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out our NEW virtiual Gratitude learning center click here for more info If you would like to be added to the daily chizuk saying email click here. If you would like to make a comment click here The following that you are about to read are inspirational stories and
chizuk to help one during the month of Elul and the Yamim Noraim. I wish everybody a Shana filled with much Bracha and Hatzlacha.
May we all be zoche to sing the Shir Chadash, to hear that one t'kia from Hashem that will bring us into a time of Moshiach,
where everyone will sing Hashem's praises and we will all live in peace and harmony.AMEN! Lichvod/Dear Klal Yisrael our Sages teach, מקום שבעלי
תשובה עומדים אין צדיקים
גמורים יכולים לעמוד
בו - a ba'al teshuvah stands on a higher plane than even the greatest tzadikim.
Let us take advantage of these awesome days to return to G-d and enjoy the wonderful life ofקרבת
אלקים. Please continue to check this page for additional chizuk stories that will IY"H be added (Please add in your chizuk/story/mashal) to help us during the Yamim Noraim. IY"H Bracha and Hatzlacha E.N. “אני לדודי ודודי לי” I am to my Beloved [Hashem] and my beloved [Hashem] is to me.(Shir Hashirim 6:3). דרשו ד' בהמצאו קראהו בהיותו קרוב Seek out Hashem when He is nearby, call out to Him when He is near.(YeShaya 55:6) Chazal tell us that the Pesukim above are referring to the month of Elul! The 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur are a special period when Hashem is extremely close to us, and He is waiting for us to return to Him, to do Teshuva (repentance) and to strengthen ourselves in Torah, Tefilah and Good Deeds. Not only is it importnat to grow spiritually in this time period, it is also much easier to attain higher and loftier goals than it would normally be during the rest of the year. Let's take advantage of this closeness to Hashem and become better Jews in all areas of our lives , and thus hasten the coming of Mashiach and the rebuilding of the bais Hamikdash very soon. Amen!
Some great books to read to help one with Teshuva: Moadei HaShanah-Rav Shimshon Pincuszt'l The practical Guide to Teshuva-Rabbi Shaul Wagschal The Power of Teshuva-Rabbi Heshy Kleinman Tewerski on Machzor Rosh Hashana-Rabbi A.J. Tewerski M.D Pathway to Prayer-Rabbi Meir Birnbaum ELUL
IS TESHUVA TIME!!! 1. click here for great things to get/order to help one get closer to Hashem. 2. click here for great things to do. The History of Elul On the first day of Elul, 1313 BCE, Moses ascended Mount Sinai. Some six weeks ago he had shattered the first set of tablets, inscribed with the Ten Commandments, and now he took along with him a second set of tablets, which he had hewn at G-d's directive, for G-d to re-engrave the Ten Commandments. Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days, until the 10th of the Jewish month of Tishrei (henceforth known as Yom Kippur), and brought down the second set of tablets, demonstrating G-d's whole-hearted forgiveness and reconciliation with the people of Israel following their betrayal of the covenant between them with their worship of the Golden Calf. Ever since then the month is referred to as a period of "divine mercy and forgiveness."Our sages taught that just as in response to Moses' plea for forgiveness, G-d responded "I forgive." So too if we return to the ways of G-d, especially during these days prior to the High Holidays, we will merit G-d's forgiveness. All in all, Elul is a time of reflection, thinking of what we did in the past year and what has to be corrected.
Lichvod/Dear Klal Yisrael We know that Hashem is always with us. We can always ask Hashem to fulfill our requests and needs, but during the month of elul, Hashem is even closer to us, "right next to us on that park bench." He's waiting for each and every one of us to call out to him, to cry out to Him, to return to Him. Let's not miss the opportunity of this month!
!!!!!!!!!!IT'S ELUL-LET'S WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!! #1. During the month of ELUL There was once a king who ruled in this town. Once a year he would take of his
crown and his royal clothes. He would then put on regular clothes and go out to speak with the people to hear and see what
he can do for them. No one would know on which day the king would do this. One day the king got up and said today is that
day. He got up, dressed in regular clothes and went out to the park. He saw a man sitting on a bench and decided to sit next
to him and ask him how everything was doing. The man answered that everything is doing well, so the king asked do you
need anything and the man answered no, I have everything. The king asked if there was anything he can do for him and
the man answered no. The next day, news of this event hit the newspapers. People read the story of
how the king went out in plain clothes and asked someone at the park how he was and if there was anything he can
do for him. When the man who was in the park read the paper and realized that he had been sitting next to
the king, he was devastated at having missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had a long list of requests
that could have been fulfilled by the king. We know that Hashem is always with us. We can always ask
Hashem to fulfill our requests and needs, but during the month of elul, Hashem is even closer to us, "right
next to us on that park bench." He's waiting for each and every one of us to call out to him, to cry out to
Him, to return to Him. Let's not miss the opportunity of this month! #2. LEARNING FROM THE COBBLER - Once on Rosh Chodesh Elul, the rabbi, Rabbi Levi Yitchak of Berditchev was standing at his window as a gentile cobbler passed by. "Have you nothing to mend," the cobbler asked the tzaddik. The tzaddik immediately fell to the ground and wept bitterly. "Woe is to me and alas for my soul for the day of judgement is almost upon us, and I have so many things to mend!" (Zichron L'Rishonim) #3.TESHUVAH - May it be Your will that You, Hashem, place in our hearts the desire to repent before you so that we shall not be ashamed in front of our fathers in the world to come. (Jerusalem Talmud, Brochos 4:2) #4. MEET ME HALFWAY - A prince was once a 100 days journey away from his father. His friends urged him to return to his father but he replied, "I can not because I do not have the strength to return on such a long journey." His father, the king, upon hearing of his response sent word to him saying, "If you cannot return all the way, come back as far as your strength will allow and I will go the rest of the way to meet you." So, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to his nation, Israel, "Return onto Me and I shall return onto you." (See Pesikta Rabbasi 44, 9) #5. TO IGNITE A FIRE, YOU NEED A SPARK - A nonbeliever once approached the Dubno Maggid and challenged him to see whether he can influence him with his words of wisdom and transform his from a sinner into a righteous man. The Maggid told him the following parable. A city man once came to a primitive village where he observed a crowd of people at a place where they were attempting to fan a small fire into flames by blowing with the force of their lungs. He explained to them that they could save a lot of effort if they would have a pair of bellows that would the fan the fire for them. The villagers did not even know what bellows were, wo the visitor made them a pair and left it for them as a gift. When he returned a few weeks later the villagers pounced on him and anrily told him that his bellow did not work. They had tried with all their might to press and push the bellows but they could never start the fire. After inspecting the bellows, the city man told them that they were in perfect working order and he did not understand why they did not work. "Let me see how you used them," he said to them. "First of all, where are your lit coals?" "You mean we need lit coals to," the simple villagers asked in astonishment! "Fools," replied the man, "bellows alone can do nothing. If there is already a lit fire, the bellows can fan that fire into great flames, but you must have the first sparks to begin with." Said the Dubno maggid to the agnostic, "My words can only influence a person who has a spark of Yiddishkeit already in his soul. I can attempt to ignite that spark and fan it into a bright flame of Torah and mitzvah observance, but as for you, whose soul is quite obviously dead, the spark has been extinguished. No words of mine can affect you no matter how inspiring they may be." (Dubno Maggid) #6. It's Not The Drums, They Are Only A Signal The Dubno Maggid would tell the following parable during the Yamim Noraim. A simple man on a visit to an island was awakened one night by the loud beating of drums. Startled, he inquired as to what was going on, and he was informed that there was nothing to worry about. A fire had broken out, but the drummers had been alerted, and the fire had soon been extinguished. In his naivete, he thought the drums were magic and could extinguish fires. He purchased a few of the most expensive sets on the island and had them shipped to his home town. He distributed the drums to his neighbors, and told them not to worry about the next fire that would strike the drums would take care of everything. Soon enough another fire broke out the people all began frantically beating their drums while he calmly assured them that everything was going to be all right. To his dismay, one house after another burned to the ground, and it was soon apparent that the drums were worthless. Immediately, in his fury and shame he returned to the island to inquire what happened. "Foolish man," they told him, "Did you really think it was the beating of the drums that put out the fire? The drums were merely a signal to our highly efficient fire brigade to douse the fire with water." The same is true for us, said the Maggid. There are foolish people that believe that merely blowing the shofar, beating our breasts (as we do on Yom Kippur), or just raising our voice during prayers will extinguish the raging fires of sin and evil that burn within us. They are badly mistaken. These are only the alarm signals that must rouse us from our spiritual slumber, cause us to repent sincerely and to mobilize our Torah learning, mitzvos, and good deeds. Only these are the real waters that can extinguish the fires. #7. The Master Key- A Broken Heart Before one Rosh Hashana, the Baal Shem Tov, who was to blow the shofar, instructed Rabbi Zev Kitzes, who was to call out the shofar notes, to learn the secret meanings of the shofar blasts. He did so, and even wrote them down on a slip of paper so that he can look at them at the appointed time. When the time came, Rabbi Zev attempted to bring out the paper, which he thought was safely tucked into his kitel. To his utter dismay he could not find it, and in his confusion could not remember any of the special hidden meanings. Broken hearted and weaping, he called out the shofar blasts to the Baal Shem Tov without any special thoughts in mind. After the shofar blowing had been completed, the Baal Shem Tov told Rabbi Zev the following: "In a king's palace there are hundreds of rooms, and on the door of each room there is a different lock that requires a special key to open it. But there is a master key which can open all the locks. That is a broken heart. When a person sincerely breaks his heart before Hashem his prayers can enter through all the gates and into all the rooms of the celestial palace of Hashem." (Or Yesharim) If you would like to make a comment click here # 8. Here is a comment I recieved 8-31-08 it talks about the importance of Chodesh Elul i would like to share one more story. i am a b'h, bli ayin hora, two time survivor of breast cancer. The first time, i was diagnosed in Chodesh Elul. i was terrified and used all of my energy to channel my fears into the power of Chodesh Elul and Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. b'h , i really felt that i had given it my "all" and b'h after the yomim tovim i had my treatments and the cancer was gone. Four years later,, it returned.. YOU GOT IT!!!. In CHodesh Elul again!! This time, i was thrilled and THANKED Hashem for the phenomenal timing again that i had the zchus and power of Elul and the Yomim Noraim to daven my heart out!! and again, b'h after yomtov, i had the necessary surgeries and today, b'h many years later, ( bli ayin hora )i am cancer free!! soo please, understand that CHODESH ELUL has tremendous power of tefilah and beseeching Hashem for whatever it is that we need or want from Hashem!! IT is the BEST time of the year to cry out and storm shamayim with our hearts, tears and of course to also give tzedakah to help "Divrei Chizuk", or any worthy cause of your choice. Teshuva, Tefila and Tzedakah are the MAGIC formula for blessings this time of year! May we all get chizuk from each other and bring Mashiach soon to bring us to a world of peace, good health and total shalom!! shavua and chodesh tov! ms added 8-19-09 B'zchus this, Miriam bas Leah Bayla should find a shidduch b'korov and Hashem should focus on all the wonderful,
daily, Torah filled emails that many people read and grow from and use all the Malachim created from this incredible Kiddush Hashem to wipe out any and all evil decrees against us C'V and at the same time bring Bracha and Hatzlocha. AMEN!!!!
#9 The Mashel: There was once a king coming to visit a city under his control. Just like when Obama comes to town there are police and secret service men lined along the road for miles and hours ahead of his arrival. this king also had his guards line the entire road that he would be traveling on. Obviously there were men that were stationed all the way at the end of the road and the king would not be anywhere near that area for quite a while but, orders are orders. Now this particular day was very hot and humid and the guards, standing in full gear, were sweating profusely. One of the guards at the end of the road was extremely hot and all he wanted to do and was jump into the river that was nearby. But he had to stand in his position, if the king were to come and he wasn’t there he was finished. There were no radios and he had no way of knowing if the king was ten minutes or hours away. And at one point he could no longer take it and ran to the river. As he was enjoying the refreshing water he lost himself in a mesmeric trance only to be startled by the sound of drums and trumpets announcing the arrival of the kings procession. The guard did not know what to do, he couldn’t get dressed and make it back to his place before the king would arrive but he also couldn’t stand in his position completely unclothed! He decided that it was better to be there then not at all so he ran and stood in his place with out any clothes on and minutes later when the king passed and saw one of his guards standing undressed he stopped and summoned that man. The guard was very, very nervous and thought this was the end. He was standing naked in front of the king!! The king looked at him and said “I know it is very hot and you just wanted to cool off in the river but to stand here like this without any clothes on is very disrespectful and for that you should lose your head. But, I also know that you are standing here because you have to protect me and if you would not be here who knows what may happen. So even though your behavior is completely dishonorable and unbecoming of an officer, you did it for me and for that you will be allowed to go.”
The nimshol is: We think that we have done horrible and unspeakable things and thus are completely ashamed to stand
before the Ribono Shel Olam but if we do stand before Him and offer sincere regret He will accept it. We shouldn’t
hide behind our sins nor think that all hope is gone. It’s just the opposite. Hashem wants us to come back and come
closer and despite our past deeds show that now we are ready, we have learnt from our mistakes and are here to change but
we desperately need his help. Just like the guard knew it was better to be there then not at all, we need to confront our
errors and beg for help so they won’t happen again. It’s never too late. 8-31-08 #10. I loved your chizuk stories for Chodesh Elul! Wow.. what a great way to start the new Chodesh! Shavua and chodesh tov to all! i wanted to share something very special to me. Many of us have heard or read amazing Holocaust stories about the Blushever Rebbe. I grew up davening in his shteibel in Boro Park. i could not understand when i was a little girl, why the entire davening of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur,, the rebbe just cried and cried and cried. As i grew up and started reading the stories about the Rebbe,,i totally understood. HIs pain was soo tangible. I was just in Eretz Yisroel on Pesach and found at the "Holocaust Chambers" on Har Tzion a "metzvah" that was dedicated to the entire town of Blushev/ The entire town was destroyed by the Nazi's Yimach Shmam..On the "matzvah".. it was written that they had decided that "ROSH CHODESH ELUL" would forever be the "yahrzeit" of the town of Blushev. And so, if anyone would like to join me tonite..or tomorrow nite and light a yahrzeit candles li'elui all the precious and pure neshamas that were wiped out in the Holocaust..please feel free and may they be 'malitz yoshers' for all Klal Yisroel!! Chodesh Tov..by margie shabat 9-15-08 #11. This was told to me by a deer friend: It is from Yeshiva Nitiv
Aryeh ROSH HASHANA - DYNAMITING THE FOUNDATIONS OF SIN / YOM KIPPUR - HAMMERING AWAY AT THE INDIVIDUAL BRICKS Rosh Hashana is the first of the Aseret Yemei Tshuva. In what way does this manifest itself? Not only do we not recite viduy but we avoid any mention of sin in order not to awaken any prosecution against us (see Mishna Brura 584:3). We are permitted to think thoughts of tshuva in our hearts, but we do not make explicit verbal mention of sin. Why do we not confess and enumerate our sins on Rosh Hashana the way we do on Yom Kippur? In general, how does the fact that Rosh Hashana is one of the ten days of tshuva find expression? How can we count Rosh Hashana as one of the days of tshuva without confessing our sins? I thought we could use the following analogy to explain this idea. What would be if there was a high wall before us in this case the wall of sins separates us from Hashem "Rather your iniquities have separated between you and your G-d" (Yeshayahu 59:2) and we were commanded to knock it down. How should we go about our mission of knocking down the wall? There are two possible ways in which we can carry out this task - the first is to take a hammer and chisel and knock off stone after stone. This way is difficult and requires much effort. There is another method as well, and that is to dig under the foundation and use dynamite or some other explosive to knock it down. Once the foundation is knocked down, the entire wall will collapse all at once. At times this is a much quicker method. This is precisely our task on Rosh Hashana. We do not knock down sin after sin, we do not recite "al chet shechatanu" and enumerate each of our wrongdoings - rather we, shake the foundation of sin - we dig under the foundation of the wall of separation. What is the foundation of the building of sins? Not recognizing Kingdom of Heaven. We think that there is something to be gained from sin, but it is all nothing. We will gain nothing by sinning. Hashem is King, what He says takes place, and if He does not decree it then it does not take place. When we truly understand this, we will not sin. Once we have done that, destroyed the foundations, it is much easier to confess on Yom Kippur for each of our sins. On Yom Kippur we strike at each brick - we spoke loshon hara, we violated the Shabbat, the Torah's usury laws, etc. We saw was that "it was to no avail" - we did not gain from it. Once we reach the clear recognition that Hashem is King and only His word is truth and nothing else, it makes the task of confessing on Yom Kippur with total regret much easier. The foundation of tshuva was laid on Rosh Hashana by shaking the foundation of the wall of sins. We need to use a strong explosive to feel that the only good in this world is serving Hashem and recognizing the Kingdom of Heaven. When we do this on Rosh Hashana then we will have no trouble finishing off the tshuva process on Yom Kippur. Then with Hashem's help we will conclude Yom Kippur with a Gmar Chatima Tova and we will be blessed for a good year. 9-14-08 #12. This story was sent to me by a very special person. "I went to a Rosh Chodesh shuir
in Chicago given by Rabbi/Dr. Jerry Lob. I want to share w/u an unbelievable story of chizuk that he told us. #13. Hashem
is carrying you/us There was once a person who died and went up to shamayim. There he saw his whole life flash before him by the sea. Whenever times were good, he saw two sets of footprints in the sand. However, when times were rough, he only saw one set. At the end of the viewing, he turned to Hashem and asked, "Hashem, during my good times you were always with me, but when I needed you most, why did you leave me alone." Hashem replied, "my beloved child, who I love more than anything, it was during those times that I was carrying you. #14. Meet Me Half Way A prince was once a hundred days journey away from his father. His friends urged him to return to his father but he replied: "I cannot, for I do not have the strength to return on such a long journey." His father, the king, upon hearing of his response sent word to him, saying: "If you cannot return all the way, come back as long as your strength will allow, and I will go the rest of the way to meet you.'' So the Holy One, blessed be He, says to His nation Israel: "Return unto Me, and I shall return unto you.'' (see Pesikta Rabbasi 44, 9) |
Elul - the Route and the Destination
Adapted from the sefer Nefesh Shimshon – Elul and Yomim Noraim (p. 32 in the Hebrew edition.) by Rav Shimshon Dovid Pincus zt"l
The Navi (prophet) Elisha used a certain expression: "Neither is this the route nor is this the city." This is a very important moshol (parable, allegory). When a person plans a trip there are two very important facts he must clearly define: the destination and the directions (the derech) to get there. This moshol teaches us a lesson in life. In order to accomplish anything in life, we have to know exactly where we're going and the right route how to get there. The means are the "path" and the goal is the "city."
Rosh Chodesh Elul is the beginning of the derech, the "route". But it is a long journey, in quality as well as quantity. The traffic signs are the days of Elul comprising the blowing of the shofar and the daily recitation of לדוד ה' אורי "To Dovid, Hashem is my light", Slichos, Rosh Hashana, the Ten Days of Repentance, Yom Kippur, Succos, Hoshana Raba, and Simchas Torah. We are all familiar with these street signs, and we know the derech. We know we must conduct ourselves on a higher spiritual level during these days, be careful with our actions and with our speech. We know that Rosh Hashana is a Day of Awe. We know that the Aseres Yomei HaTeshuva (the Ten Days of Repentance) are days when we attain a very special and personal Divine assistance. We all know that Yom Kippur is a very holy day. We all know the "derech", we know the means to get to the goal.
But what is the destination? What is the goal we are trying to reach after this remarkable time period? We have to define for ourselves the goal – what objective do we wish to reach. Because if we don't, we will never get there. We daven: אבינו מלכינו נא אל תשיבנו ריקם מלפניך "Our Father our King, please don't leave us empty handed before You." Without a clear goal we are in danger of coming out of these wonderful Days of Awe empty handed.
The Goal – Ein Od Milvado
The last of the cycle of holidays, the culmination of these Yomim Nora'im (Days of Awe), is Simchas Torah. We have the minhag of opening the hakafos by reciting the possuk, אַתָּה֙ הָרְאֵ֣תָ לָדַ֔עַת כִּ֥י ה' ה֣וּא הָֽאֱלֹקִ֑ים אֵ֥ין ע֖וֹד מִלְּבַדּֽוֹ: "You have shown yourself to us, to know that the Lord He is G-d; there is none else besides Him" (Devorim 4:35). A great Gadol once said, the purpose of the entire cycle beginning with the month of Elul and continuing through the Yomim Noraim, is to get to Simchas Torah with the recognition and feeling the truth that Ein Od Milvado, there is none else besides Him!
This is the goal that we yearn for. To recognize that Ein Od Milvado. That's the city we're going to. But we have to delve more deeply into a practical way of getting there.
This goal seems too lofty for us. In the previous generations lived great giants of Torah and Yiras Shomayim. The Gedolim of the past could be expected to attain the recognition that Ein Od Milvado. But us? How can we expect to get to such a lofty peak?
Many great ideas have been expressed by a moshol. Let's attempt to explain.
In a hospital there is a ward designated for patients suffering from especially difficult illnesses. One night they appointed a fresh intern to take the night shift in the ward. The ward was full to capacity with critically ill patients. The new intern looked over his duties and was very concerned. How could he tend to all these patients alone? It was too much for one doctor. He consulted with his supervisor and expressed his apprehension. But the supervisor answered, I understand you and you're right. But we're understaffed right now and we have no way of sending in a second physician. "It is reasonable to assume that the night will pass uneventfully," he said trying to calm the intern. "But if you encounter any difficulty immediately call us and we'll send you a backup team."
The intern started his shift and the troubles immediately started piling up. One patient after the other woke up with severe complications. The young physician found himself running from bed to bed trying to cope to the best of his ability. But he wasn't up to the task, he was too inexperienced and he failed to give the proper medical treatment for all the problems. Towards morning disaster stuck. All alone, exhausted, while giving the necessary treatment to one critically ill patient, another patient in the ward died before he succeeded in getting to him to save him.
The young intern was brought before the disciplinary board for causing death through medical negligence and malpractice. The poor doctor stood before the judge and tried to defend himself. "I literally worked with tremendous self‑sacrifice. I ran from bed to bed and didn't rest for even a minute the entire night. I was overworked and exhausted from the ordeal. How can you accuse me when I did everything in my power? Under the circumstances, it was impossible for me to get to him in time to save him. You're demanding the superhuman from me!"
The judge stared at the young intern and sternly rebuked him. "You were instructed in advance that if you couldn't cope you should call for help. Who asked you to try and manage on your own? You are guilty of causing death from negligence since you didn't alarm the supervisor that you needed help!"
This is exactly what Hakadosh Baruch Hu will claim to each and every one of us. "You claim that you couldn't cope with Yiddishkeit and your avodas Hashem? Who asked you to try to cope on your own? You should have cried for help and screamed out, 'I can't do this on my own! Hashem, help me! Give me advice and teach me how to cope!' If you would have done that I would have come to you and helped you and advised and directed you how to cope."
True, each one of us should prepare a plan how to succeed in his own personal spiritual avodah. But someone who relies on his own plan and thinks that his own abilities are enough to properly serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu is mistaken. We ourselves can't do it. We have no way to reach the exalted levels of avodas Hashem of the previous generations. They were far above us. And even they couldn't cope alone. Dovid Hamelech trembled from Heavenly Judgment. He was able to deal with fighting bare handed a lion and a bear, but from Hashem's Judgment he was petrified. So we little scrawny beings who are petrified of lions and bears – how can we cope with Elul and the prospect of standing in Judgment before Hashem on Rosh Hashana?