WHAT WE CAN DO......

 ABOUT TESHUVA

Four Week Plan for ELUL by Rabbi Miller zt”l

I’m presenting the main theme of each week’s plan. 

For extensive reading go to Toras Avigdor Parshas Re’eh

© Copyright 2024 by: TorasAvigdor.org

WEEK 1 – Keeping Quiet

Silence is Praise

Now, the first easy opportunity for teshuvah we’ll talk about is to

keep your mouth closed. Shesikah! Silence! Not only is being quiet easy—

we’re not being asked to do anything, after all—but it’s a great

accomplishment, too, because you’re producing something important.

That’s what the Rambam (Hilchos Dei’os) says:– A

person should always be producing a great deal of silence. You hear that?

It’s not just that you’re not talking—you’re manufacturing something

important.[…]

Elokim is Here

Now, who better to turn to for explanations than the chacham mikol

adam? Shlomo Hamelech tells us in Koheles (5:1):– Don’t

be in a hurry to express yourself,– and your

heart, your mind, shouldn’t be in a hurry to say something in the Presence

of Hashem.

Now, those last words, lifnei Hashem, are very important; it’s the

explanation we’re looking for: “Why should you not be hasty to open

your mouth? Because you’re standing lifnei Hashem, in front of Hashem.

The question is what does in mean ‘in front of Hashem’? When you’re

in the Beis Hamikdash?  Maybe in the beis haknesses? 

In the beis haknesses, you surely shouldn’t speak, 

but here “lifnei Hashem” doesn’t mean that.

It means anyplace. What does that mean, that you’re standing in front of

Hashem? It means that wherever you are,

– Elokim is in the heaven, and you’re down below on

this earth (Koheles 5:1). And He’s watching; He’s looking at you.

Oh, now something else comes into the picture—Elokim is in the

picture! Elokim is in Shamayim, above you, looking down at you; little

you standing on this earth.– Therefore, your words

should be few. That’s why you shouldn’t talk so much.

[…]

The Great Light

Now you can understand what the Gra wrote in his famous letter. We

should listen to these following words and memorize them; it should

become a motto for all of us:– For every

moment that you muzzle your mouth,– you’ll be rewarded

by the concealed light,– whose greatness no

malach and no creature can possibly measure.

WEEK 2 - Smiling

The Gemara (Kesubos 111b) tells us in one place how great is the

mitzvah of smiling to a fellow Jew. There’s a passuk in the Chumash, וּלבְֶן

שִנַׁיִּם†מֵחָלָב†– The whiteness of your teeth is better than milk (Bereishis

49:12). What does that mean? So, our Sages make a play on words and tell

us a yesod for life:– It’s better to show your fellow man a smile 

with your white teeth than give him a drink

of milk. A smile is better for his health than a cup of milk.

[…]

Shammai says,– You should receive

all people with a pleasant cast of countenance (Avos 1:15). Shammai said

only a few words, less than ten words, but it’s full of information. […]

First of all, it says, “kol ha’adam—all people.” It means not only the

person you like, who smiles at you. Kol ha’adam means even a nudnick,

even someone you don’t like. Some people are not so pleasant. 

Sometimesa fellow likes to talk a lot,…… But still,

a smile you can afford to give him. That’s the command of the Torah—

you should greet every man with a pleasant cast of countenance.

WEEK 3 - Think

Now we come to week number three of our Elul program. We

practiced being quiet, and then we added to that the seiver panim yafos.

And now that you’re quiet and happy, your mind is available to accomplish

even more. That’s how the Rambam understands the words of our Sages,

– Silence is a fence for wisdom (Avos 3:13). 

When a person

is prattling, words and words and more words, so his mind can’t function

well. But now we can begin applying our minds even more to teshuvah.

But remember, we’re looking for the teshuvah that is karov eilecha,

something that’s close to us, easy to do. And so, we’ll talk now about

transforming our ordinary deeds; not about adding more deeds, but

about taking our regular deeds and using them to fulfill this passuk of

shuvu el Hashem.

We’re going to quote the Mesillas Yesharim at the end of chapter

sixteen. […]

Now listen to what the Mesillas Yesharim says. I’ll read it in English:

He says, “This, in truth, is the test that the servants of Hashem were

tested with, and this is what set apart each one according to his degree

of greatness. What was the test? It was a test of who was capable of

purifying his heart more—he was the one who was closer to Hashem and

more beloved to Him.” What does that mean? So, he explains: “When

they did their ordinary deeds—not the great deeds that are written about

in the Torah, the heroic deeds of self-sacrifice that we always speak

about—but even their daily deeds, they were done with the intention of

serving Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”

Constant Service

And our Sages say that this attitude, this way of life, applies to every

single one of us. The mishnah is talking to all of us when it says,

– All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven (Avos 2:12).

Now, when the Rambam quotes that mishnah, he says it’s a remarkable

statement. When we learn it, we don’t see anything remarkable. Certainly,

everything should be done l’sheim Shamayim; why not? But the Rambam

is nispa’el from this statement! He’s excited over this statement because

those words are the heart of our lives. It means that we can live our

lives—our ordinary lives—as ovdei Hashem. We can try as much as we

can that with every physical, material act that we do, as much as possible

we can do them for Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

And it’s a greatness that’s so easily available to all of us. Because

people spend a lot of time and effort doing things; you spend effort on

your home, on preparing meals, on cleaning the house. You spend effort

on taking care of your clothing, on slaving away in the office or the

factory. Who doesn’t spend hours during the week for material things in

his home and his business?!

WEEK 4 – Fear

Fear is Obligatory

And now we come to week number four, the last week before Rosh

Hashanah. It means that the Day of Judgement is coming, and that means

that it’s time to become afraid, to learn some yiras Shamayim.

[…]

And it’s not just any mitzvah—it’s the pinnacle of success! You

remember when Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to praise Avraham Avinu

after the tenth test that He gave him, the Akeidah, and Avraham passed

the test successfully, what Hakadosh Baruch Hu said about him? What

words, what title did He give him? He said, 

– Now I know that you are a man who fears Elokim (Bereishis 22:12). 

To fear Hashem, that’s the paramount achievement.

[…]

It’s a Gemara in Yevamos (63a): 

Troubles come on the world only because of the Am Yisroel. 

And Rashi says,– to make Jews afraid,– 

so that they should do teshuvah. That’s one of the big 

reasons that things happen in this world

Crashes Happen……Illness for a Purpose

This last month before the Day of Judgement, you’ll be busy showing

Hakadosh Baruch Hu that you’re serious about doing real teshuvah,

about changing your direction in life. And when we set out on this last

month of the year in the right direction, this month is going to be the

stamp, the chasimah, the conclusion of the year. We have a plan now!

We’re doing something! Not just something—four new things that will

transform our lives!

And even though there may be many more things that you should be

doing that you’re not, but at least there are a few things you are doing.

Hashem will see that you’re headed in the right direction. And if you’re

headed in the right direction, then– If you’re trying to get better, 

He’ll help you go further and further (Menachos 29b). You’ll

get siyata d’Shmaya to do more and more, and you’ll live many more

years of happiness and accomplishment in avodas Hashem.

You Need a Plan

And so, we come back now to that statement in the Torah:

– This commandment that I am commanding you today to do

teshuvah,– is not in the sky.

This last month before the Day of Judgement, you’ll be busy showing

Hakadosh Baruch Hu that you’re serious about doing real teshuvah,

about changing your direction in life. And when we set out on this last

month of the year in the right direction, this month is going to be the

stamp, the chasimah, the conclusion of the year. We have a plan now!

And if you’re

headed in the right direction, then– If you’re trying

to get better, He’ll help you go further and further (Menachos 29b). You’ll

get siyata d’Shmaya to do more and more, and you’ll live many more

years of happiness and accomplishment in avodas Hashem.

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