07 Sep Elul
The roshei teivos of לולא†is:
ונניע†ה≠ילו†ה≠יל†ונא.
The Imrei Chaim zt’l said that the translation of these words “we are to Hashem and our eyes are to Hashem” insinuates the importance of guarding one’s eyes, especially in Elul. Similarly, the final letters of אל†לגר†לע†ונושל†spell לולא†. A tzaddik in our generation explains that the translation of these words is, “He doesn’t speak lashon hara and forbidden words…” hinting to the importance of guarding one’s speech, especially in the month of Elul. We will be using our mouths to pray to Hashem on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; therefore, it is vital to keep this utensil holy and pure so the tefillos will go up before Hashem.
Rebbe Yechiel of Moosh zt’l would say, “The Lechovitzer Rebbe zt’l paskened that Elul is the beginning of the new year” (Toras Avos). We think Elul is the end of the year, but the Lechovitzer Rebbe taught that it is the beginning of the new year. Based on the principle that everything is dependent on the lead, and according to how the beginning transpires, the body follows suit רירג†אפוג†רתב†אשיר†,(we understand the importance of having a good Elul.
As a bachur, Reb Yidel Berger shlita visited many tzaddikim, to learn from their ways. Once, he went to Bnei Brak for Shabbos, to be with Rav Kahaneman, the Ponovitzer Rav, zt’l. On Friday night, he davened in the Ponovizh yeshiva and watched many bachurim come to wish the Ponovizh Rav good Shabbos and walk him home. When the bachurim left, Reb Yidel knocked on the rav’s door. The rebbetzin answered the door and was shocked to see a chassidishe bachur there. He said, “I don’t have where to eat. Can I eat the seudah here?” “Of course,” she replied, and she immediately told her husband that they have a guest. (Reb Yidel says that he had siyata dishmaya that she invited him into their house, and she did not tell him to go to the yeshiva, where a Shabbos meal was being served for all the bachurim.) The memories of that meal never left him. This is one of the stories that the Ponovizher Rav related at that meal: To build the Ponovizh yeshiva, Rav Kahaneman traveled to chutz le’aretz to collect money. When he came to the United States, he planned to remain there for half a year.
Soon after he arrived in America, he had severe pains in his feet. People advised him to go to the hospital, and a few roshei yeshivos (who lived in America) went along with him. The doctors diagnosed him with diabetes, “Your life is in danger,” they said. “The only solution is to amputate your foot.” The roshei yeshivos translated to Rav Kahanaman what the doctors had said and added that since it is a matter of pikuach nefesh, he should accept their decision. Reb Kahanaman said, “As far as I’m concerned, there won’t be an operation until the Chazon Ish tells me to do so.” The doctors saw the patient’s resistance and asked the roshei yeshivos to explain what was going on. The roshei yeshivos explained that Rav Kahanam wants to send a telegram to the Chazon Ish, because he refuses to be operated on without the Chazon Ish’s consent.
“Who is the Chazon Ish?” the doctors asked. “Is he a great doctor or a famous professor?” “No. He is a rabbi who lives in Israel, and the patient relies only on his opinion.”
The doctors never heard of anything like that before. The patient was in great pain, and his life was at risk, and medically speaking, he needed the operation immediately. They said, “By the time you get a response from the rabbi, it may be too late.”
The roshei yeshivos repeated the doctors’ warning to the Ponovizher Rav. They added, “According to daas Torah, you must protect your life“. The Ponovizher Rav replied, “For me, daas Torah is the Chazon Ish. I won’t go ahead with the operation until the Chazon Ish says I should.”
(The Ponovizher Rav was stubborn, but that was his holy trait.) It was this stubbornness and determination that enabled him to accomplish so much in his lifetime.) The roshei yeshivos sent a telegram to the Chazon Ish. They received an answer a few days later. The Chazon Ish’s telegram said, “Don’t let them amputate your feet.” The doctors made the Ponovizher Rav sign that he refused the operation, and that he takes responsibility for his life. They nevertheless permitted him to remain in the hospital. The doctors were shocked when they saw the Ponovizher Rav’s health improving, and slowly he regained his mobility and was able to start walking again. They never saw a medical miracle like this one, and soon the rav was discharged from the hospital. He was able to raise the much-needed funds, which would enable him to open the Ponovizh yeshiva. He remained in America for half a year, as planned, and then returned to Eretz Yisrael. At the first opportunity, he came to the Chazon Ish, and the Chazon Ish greeted him with a shining countenance. The Ponovizher Rav asked, “You aren’t a chassidic Rebbe (who are more accustomed to performing such miracles). Why did you advise against operating?
The Chazon Ish replied, “I was in the middle of learning when I got your telegram. I raised my eyes to Heaven and thought, ‘Oy! Ribono Shel Olam! I am in Bnei Brak, and the question came from the far away New York. How can I answer this question, when I know that if I say yes it will be yes, and if I say no, it will be no? Your life was at stake; how could I take responsibility? I prayed, ‘Please Hashem, enlighten my eyes in Your Torah. Show me the answer to this question in Your Torah.’
“I immediately looked at the Gemara Shabbos that was open before me. My eyes looked at the words “Is it possible to cut off a head and he won’t die?’ I thought to myself, ‘The feet of the Ponovizh Rav aren’t really feet. For him, they are like his head because the entire yeshiva is dependent on his feet. Without feet, how can he go from place to place collecting money for the yeshiva? I understood that Heaven was hinting to me that your feet mustn’t be cut off….” We see from this story that, sometimes, what appears to be the feet are really the head. Elul seems to be the end of the year, but it is really the head of the upcoming year. If we use this month for teshuvah and for tefillah, we will merit life and good in the forthcoming year.
The Beis Avraham zt’l taught, it shall be Hashem’s will before Tishrei, in the month of Elul that the Jewish nation should enjoy spirituality; it should be sweet like honey to them.”
Someone once traveled a long distance to testify in court for a crime that someone committed. The judge asked the witness, “Did you see the crime or did you just hear about it?” The witness admitted that he had heard about it, but he said that he heard about it immediately after it happened, and everyone was talking about it. “That doesn’t make a difference,” the judge said. “You didn’t see it with your own eyes, so your testimony is worthless.” As the witness got off the stand, he muttered under his breath, “This judge is a real fool. I traveled so far to get here, and he doesn’t even listen to my testimony.” The judge asked the people who were near the witness, “What did the witness say now?” They replied, “He said the judge is a fool for not accepting his testimony.” The judge said to the witness, “You can sit a few years for saying something like that!” The witness replied, “Did you hear me say it, or did you only hear it from others…?” The lesson is, there are things that one does not actually hear and see, but he believes it with certainty, just like someone who actually saw it or heard it. To explain this some more, we quote a Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 30:14). The Midrash says, “The esrog represents the heart, the lulav the spine, the hadasim correspond to the eyes, and the aravah to the mouth.” We can ask, we take one lulav and one esrog, because a person only has one heart and one spine. But why do we take three hadasim? We only have two eyes! The answer is, we have three eyes, because in addition to our corporeal eyes We have eyes of the intellect, too. Even when we do not actually see with our eyes, our minds understand it clearly as though we actually saw it with our eyes. We do not see the judgment of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with our eyes (therefore, some people aren’t very afraid). But we must believe in its truth as though we actually see it, and then we will have the proper fear of the judgment. This was not an easy year, as we all know. What if we knew in Elul of ט״עשת†what was coming up, how would our Rosh Hashanah appear; how would Elul be? Reb Chaim Friedlander zt’l was ill and was in extreme pain during the final year of his life. He said, “If I knew what was coming up, I would have stormed the heavens on Rosh Hashanah.” We don’t know what’s in store for next year, but we do know that everything is being determined now, and we should invest our energies in teshuvah and tefillah. Some people find the fear of Elul and the yomim noraim too heavy, and they want these days to pass by quickly. But without adequately taking advantage of these holy days, they will lack the atonement that these days offer. The Or Pnei Moshe discusses this point, based on the following Midrash (Devarim Rabba 7:10): Hashem said to Moshe, “If you ask for הרבעא†אנ) Devarim 3:25) there won’t be חלס†אנ†.If you want חלס†אנ†there won’t be הרבעא†אנ†“.The Or Pnei Moshe explained that there are fifty-one days between rosh chodesh Elul and Simchas Torah. If a person says that these fifty-one days should just pass by quickly, he will not have the atonement of חלס†אנ†.If you want the חלס†אנ, you cannot have אנ†הרבעאÆ