11 Aug ELUL: BRINGING BACK THE HUNGER

As we begin the month
of Elul – the month when
we are to introspect and
make an effort to grow
and improve – it is worth
paying close attention to a
pasuk which we say each

morning as part of our tefillah.
In the chapter of Mizmor L’Todah (Tehillim
100), we make the following mysterious
pronouncement: D’u Ki Hashem Hu
Haelokim, Hu Asanu V’lo Anachnu. Literally,
this means, “Know that Hashem – he is G-d;
He has made us, and not us.” What do we
mean when we say that Hashem made us
“but not us”? What didn’t we do? Do we not
realize that He created us and we didn’t create
ourselves? The answer is that Hashem, in a
sense,
finished His work of “making” us, but we
haven’t. We still have work to do. Hashem
created us with a body and with strengths
and talents – but the rest is up to us. So, Hu
Asanu– He is finished “making us.” However,
Lo Anachnu – we are not finished making
ourselves. As long as we are alive, as long as
our heart is beating and we can breathe, we
have work to do.
We are never a finished product. It doesn’t
matter how old we are, how much we’ve
accomplished, or how much we’ve tried to
accomplish but have failed. We have work to
do. We can still grow, and we need to grow.
Many years ago, an outstanding Rabbi named
Rav Nosson Wachtfogel spent a Shabbat in
Deal. He was the esteemed mashgiah ruhani
(spiritual advisor) of the Lakewood Yeshiva,
a key figure in the yeshiva’s development
from a small outpost of Torah to the enormous
empire that it has since become. He came to
Deal in order to raise money for a new project
– to start small kollels in various communities
throughout the United States.
My father was very inspired by this visit.
Rav Wachtfogel was close to 90 years old
at that time. He was already remarkably
accomplished, having taught and touched
the lives of thousands of students, and
having played a key role in the building of
Torah in America. At that age, with so many
accomplishments on his record, he could
have easily said, “I did enough.” But here he
was, an elderly man, working hard to start yet
another important project.
My father was inspired by this – because he
was the same way. He was always working,
always striving, always reaching higher,
always trying to do more. Even when he was
ill, and it was clear that he did not have much
time left, he was starting new writing projects.
His hunger for achievement was insatiable.
This is what V’lo Anachnu means. As long
as we’re still here, we’re not done. We have
much more to do.
Interestingly, the word V’lo this pasuk has
two different spellings (called the Kri and
the K’tiv). It is spelled v’lo, but alternatively
v’lo. According to this alternative spelling, the
phrase V’lo Anachnu means “we are His,” we
belong to Hashem.
These two spellings are very closely
connected. When we live with an awareness of
V’lo Anachnu, that we are not complete, that

we have much more to accomplish, then we
become Lo, connected to Hashem. We build
and strengthen this bond by constantly striving
to be better.
In business, executives look to hire employees
who are “hungry” for success, who are driven
and motivated to achieve. In professional

sports, too – teams want “hungry” players,
who will do anything to win a championship
year after year.
Elul is a time for “hunger,” to rekindle our
passion for greatness. This is the time to wake
ourselves out of complacency, to realize that
we can and must be better. And when we

come before Hashem on
Rosh Hashanah with this
“hunger,” setting our
sights on greatness, He
will warmly accept our
tefillot and give us the

help we need to grow.