26 Aug SHOFTIM: FEAR IN ELUL

The sefarim discuss
the great fear that
Yidden experience in
Elul.
The Beis Aharon
(p.130:) writes, “The
main thing is that
everyone should draw
fear onto himself
during these days…”
One year, in Elul, the
Beis Aharon was in
Anipoli and davened
shacharis in the inn
where he was staying. Before he put on the
Rabbeinu Tam tefillin, he said to his gabbai,
“Quickly prepare the horses [to tie them
to the wagon for traveling]. My hair is on
fire from fear of Rosh Hashanah.” (Birkas
Aharon p.119). (He wanted to get home as
quickly as possible to prepare himself for
Rosh Hashanah.)
The Imrei Emes once traveled a long way
during Elul. He said, “For my father [the
Sfas Emes], the walls of the home would
tremble during Elul. But for me, on Elul, I
go on one train and then I get onto another
train…” The Pnei Menachem said that his

father, the Imrei Emes, said this due to his
humility, but actually, the Imrei Emes had a
lot of fear during Elul, and the fear was felt
in his home.
Rabbeinu Yonah (Shaar HaYirah 101)
writes, “From when Elul arrives until after
Yom Kippur, a person should be afraid of
the judgment.”
The Baal HaTurim (Netzavim) gives
some hints to Elul. One is from the pasuk
(Devarim 30:6) Es Levavcha V’es Levav,
that we should circumcise our hearts, and
the hearts of our children to love Hashem.
The roshei teivos of Es Levavcha V’es
Levav spell Elul. Also, he brings the pasuk
(Tehillim 27:13) Lulah Haemanti Liros
B’Tov Hashem, and he writes that Lulah
spells Elul.
He concludes with the following awesome
words: “From Elul on I am afraid before
Hashem.”
The Shlah Hakadosh explains the pasuk
(Amos 3:8) Aryeh Sha’ag Mi Lo Yira, “a
lion has roared, who will not fear.” He
writes that aryeh is is roshei teivos for Elul,
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hoshana
Rabbah.

Seven Gates
In Elul, when you judge
yourself and review your
deeds, special attention should
be given to the “seven gates of
the soul,” which are the two
eyes, two ears, two nostrils,
and the mouth. We must check
that they are used only for
Hashem’s honor. The parashah
begins with Shoftim V’Shotrim
Titen Lecha B’chol Shaareicha,
“judges and officers shall you
appoint in all your gates…” The
Shlah Hakadosh writes, “There
is a lesson of mussar alluded
to in these words, based on the
Sefer Yetzirah (4:42) which
states, “There are seven gates
to the soul: Two eyes, two ears,
the mouth, and two nostrils. A
person must guard these gates. They are the
sense of sight, the sense of hearing, speech,
and anger that comes from the nostrils….
Over these gates, one must place Shoftim
V’Shotrim, which means that one should
constantly be judging himself. This is the
meaning of Titen Lecha. He should watch

that there shouldn’t be an aveirah.”
One should judge himself constantly
whether he is using his eyes, ears, and
mouth properly and whether he is cautious
about anger. If improvement is necessary,
he should consider what he can take on that
will help him improve.