Israel Salanter

And therefore, the Gemara tells us, his Yisroel went away.

Now Rav Yisrael Salanter, after discussing these very strange stories, asked a very basic question.

What exactly did Rebbe do wrong? It wasn't like he did something which was usser.

In the first story, he wasn't doing an aveira, the calf was being taken out for shchita.

And he understood that even though he didn't need to let these animals live in his house, and even though there's nothing wrong with sleeping them out, yet, nonetheless, there's still room for Rachmanos.

And at that moment, the Yisroel, this punishment went away.

Rav Yisrael Salanter said that this idea of having compassion and mercy to all of Hashem's creations and specifically to our fellow people that we deal with on a daily basis is a very powerful idea for us as we get closer and closer to Rosh Hashanah.

On Rosh Hashanah, we ask HaKadosh Baruch Hu to be Rahim on us.

We're supposed to be very serious.

Rabbi Yisrael Salanter was once walking, and he saw a student of his who on Elul, like, wouldn't, wouldn't smile, looked very serious.

And Rabbi Yisrael Salanter said, "What does your yirat shamayim have to mean that I don't get a smile?" It doesn't-- It's not supposed to be the teshuva that we're broken and we're depressed and we're upset and we're sad.

But you read the Rabbeinu Yonah, and it becomes somewhat challenging.

To have real charata, we don't wanna live no regrets.

This is the opening part of his entire sefer.

And the way he describes teshuva and the comment that Rav Matisyahu Salomon Zecher Tzadik Livracha right afterwards is, is a game changer.

Says Rabbi Yisrael Salanter-- Says, sorry, the Shaarei Teshuva, source number two at the bottom of page one, "Min hatovos asher heitiv Hashem Yitbarach im bruav", among the great things which God bestowed onto those He created, "Ki heichin lahem haderech lalos mitoch pachas ma'aseihem v'lonus mipach peshe'em." Of the greatest things that God created, of the greatest things that He gave us, and He's given us everything, He gave us life, of the greatest gifts is teshuva, that He prepared a path to allow us to ascend from pachas ma'aseihem, from the baseness of our actions, v'lonus mipach peshe'em, and to run away from our sins.

Uh, the, uh, the words that, uh, that give a-an inclination towards Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in L'David are [Hebrew], "My light and my salvation." Uh, with Chazal saying that my light refers to Rosh Hashanah and my salvation refers to Yom Kippur.

And, uh, and on this, uh, Rav Yisroel Salanter asks, uh, that, uh, that it seems to be, and this is, uh, probably the experience of everyone who has gone through a Yom Nora'im in their life with any sort of intentionality, that it seems out of order.

Uh, that, uh, that the, the day of, of Teshuvah to, and, and to such an extent that we, that we have the month of Elul to essentially reflect the out-of-order nature of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

You would think that Teshuvah would come before the day of judgment, that first people have the opportunity to do Teshuvah, and, uh, and the, uh, and the, um, the, uh, inspiration and the, the efficacy and the, uh, and the system in order within which to do Teshuvah, and then after that, to, uh, to arrive at judgment.

And yet we have the, the judgment, the day of judgment, Rosh Hashanah, and then afterwards, Yom Kippur.

So why is it, uh, that we go out of order, and how does Elul fit into all of that? Rav Yisroel Salanter explains that, uh, human nature, uh, is, uh, is such that, uh, we tend to procrastinate, we tend to avoid things that are uncomfortable until the last minute.

Uh, and, and so, uh, if there is, uh, if there is a, uh, a, a Teshuvah opportunity, uh, then, uh, then we, uh, then we might not take that Teshuvah opportunity because what we're really concerned about is judgment, is, is being judged.

On a basic level, we're, we're more concerned with judgment than the opportunity for connection.

And this is really, you know, this is really the Gemara in Ksubas, in Kafei HaMebeis, the Gemara has stories like this.

And Yisrael writes from Yisrael Salanter, And he says that they make a makes a mechitza between the emas and the Avram Gazensky and the Teres Avram He says, He says, Every person can get to such a place.

And Agav, the Chaznish, in his letters, he says, And Agav says, Yeah, we had fights, but it was gishmak.

Actually, another gadol who was a little against them, bring down from Cook, that he tightened that the altar from Sabbat was meremim.