CHOIDESH ELUL: PREPARING FOR THE CORONATION - Rabbi Nachum Scheiner Mishmar Shiur

There was once a successful businessman. What was his niche in business? He used to sell his merchandise on the black market. He brought it from one country to another country. In one country it sold for cheaper. He brought it through the border. Smuggled it through the border. He had a whole mahala how he did it. He knew exactly which border was quiet, when it was quiet, when in the weekend to go. And that's what he did. Used to bring his truck full of items through the border. And in the next country he sold it. I guess now to bring the example with the tariffs, Canada, America. And that's how he made money. He avoided all the taxes. This person weeks before already, he's super nervous. What's going to be if he's caught? If he's caught, then he he loses everything. He's going to get a big fine. He might even end up in jail. He's nervous for weeks. The truck driver, however, he also could get in trouble, but he's only he's only nervous two, three days before. He's not busy with this. This is not his whole life. He knows he has a schedule that he has a trip that he has to make through the border with a truck. He's a bit nervous two, three days before. Needless to say, the truck, of course, is not nervous. The truck doesn't have any brains and just goes through the border regardless of the outcome. And if they get caught, they get caught. The person, the one who owns the company, is very nervous. The driver, two three days before, says the Briskover, we're in the days of Elul. We're actually tonight, halfway through. Tonight is Tes Vov Elul. We're halfway through Elul, says the Briskover. There are different pointers to be more aware to remind us of Elul. Starting from Rosh Chodesh, the shofar, for the Selichos. And if a person didn't pick up yet by shofar, the shofar of Elul, so then the Selichos, a week before Rosh Hashanah. And if that, at least not that, you have Rosh Hashanah, you have Yom Kippur. Says the Briskover, at least don't cruise through the whole entire Elul, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and just miss it all. Person should be in tune. Now, for some people, they would say, "I actually would rather be like the truck. I would rather not be involved. Elul is very stressful." And the truth is that Elul is not stressful. Somebody once asked Rav Dovid Cohen, and he spoke about this in public. He said, "Somebody once asked him, how's he supposed to deal with anxiety that he has during Elul?" So, Dovid Cohen said, "If you have anxiety from Elul, that's not Elul. You missed the point. That's not Elul." Rav Aaron Kotler says, "You know what Elul is what Elul is all about?" says Rav Aaron Kotler. And that is his before Aaron. Elul Ani Ledodi Vedodi Li, but Elul is Yemei Ratzon, Yemei Rachamim. I'm going to quote the lush and he says the highest level yes ocean God all the Shari of the gates of this from the open up and all the gates of acid on a short in a short time in a little bit of time in the days of after the Torah and just a little bit the person could accomplish with Torah Torah Torah throughout the year of a person wants to do Torah these are the Torah person wants to learn it's harder to learn and it's easier to learn it's easier to easier to learn obviously of course these are bigger for some reason and these always a million things to do and it's preparing for and the school is starting definitely I find in myself for some reason okay the school is busy but for some reason millions of things come up these are reasons definitely because a person could accomplish so much these are bigger and Torah Torah the brings from a Torah that a person when he learns is a thousand times and some say a thousand is just to bring out but it's even way more a thousand times more than during the week no wonder you see person naps and everything about the Torah so also a person has to know that Elul is an unbelievable opportunity. >> What? >> Yeah, yeah, richtig, you're very good. That's why to daven a little later, richtig. The chodesh of Elul? >> Is is Elul like Shabbos? Like Shabbos is >> Yeah, I I brought Shabbos. I brought Shabbos as a moshol to understand that because it's a higher level, there's a bigger nitzoyon and it's harder to tap in. Elul as well also. But Elul is a month Elul is a month that it's yemei rachamim verotzon. >> More than any other month? >> Absolutely more than any other month, yes. >> You mentioned Shabbos earlier before that. During [clears throat] the week, Hashem sits on his kisei hakavod. Friday night, he comes to sit by your Shabbos table. For the whole month of Elul, >> [laughter] >> Hashem is here to sit there in the field. >> Avoda. The one who says that is the Baal Hatanya. The Baal Hatanya says that in the month of Elul, "Hamelech basadeh." Maybe we'll get to it soon. I'll try to speak a little bit of the avoda. Could be I mentioned that at one point, it could be. I'll bring it up a little bit when we speak about the avoda of Elul b'siyata d'Shmaya. But it's important to note one more thing before going in what the avoda is. It's important to note that a person might say, "Listen, Elul is yemei rachamim, yemei selicha vekapara. I'm just going to let it pass and let it be. Let me have it with it passing." >> You said >> The Medrash says "Evra no yeshkan." Meaning to say how the Seforim explain, it's more al pi drush, maybe al pi chassidus, but this is the idea. "Evra no yeshkan." These are the words that the Medrash as explained, "Evra no." If a person will say, "Evra no, let the days of Elul just pass by. I don't want to I don't want to get busy with with Elul. Everyone I'll let it pass by. Then the words of the madrichim slicha inkun. A person wants to have the days to be slicha of the kapara. Person has to tap and he can't just say Elul should pass by. What did he say? Ah ah so we're going to speak we're going to speak one second we're going to speak what avoyda is. With Hashem's help I'm going to speak what avoyda is. But I want to just say one more point. There's so again what we said so far what we said so far very important is that a person has to at some point remember binnis oyra that it's yimei rachamim v'ratzon like the Brisker Rav's mashal either with a shofar of Elul or with slichos or Rosh Hashanah aseres yimei teshuvah Yom Kippur but somewhere to tap in. If a person says Elul let the whole let it let it pass. I want to go to sleep now I want to wake up after some chustaira then slicha slicha inkun he's going to miss out. What is taku what is the avoyda? What is the avoyda? Like we mentioned before one thing is clear the avoyda is not lachatz the avoyda is not anxiety. Avoda Rosh Hashanah is a yom hadin. We're appearing for a yom hadin and let's not fool ourselves the reality is in the yom hadin clearly mechiyei meisim that is the yom hadin that's the fact if you look back to the previous year there were people that were unfortunately in the meisim. It's a yom hadin. But what's the avoyda? Rosh Hashanah we're mamlich the Ribono shel Olam. We're mamlich the Ribono shel Olam. Okay so what does that what does that have to do with us? Like the Gamara says ain melech beloy am. How will we mamlech the Ribono [clears throat] shel Olam by us being avdei Hashem? By us being avdei Hashem. >> No king without a servant. >> So, what does that mean us being avdei Hashem? Just a fancy term? What does it mean avdei Hashem? What does it mean? What does it mean an eved Hashem? What does it mean an eved Hashem? Uh So, the Radak just I'm going to read the words of the Radak, very good, doing his ratzon and remembering, doing what the Aibershter wants, the Radak right at the beginning of Sefer Yehoshua when it says that Moshe Rabbeinu was an eved Hashem so the Radak explains, what does it mean an eved Hashem? What does it mean an eved Hashem? If we want to work the month of Elul to be machen for Rosh Hashanah, Rosh Hashanah is the day that we'll mamlech the Ribono shel Olam. If we mamlech the Ribono shel Olam means how we mamlech? By us being his servants, his avadim. His avadim. So, the Radak says you know what an eved Hashem is? Me she sam kol kochoi vekavanosai he puts all his energy and his mind like you mentioned before, everything is with a focus to do the ratzon Hashem. Me she sam kol kochoi b'Shem Yisborach. Now it doesn't just mean that when I go to daven, I check it off, I go to daven, okay, that's that's an eved Hashem. I I I go to daven. Says the Radak when you're eating you're also doing the ratzon Hashem. V'af this ask b'inyonei ha'olam mis >> In other words, is a person constantly thinks I'm doing Doesn't It's not only It's not by learning anything a person does that's and I just recently moved about a week ago. Thank you. My father [clears throat] told me from a motion a motion speaks about this and he somebody when he He said also of of This is wants. Like told The wants. So then a person But it's everything. Every step whatever you that is being of doing that's and Just last Thursday I was a wedding and I met the from Gabai. Tell me stories unbelievable stories. from a show Yeah, Levy. So he tells me It was once a very important Imagine sitting around the table. Big was a lot of planning let's say upcoming So you sit listen we want to be successful what's the what we going to speakers plan the whole event. So they down together from with and And they turn from show other to the holy covenant and asked him, so what is the Mashgiach say? What's what's on the agenda? What should we put on the agenda? So her Mati show answered, you want to know what's on the agenda? Whatever the Aibershter wants. So the Sganim say, yeah, very nice. Let's make a plan. Let's make a schedule. And then afterwards we'll dive into the Aibershter that it should be settled in the sky. And then rather Mati show he said, no, no, no, no, it's not like we bring in the Aibershter later. You always live with the Aibershter. That is our way to serve Hashem. Everything the Aibershter is, like what the Rab Doc says, it's not only when you go into shul, then you're ever Hashem, you're davening. Every step of the way a person is a ever Hashem, ever Hashem been Adam and Hava right me does Hashem. Be ma me does of. That's all goes into being a ever Hashem like the Rab Doc says, not only by davening. The office ask going in your new home alone. Whatever he does in the world must have in my void does a curious Barack. But yet even in davening also, even in our void does Hashem, we're constantly being mom look the Aibershter. When you make a Barack, we we should be making a Barack a hundred times a day. And when you make a Barack, Baruch Hashem I came in my life alone. We're being mom look the Aibershter. We're reminding ourselves by being mom look the Aibershter my life alone. The mom look of the whole world of us also with the habit. >> May he hear me out. >> Very good. Not only very good I talk have a written on after the main issue may have a also. I have other main issue is the same thing. The MS said over from his father the MS. That a person needs a Yeshua. We don't know a sham. He could play with the Yeshua. So the MS said he thought. What on a sham on a sham she know. On a sham she know. Enough. Which on a sham on a sham can be after the heart. The is if a person internalizes understands works and. That that way that is a avid. That brings all the brocha. So if a person wants to tap into that way that all. That way that all that all that all for a shana that will take a bit of time. These you may for a long time. Is focusing. That we're an avid. That way that my sir. A person might think. >> [snorts] >> We're an avid sounds a little bit like depressing. An avid or no avid avid is not the. >> Not American. >> So what does it mean I'm a I'm an avid it sounds a little bit if you want to call it a little degrading. So the MS is. >> Be with you but. >> Not only. >> What? >> That you get it. That it's not supposed to be depressing. Other you only allowed to do that way that of being an avid only the same this week the toy comes. Talk us I shall lie. You were over a sham but you have to be an avid a sham the same heart. So anybody that thinks that that way that all whatever that way that is is like it makes a person depressing. That misses the whole point. A person has to do it besimcha. 100% besimcha. In nismat kol chai that we say Of course, ivdu et Hashem besimcha. Besimcha. Ivdu et Hashem besimcha. And then right afterwards v'lo yanachnu. Right? Ivdu et Hashem besimcha. We should be oivdei Hashem. We should be avdei Hashem but besimcha. The avodah of Elul being makein is the simcha. But then it says v'loi anachnu. There's a kri and a ksav. V'loi with an aleph, lamed aleph. And v'loi with a vav. Says the Chidushei HaRim >> [snorts] >> the lamed aleph and the lamed vav is Elul. What's the avodah of Elul? V'lo yanachnu with an aleph. V'lo yanachnu, it's not us. We're not in control. We don't have it figured out. We don't control the outcome. V'lo yanachnu, it's not us. Dahainu, because we're avdei Hashem. This is all what the Ribono shel Olam wants. We're doing for the Ribono shel Olam and it's what the Ribono shel Olam wants the outcome should be. V'lo yanachnu, it's not us. Then we'll have v'lo yanachnu. We'll belong v'loi to him, belong to Ribono shel Olam. But the sayis the avodah of Elul ivdu et Hashem besimcha. But then the mizrach, it's every day avodah. Elul's no different. Avodah tachas asher lo avad temimcha. What? Yeah. You're always supposed to be besimcha. That's clear. But the avodah is avodah of a person to work on himself to be a ever Hashem. Ever Hashem meaning to say is is that he thinks, he stops for a minute when even when he's davening, even when he's davening. A person could daven and just davens but then he thinks of the words he's speaking about giving daughter of person is a ever Hashem, that's the avoida. Just to be Messiah and bring out the point a drop more. This avoida of working of being ever Hashem you see it's different. It's not just that it's preparing for Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah is a day that comes and goes. La have dough la have dough el 12 dollars. You have July 4th. It's a legal holiday celebrate celebrated cuz that's when America became a country. So it's July 4th you celebrate and then you move on the next day July 5th it's past. La have dough la have dough the avoida is it's an avoida to be able to it's not just something that we work now for fear of a Rosh Hashanah so we could have Rosh Hashanah that we have the Hashem. This is really an avoida avoida for the whole year. Like the Rebbe of Meilich says in Settle Cotton, he speaks about that if a person wants a change of meida, person has a bad meida he wants to change the meida he should work on it for 40 days. He should kill himself for 40 days and I'll see that it's going to change. You see the 40 day 40 is a big number. So we have 40 days now from Rosh Chodesh Elul till after Yom Kippur, 40 days to change that a person it's not just something that we're tapping in because we need to prepare for Rosh Hashanah cuz we're the Hashem. Our whole self very good. We should be to utilize these days you may and the rough sign that it's easier it's easier to get closer to the Aibishter, getting closer to the Aibishter below Yana being closer to the Aibishter is to be able to be like we said on Verma the seal Whoever knew Ramada seal is that sound I can't say I knew him knew him but he was a regular person. He was a sad day he gave Adam Shurem but he's a very relatable person. You saw him and down to earth help people who was able to talk to anybody kids It's not because he was in disguise that he said that that by that I see for whatever the Aibishter wants. Person that's a ever a sham a person ever a sham is everything you live with the Aibishter day in day out doesn't matter if it's an Aseefer doesn't matter if it's anything else. We should be so good. We should all have a seal of a casino table. >> Amen.