofselichos, early inthe morning, and also onerev RoshHashanah, early in the morning and onthe two days of Rosh Hashanah…Although he was lenient [withmikvah]…


nevertheless, he was more stringent withthesetevilos.”

Reb Yaakov Landauzt’l, the rav of BneiBrak, would generally contain hisemotions. But on the first night ofselichoshe was thechazan. He beganAshrei asusual; his voice didn’t show his emotions.But when he came to'ä úìéäú until the endof selichos, he cried copiously. It wasalmost impossible to hear his voice,

because he was crying so much.

SelichosSelichosSelichosSelichos

Someone asked Reb Yosef ChaimZonenfeld zt’l: “I'm a melamed, and itstates inShulchan Aruch(Yorah Deah245:17) that amelamedmust sleep well.Perhaps I shouldn’t go toselichos,because that would mean that I mustawaken early, and I won’t have enoughsleep.”Reb Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld replied, “Idon’t see anyheter for you not to wakeup for selichos. These are special days topour our hearts out before the King and

to request for our lives…”

In the past, many people fasted during thedays of selichos. The Leket Yosher(Hilchos Taanis12, p.114) writes, “OnceI asked my rebbe, the Terumas HaDeshen,to permit me to eat during the days ofselichos, so I could learn well, like alldays of the year. He replied, theíéðåîã÷,scholars of the past, also knew that a fastmakes people weak and disables them tolearn well, nevertheless, they institutedthe custom for people to fast duringselichos…. Therefore, I can’t permit it.”

We don’t fast in our generation; howeverwe should remember that these aren’tregular days. These are special days forrepentance, for rousing Hashem’scompassion, for introspection and

seeking ways to improve.

A kind king used to ride down the mainstreets of his capital city on his birthday.Multitudes of citizens would stand on theroad side, waving ecstatically, as theycelebrated the king’s birthday. At thisspecial time, everyone had permission tocome up to the king’s chariot and givethe king their letters. Their letters wouldpraise the kind king and state theirrequests. The king read all their letters

and granted them their requests.

There was one person who would givehis letter directly to the king’s hand,every year, but his requests were neverfulfilled. He investigated the matter anddiscovered that the king traveled with anadvisor. That advisor hated this citizen.When he brought the letter to the king,the advisor would tell the king to ignorethe letter, claiming he wasn’t an honest

and deserving citizen.

The man realized that he shouldn’t waitfor the king’s birthday to ask hisrequests, because the king’s advisor willspeak slander him. The only solution was

to come earlier.

The following year, this man went to theking's palacebefore the king's birthday,and spoke directly with the king. Theking’s advisor wasn't around, and the

kind king filled his request.


The Yeitav Lev told this story duringthe days of selichos, and then theYeitav Lev cried out, “Beloved Yidden!On Rosh Hashanah Hashem issurrounded by prosecuting angels whospeak out against us. They claim wedon’t deserve a good year. Therefore,every year on Rosh Hashanah, we havethe mitzvah of shofar, which protects usfrom their protests. We will be wiser ifwe speak with Hashem face to facenow, during the days ofselichos. Ouradversaries aren't around, and Hashemwill answer our prayers. Now is thetime to beg Hashem for health,parnassah, nachas, and all your heart'sdesires. If we will do so, Hashem willhave mercy on us and grant us a sweet

and successful new year.”

There are always at least four days ofselichos before Rosh Hashanah. TheMishnah Berurah(581:6) writes, “One ofthe reasons is becausekorbanos arechecked [for blemishes] for four daysbefore they are sacrificed4444… On RoshHashanah, one should consider himselfas though he is sacrificing himself. So heneeds four days to check himself from allblemishes and sins, and to doteshvuahon them” so he will be a fittingkorban

on Rosh Hashanah.

RemorseRemorseRemorseRemorse

Before selichosof úåãî â"é (said a coupleof days before Yom Kippur) the Beis

Aharon said to his chassidim, “Don’t sayselichos as if it were a custom orroutine.” We are asking Hashem forforgiveness, it isn’t just words that we

have a tradition to say.

Once, beforeselichos, Rebbe Aharon ofBelz zt’l told the chazan, “ ,êòéåä ,êòéåäêòéåä, daven loudly! This will rouse thetzibur to say selichoswith kavanahandwith hislahavus. Don’t be afraid that youmight become hoarse, because there areother people who can take your place."

Selichos is to sincerely regret our sinsand to make a commitment to worktowards improving our ways. Withoutregret, and without inspiration, a major

component in theselichosis lacking.

There was amisnaged (someone whoopposed the ways of chassidim) whocaused a lot of trouble for Rebbe Boruchof Mezhibuzhzy'a. Before Yom Kippur,he came to Rebbe Boruch’l and said, "Ireally don’t have to ask you formechilah, because everything I did was amitzvah. [He thought it’s a mitzvah tooppose chassidim and their tzaddikim.]Nevertheless, I thought that since it’serev Yom Kippur, I should ask for yourforgiveness."Rebbe Boruch’l replied, “êéøáãë éúçìñ.”The implication of his response was, “Iforgive you in the same spirit you areasking for forgiveness. You don’t reallymean it when you say you're sorry, and

4. Parashas Pinchas lists the korban mussaf of the yomim tovim. By almost every korbanmussaf it states, עולה ,והקרבתם “You shall sacrifice a korban olah…” The exception is the

korban mussaf for Rosh Hashanah. There it states, עולה ,ועשיתם “You shall make an olah.’This means, one should make himself a korban to Hashem.


I also don’t really mean it when I say Iforgive you.”“I’m sorry” has many meanings,depending on the circumstances.Sometimes it connotes very sincereregret, at other times it could meanalmost nothing at all. When you want topass, you might say, “Sorry, can I pass,please.” And if you want to know thetime, you might approach someone andsay, “I’m sorry, do you have the time?”They say I’m sorry, but there is no regretat all. We seek to sayselichos withsincere regret. When we say “I’m sorry,åðì çìñ, Hashem will reply,êéøáãë éúçìñ, Iforgive you, for I see you are sincerely

seeking My forgiveness.”

Reb Shalom Shwadronzt’l said: Whensomebody knocks on your door, you candecide whether you want to answer thedoor or not. But when you hearsomeone pounding on the door, youunderstand that the person is desperate,so you go to see who is at the door andwhat he wants. You might find a pauperwho says, “I need food now, or I'll die

from hunger.”

Reb Shalom Shwadron said this is thereason we say,ìà àð ïåðçå íåçø åð÷ôã êéúìãêéðôìî í÷éø åðáéùú, “We pound on Yourdoor, O’ compassionate One. We don’thave us leave empty handed.” Wearen’t merely knocking on Hashem’sdoor (ù÷åð). We are banging andpounding on Hashem’s door,desperately begging that he bless us

with salvations and a good year.

We also say, on the first day ofselichos,

úåìéìá íãîòá íúøéúò äöø, “Accept theirpleas, as they awaken to pray before Youat night…” äøéúò means many prayers(see Rashi, Toldos, 'ä åì øúòéå). This isbecause we don’t ask Hashem only onceor twice for life and for a good year andfor atonement. We ask again and again,because we recognize our utterdesperation, and the dire need we have

to receive Hashem’s compassion.

When a poor person asks a wealthyperson in beis medresh for a donation, hewill sometimes respond that he doesn’thave money on him. However, when thepauper comes to his door, the wealthyperson can’t excuse himself that he

doesn’t have money.

This is hinted at in the words,,åð÷ôã êéúìãàð, we came to Your door,í÷éø åðáéùú ìàêéðôìî please don’t let us leaveempty-handed. We are at Your door, Youhave the ability to give us all our heart’s

desires, please answer ourtefillos.

ThirteenThirteenThirteenThirteen MiddosMiddosMiddosMiddos ofofofof RachamimRachamimRachamimRachamim

The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah17:) states,“If the pasukwouldn’t have said it, wewouldn’t be permitted to say it.Hakadosh Baruch Hu wrapped Himselflike a shaliach tzibbur(chazan) and Heshowed Moshe [the thirteen attributes ofmercy]. Hashem said to Moshe,‘Whenever Yidden sin, say this before

Me, and I will forgive them…”

The Gemara says,ìù úåãî â"éì äúåøë úéøáí÷éø úåøæåç ïðéàù íéîçø, Hashem made abris(pact) with the úåãî â"é, that they willalways be effective. They will always

arouse Hashem's compassion.


The Rabbeinu B'Chaya (Shemos34:6)writes, "Whoever knows the translationof the thirteen attributes, and says themwith kavanah, his tefillah will beanswered – unless he hasaveiros thatprevent it. Now that we are ingalus, wedon’t have acohen gadolto atone for oursins. We don’t have amizbeiachto bringthe karbanos. All we have are ourtefillosand the thirteen attributes of mercy…"

The Shaarei Teshuvah (581:1) writes,“One must sayselichosäðååëáå ïåúéîáå úçðá,pleasantly, without rushing, and withkavanah. It is forbidden to say the

thirteenmiddoswithout kavanah.”

The Rebbe of Gustaninzt'l said that it isa mitzvah to review thetosfos (RoshHashanah 17, in the hagahah) whichteaches the meaning of the thirteen

attributes ofrachamim.

Tosfos writes, "ïåðç means Hashem hasmercy on those who are going throughhard times… [because Hashem says], 'Iam compassionate, and I can't see themsuffer… ïåðç also means úîíðç úð , anundeserved gift…" These are veryencouraging words. Hashem hascompassion on everyone, even on thosewho don’t deserve it, “because I can't

bear to see their pain."

Before we say theúåãî â"é we sayêìî ì-àíéîçø àñë ìò áùåé. However, each night, thefirst time we say theúåãî â"é, we say a

different prayer, calledêåîë ì"à éî.

On Yom Kippur, we only sayáùåé êìî ì-à...íéîçø àñë ìò, "The King who sits on thethrone of compassion...” We don’t sayéî

êåîë ì"à. What is the explanation forthese customs?

The meforshimexplain that each night ofselichoswe must first say theúåãî â"é atleast once, and then Hashem gets upfrom His throne of judgment and sits onHis throne of compassion. We can’tbegin with the tefillahàñë ìò áùåé êìî ì"àíéîçø, because Hashem isn’t on thatthrone yet, until after we say the first setof the íéîçø ìù úåãî â"é. So we begin witha prayerêåîë ì"à éî, etc. and we say thethirteen attributes. Now Hashem sits onHis throne of compassion and we sayì"à

íéîçø àñë ìò áùåé êìî.

Yom Kippur we begin witháùåé êìî ì-àíéîçø àñë ìò, and we don’t say theprayer êåîë ì÷ éî at all. This is becauseon Yom Kippur, Hashem sits on Histhrone of compassion even before we

say the úåãî â"é.

TheTheTheThe GreatnessGreatnessGreatnessGreatness ofofofof thethethethe MitzvosMitzvosMitzvosMitzvos

Many yungerleit in Eretz Yisrael don’town a car. Although that makes mattersfinancially easier, and there is a good bussystem, nevertheless, it can maketraveling long and tiresome. Sometimes,a person can spend most of his day onthe bus.Such happened to ayungerman fromKiryat Gat. After he davenedshacharisat thenetz(daybreak)he took the first busto Yerushalayim, to bemenachem avelafriend. As soon as he sat down in frontof his friend, he got a phone call. Hewould have ignored it, but it was hisfather, so he went to the back of the

room and answered the phone.


“I have to have a medical proceduredone in Ramat Gan today, aroundnoontime. I want someone to be there

with me. Can you be there?”

“Certainly. I’m in Yerushalayim now,but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

He apologized to his friend that he can’tstay longer, he wasmenachem avelquickly, and he left to catch the next busto Bnei Brak, from where he would take

yet another bus to Ramat Gan.

On the bus to Ramat Gan, his fathercalled to tell him that he is already donewith the procedure. His son doesn’t haveto come anymore. So as it turned out,half the day passed on the bus, and allhe had to show for it was a briefnichumaveilim – much shorter than he planned.5555

He immediately got off the bus. It wastime to start heading home. He wouldtake a bus back to Bnei Brak, and thena bus to Kiryat Gat. The automated signat the bus stop showed the next buswould arrive in a half hour. He hadsome time to refresh himself. He wentto a convenience store, and asked thenon-religious storekeeper if he coulduse the restroom. The storekeeper

readily agreed.

The yungermanasked, “Can I leave thisbag with you for a moment until I

come out?”

“Why don’t you take it into thebathroom with you? That way, you canwatch it yourself.”

“I have my talis and tefillin in this bag,and it isn’t proper to bring them into

the bathroom.”

The storeowner eyes sparkled frominterest. “Can I put on your tefillin?” “Of

course! It will be my privilege.”

When he came out of the bathroom, hefound the irreligious Yid wearing tefillinwith a small kappel on his head. Histattooed arm was wrapped with thetefillin shel yad, and his totallybald-shaven head was wearing thetefillinshel rosh. The storeowner said,“Although I'm not religious, I put ontefillin every morning. Today, I didn’thave time to put on tefillin in themorning, so I came to work withouttefillin. I prayed that Hashem help mewear tefillin today. I was certain Hashemwould help. And as you see, I am now

wearing tefillin."

The yungemranthought he traveled fornothing, but he traveled to help thisYid wear tefillin. Let this story remindus how Hashem desires the mitzvos ofevery Yid, no matter which level he

is on.

Bikurim teaches us this lesson as well.

The Mishnah (Bikurim 3:3) states,“When the people bringing bikurimarrived near Yerushalayim…the [eldersfrom Yerushalayim] came out to greetthem… All craftsmen in Yerushalayimstood up for them and greeted them…”

They received immense honor.

5. He will also be rewarded for traveling to mitzvos, and for trying to do mitzvos,nevertheless, as it appeared to him, most of the day was wasted, and little accomplished.


The Yismach Yisrael (Savo 1) explainsthat this is to teach us the value ofeverymitzvah, performed byany Yid. It is tolet us know that one deserves endless

respect for each mitzvah he performs.

The mitzvah of bikurim is a relativelyeasy mitzvah. It isn’t expensive. The firstphase of this mitzvah can even beperformed in one’s thoughts. If onethinks, “this fruit should be bikurim” itbecomes bikurim. The immense honorthey received teaches us the value ofevery mitzvah, and even the value of an

intention to do a mitzvah.

As the Yismach Yisrael writes, “Thehonorary cohanim and the gizbarim ofthe beis haMikdash came out to greetthem, to show them that even a simplemitzvah from the most simple person —and even just a good thought — isaccepted by Hakadosh Baruch Hu withdesire and compassion. Allmalachimputmany crowns on his head… Each person,no matter who he is, can getchizukfromthis. Even if in his entire life he onlyperformed one mitzvah or had one goodthought, it is also enough [to praiseHashem for this great opportunity]. And,he should be embarrassed that he lostopportunities to serve Hashem in thepast. Now that he sees the vast value ofthe mitzvos, he should be embarrassed

that he lost out on opportunities toperform mitzvos.”6666

The Yismach Yisrael emphasizes thevalue of shemiras hamitzvos, even oflowly people. As he writes, “Eachperson, no matter who he is…even ifhe only performed one mitzvah hisentire life or had one good thought, it

is also enough…”

Therefore, we understand that it is anextremely great merit to help Yiddenbelieve in Hashem and keep the mitzvos.No matter who he is, if you help himcome a drop closer toavodas Hashem, it

is a great merit.

Reb Yisrael Salanterzt’l taught: TheTorah has very strict laws regarding açéãîå úéñî (someone who incites others toworship avodah zarah). He is killed inbeis din, and unlike all otheraveiros,about this sin it states (Devarim13:9), àìååéìò ìåîçú, “Don’t have pity on him.”Rashi explains,åúåëæá êôäú àì, “Don’t seekto make him righteous and innocent.”And it states, åì äáàú àì, and Rashiexplains, “Don’t love him. The Torahobligatesêåîë êòøì úáäàå, but this personyou mustn’t love.”These extremely severe halachos applyeven when the çéãîå úéñî didn’taccomplish anything, because no onepaid attention to his call to worship

6. The Beis Yisrael zt’l says the mitzvah of bikurim is written at the end of the Torah totell us that even if a person transgressed the entire Torah, he can begin his avodas

Hashem from now. Just as the new fruits become a mitzvah, his avodas Hashem can beginanew, now.


avodah zarah. He is nevertheless harshlypunished for trying.

The reward for good deeds is alwaysproportionately greater than thepunishment for bad deeds. Reb YisraelSalanterzt’l said that we can thereforebe certain that if one tries to influenceothers to believe in Hashem and to serveHashem, his reward will be

exceptionally great.

KabalahKabalahKabalahKabalah TovahTovahTovahTovah

The Divrei Chaim of Tzanzzt'l told thefollowing story:

A poor woman found an egg. Herchildren saw the egg and were happy,because they thought they would havesomething nutritious to eat. But she hadother plans. She gathered her children,and raised the egg and told them, “Wewill not eat this egg. We will give it toour neighbors, and ask them to place itunder one of their hens, to incubate.”The children were happy once again,because they understood that when theegg hatches and grows into a chicken,they will have meat to eat. But themother had other plans. “We won’t eatthe chicken. We will let the chicken layeggs, and the eggs will turn intochickens, and then we will have moreeggs. And then we will sell all thechickens and buy some goats… and thenwe will sell the goats and buy land…”

As she spoke, she waved her hands inexcitement and joy. Suddenly, the eggdropped, and all her dreams ended

right there.

The Tzanzer Rebbezt'l told this story todescribe how people often make grandplans in Elul, how they will improve inthe upcoming year, and what they willdo, but nothing materializes. They tellthemselves that this year things will bedifferent, but within a few weeks they

revert to their past routines.

What can we do to keep theteshuvahprocess going? One idea is to take onsmall kabalos. They seem small to you,but they are really great in Hashem’seyes, and they will bring you to your

desired success.

A bachur told me that he has a problem.Each Shabbos, he buys the magazinesthat have pictures of Rebbes in them, andhe goes through each page. This takes alot of his time, and he doesn’t know howto break the habit. I advised him to leaveout a page or two that he won’t look at.Shortly afterwards he came back to meto tell me that he was completely curedfrom his addiction. Because when onerefrains a little bit, this gives him

momentum to refrain even more.

Rebbe Mottele Slonimerzy'a writes(Maamar Mordechai p.342): Twotzaddikim made a pact that whoeverdies first would come in a dream tohis friend, to tell him what happened

in his judgment.

One of them was niftar, and soonafterwards, he came to his friend in adream. He said, "When the courtreviewed my deeds, they said everythingwas perfect, but I had one sin. Once,while serving asav beis din, one of the


parties placed money into my pocketwithout me knowing about., I unwillinglyand accidentally transgressed theaveirahof shochad, the prohibition for a judge totake a bribe. For this, I was told I would

need to go to Gehinom.

"I told the court that I don’t want to gothere, so they brought me to a very largebuilding, gave me a small hammer, andsaid, 'Break down this building with thissmall hammer. When you finish, you can

go to Gan Eden.'

"I was devastated. How could I demolisha gigantic building with a small hammer?It will take many years before I finish.

"But then I thought: ‘My entire life Isought to do Hashem's will. Now, it’sHashem's will that I should destroy thislarge building with this hammer. So Iwill do so with joy — even if it takesme many years.’ Joyously, I raised thehammer and swung it at the buildingwith all my might. The entire buildingcollapsed, and I was swiftly brought to

my place in Gan Eden."

This story reminds us thatteshuvahsometimes seems impossible – like it willtake many years to accomplish. But ifyou try, and take even just one small stepin the right direction, Hashem will helpyou and you will attain your goals much

quicker than you can imagine.

Everything in this world can be used asa mashalfor avodas Hashem. One of therather recent wonders of technology isthe GPS. One lesson we can learn fromit is bitachon. No matter where a personis, the GPS shows him how to get to his

destination. This is a reminder that nomatter which situation a person is in,Hashem is with him, directing him on the

right path.

Another lesson we can learn from theGPS is how to deal with people whoaren't acting properly, and even thoughwe rebuked them, they don’t accept ourcounsel. When a person takes a wrongturn, the GPS doesn’t shout at him. Itjust tells him what to donow. Similarly,we shouldn’t become angry at ourchildren or at our students who err, andwho don’t listen to our good advice,rather we should show them what to donow, to help them reach their destination

in life.

Finally, the GPS reminds us thatteshuvahis always an option. It’s nevertoo late. Even if he was driving thewrong way for many years, he canalways find his way to his destination.

KedushahKedushahKedushahKedushah

The Kenesiyah HaGedolah in Vienna,Elul â"ôøú was attended by manygedolim,among them: the Chofetz Chaimzt’l andthe Imrei Emes of Gurzt’l. The ezrasnashim was a balcony, one flight up,around the sides of the hall. Thegaba’imof the Imrei Emes came in and said thattheir Rebbe can’t come to the meetinguntil there are curtains covering theezrasnashim. Some people opposed, sayingthat it wasn’t necessary, since the womenwere a flight above. They decided theywould ask the Chofetz Chaim and dowhatever he advises. The Chofetz Chaimreplied, “According to halachah it isn’t


necessary. But since there are those whorequest it, we must acquiesce.”

The Chofetz Chaimzt’l explained, “Theworst thing that could possibly happen tothe Jewish nation is that Hashemabandons them. As long as Hashem iswith us, everything will work out. As itstates (Tehillim 23), àì úåîìö àéâá êìà éë íâéãîò äúà éë òø àøéà, “Even when I go inthe valley of death I am notafraid…because You are with me.’However it states (Devarim 23:15), 'ä éëêéðôì êáéåà úúìå êìéöäì êðçî áø÷á êìäúî êé÷ìàêéøçàî áùå øáã úåøò êá äàøé àìå ùåã÷ êéðçî äéäå,‘Hashem is going within your camp tosave you and to give your enemiesbefore you. Your camp must be holy,there should not be seen anythingprofane, for then theShechinah willleave you.’ The worst scenario is whenthe Shechinah leaves us. What causesHashem to leave Klal Yisrael?øáã úåøòêéøçàî áùå, lack of tzniusand similar sinsrelated tokedushah. We need Hashem’shelp and protection, and therefore we

should bemachmir.”

This story was told many times by RebAvraham Kalmanovitz,nasi of Mir, who

was present at that gathering.

His son, Reb Shraga Moshe Kalmanovitzzt’l said that the Chofetz Chaim taught achiddushin this lesson. He revealed thatthere are numerous degrees of the extentHashem’s presence resides with theJewish nation. It isn’t either Hashem iswith them or He isn’t. There arenumerous levels. Because at thatgathering, the mechitzah was kosher,albeit not the most mehudar. The

Shechinahwas certainly present, but theChofetz Chaim revealed that theShechinah will be even more presentwhen they are more cautious with theguidelines of kedushah. And the morekedushah, and the greater presence of theShechinah, the more protection there will

be for klal Yisrael.

Reb Elchanan Wassermanzt’l heard theChofetz Chaim say the following:Hashem is our guardian, as we say,øîåùìàøùé åîò. There are different kinds ofshomrim. There is a shomer chinam,someone who guards something for free,and there is ashomer sachar, a guardwho is paid for his services. One of thedifferences between ashomer chinamand a shomer sacharis that a shomerchinam can say, “I don’t want to guardthis anymore” and return the item to theowner. No one is paying him, so it is upto the guard to decide how long he wants

to do this service.

Hashem is ashomer chinam, because noone pays Hashem to guard over us.When does Hashem say,chalilah, that hedoesn’t want to watch us anymore?That's when there isêéøçàî áùå øáã úåøò,

when there is a slack inkedushah.

A mashgiachof a yeshiva told me thathe was speaking with abachurabout theimportance of steering away fromimproper technical devices, and thebachur wasn’t getting the message. Thebachur was saying that he is cautious,and he doesn’t go to sites he shouldn’t.As they spoke, two people were walkingdown the street. One was wearing a hat;the other was wearing solely a yarmulke


(kappel). A strong gust of wind lifted thehat of one of them, and thekappelof theother, and they went scrambling to pickthem up again. Themashgiach said,“You see, the one who had twocoverings remained with a covering onhis head. The other one doesn’t haveanything on his head. Because when oneadds onto hiskedushah, he is further

away from sinning.”

The Toldos Yaakov Yosefzt’l told thefollowing mashal:A poor person knocked on the door of awealthy man’s home and asked to buyone of the pegs hanging in the foyer. Thewealthy man told him it’s not for sale.But the poor person kept coming backagain and again, asking to buy the peg.Finally, the wealthy person agreed. Thepauper paid a large sum, the wealthyman wrote out a contract. The next day,the pauper came back and hung someclothes on the peg. The wealthy manunderstood that it was his peg now, andhe had the right to use it as he desired.

Every day the pauper kept coming backto the wealthy home to hang up anotheritem, or to take something down. Oneday, he came with a carcass, and hehung it up on the peg. After a fewhours the wealthy residents could not

stand the stench and they all fled thehouse. That’s how the entire house

became the pauper’s.

The nimshal is, theyetzer haracomes toa person and tries to convince him to sinwith something relatively small. Theperson keeps pushing theyetzer haraaway, but after theyetzer harabothershim so many times, he gives in to that“small thing.” He figures that if he givesin, the yetzer harawill leave him alone.But now that the yetzer hara has afoothold with you, he will keep comingback, until he will bring very stinkingsins, and rule over you. This is Chazal’sintention (Shabbos105:), “This is thecraft of the yetzer hara, today he tellsyou to do this, and tomorrow he tells youto do that, until he tells you to worship

avodah zarah, and he does so.”

The Gemara (Succah52.) tells that in thefuture, Hakadosh Baruch Hu willslaughter the yetzer hara. To thetzaddikim the yetzer hara looks like amountain,7777 and they will cry. Why willthey cry?

We can explain it with amashal:

A person was traveling through thedesert, and needed a drink of water. Hecomes across a home, and knocks at the

7. It states, ההר סוב לכם ,רב “Much have you gone around the mountain.” Let us focus onthe words ההר ,סוב "around ".הר The letters around הר spell .קדוש (Because around the

letter ,ה ' from either side, is a ד' and a .ו ' And around the ר' there's ק ' and .ש ' Together, thesespell (.קדוש The ,הר mountain, represents the yetzer hara (as we quoted from the GemaraSuccah 52., that to the tzaddikim the yetzer hara appears like a mountain). If a person סוב

,ההר puts boundaries around the mountain to be guarded from sin, the result is ,קדושkedushah, holiness.


door. An Arab opens the door, and thetraveler quickly runs away. He doesn’t

want to take a chance with his life.

Later on he hears about another deserttraveler who came to that Arab’s hometo get a drink of water and wasmurdered. When he hears this, he beginsto cry because he realized with a

certainty from what he was saved.

The nimshal is related to moderntechnology. Modern technology hasuprooted many homes, and hasspiritually harmed many men andwomen, of all ages. When people, whoare cautious with the internet, hear (orsee) these painful stories of devastations,they cry. Their tears are tears ofgratitude, thankful that they are protected

from all of that chaos.

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