The 2 Part Avodah of Elul

If someone were to pose the question to us what the avoda of chodesh Elul is, so I would immediate instinctive response would be teshuvah. That we're supposed to be preoccupied with doing teshuvah. And clearly that response is correct and very much on target. But itochain that alongside that preoccupation and focus, there's another very central albeit overlapping, but distinct focal point for chodesh Elul. Chodesh Elul is שלשים יום קודם החג Rosh Hashanah, whether technically the different shittos in the Rishonim about which Yomim Tovim the din of שלשים יום קודם החג פסח, but without without getting involved with that question, it's clearly a hachana also specifically for Rosh Hashanah, not just part of the hachana for the for the package, for the season of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but שלשים יום קודם החג is a time of hachana for Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, if one has to summarize in a word what Rosh Hashanah is, so Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Tov of Malchiyos. And therefore, extending forward in time, clearly the hachana of the שלשים יום קודם החג has to be a hachana for Malchiyos. Now, clearly the preoccupation with teshuvah and hachana for Malchiyos, clearly they converge to a large degree, but they're not identical. It's not the identical avoda. Part of our hachana for Rosh Hashanah needs to be learning the sugya, primarily lamed bais, but a little bit elsewhere as well, learning the sugya of Malchiyos and using that as a springboard to understand what Malchiyos entails. And finally, the other element, the other component of the avoda of Elul as hachana for Malchiyos is to try to be preparing ourselves religiously, spiritually for the Yom Tov of Malchiyos. So maybe perhaps we'll try very briefly, very schematically, to enumerate, not really elaborate, but at least enumerate some of the elements of Malchiyos initially. So first of all, when we talk about Malchiyos, New York City, New York State, you can use the same term in a more in a more in a narrow context, in a broader context. So on the one hand, we speak of Malchiyos alongside Zichronos and Shofros, New York City. And then there's Malchiyos intended in a broader sense and that's what we're talking about now. And Malchiyos in a broader sense, when we say that Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Tov of Malchiyos, it means of Malchiyos, Zichronos, and Shofros, because Zichronos and Shofros are simply aspects of Malchiyos. מלך במשפט יעמיד ארץ, the Melech is responsible for. mishpat in his land the theme of Zichronos of Yedias Hashem v'sochar v'onesh is thus one primary element of Malchiyos recognizing Hakadosh Baruch Hu as Melech Hamishpat. Dina Demalchusa Dina, the Melech legislates, it's his prerogative from a human perspective talking about human Malchus we would say it's his responsibility as well but it's certainly the prerogative of the king to legislate. One of the two themes of Shofros, the Shofar associated with Maamad Har Sinai ויהי ביום השלישי וקול שפר הלך וחזק מאד. Maamad Har Sinai, Hakadosh Baruch Hu as the Melech who's Mechokek is a crucial element of Malchiyos as well. So Zichronos and Shofros are again they're part of Malchiyos. The Rav used to say that in our Shemoneh Esrei in the third Beracha where we add on the Yamim Noraim the Uvechein paragraphs so the Rav suggested that this served as רבי יוחנן בן נורי's Hakdama L'Malchiyos. The Mishna in Rosh Hashanah has a Machlokes between רבי יוחנן בן נורי and Rabbi Akiva whether or not Malchiyos are integrated into the Beracha of Kedushas Hashem which is the opinion of רבי יוחנן בן נורי into the Beracha of Hakeil Hakadosh Hamelech Hakadosh or whether it's integrated into the Beracha of Kedushas Hayom which is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva and obviously what we do. So the Rav said that the Uvechein's the same way in our Malchiyos in the Beracha of Kedushas Hayom עלינו ועל כן נקוה serves as the introduction to Malchiyos so in the Beracha of Kedushas Hashem this was רבי יוחנן בן נורי's introduction to Malchiyos which means that if we look at some of the themes which are highlighted in Uvechein's so it will give us insight into elements of Malchiyos.

ובכן תן פחדך ה' אלהינו על כל מעשיך ואימתך על כל מה שבראת.

L'havdil as much of Havdala as is possible so vis-a-vis Malchusa D'ara as well תשים עליך מלך שתהא אימתו עליך. So clearly Malchiyos emphasizes an approach of Eima that a person approaches relates to Hakadosh Baruch Hu with a sense of Eima Veyira Vafachad. But then there's something very curious here. ובכן תן כבוד ה' לעמך תהלה ליראיך skipping a couple of phrases שמחה לארצך וששון לעירך. So Yitachen the Pshat is as follows. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah on Lamed Aleph when it's talking about which Kapitel Tehillim we say as the Shir Shel Yom every day and each Kapitel corresponds to that day in Maaseh Bereishis.

רבי יהודה אומר משום רבי עקיבא בראשון היה אומר לה' הארץ ומלואה על שם שקנה והקנה ושליט בעולמו. בשני מה היה אומר גדול ה' ומהולל מאוד על ציון הר קדשו.

So we say that kapitel. So what does that correspond to in terms of Sheshes Yimei Bereishis? על שם שחלק מעשיו ומלך עליהן. So Rashi elaborates here. What happened on the second day of Maaseh Bereishis? Shichilek maasav. Rashi says:

הבדיל רקיע בין עליונים לתחתונים. ויעש אלוקים את הרקיע ויבדל בין המים אשר מעל לרקיע ובין המים אשר מתחת לרקיע.

That's what happened on the second day. So how does the kapitel of גדול ה' ומהולל מאוד על ציון הר קדשו, how does that mirror that aspect of Maaseh Bereishis? Says Rashi: דוגמת שכינתו בעיר ובהר קדשו. So on Yom Sheni, Hakadosh Baruch Hu introduced distinction into the briah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu distinguished between me'al larakia, mitachas larakia, כביכול נתעלה וישב במרום. And it's that same idea which is at the forefront of the kapitel of על ציון הר קדשו, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu introduced distinctions into olam hazeh also, mekomos kedoshim. But it's interesting that the braisa describes it as umalach aleihen. One of the prerogatives of the melech is bechirah. Bechirah is a prerogative of malchus and specifically Bechiras Yisrael. Recognizing, affirming, focusing upon Bechiras Yisrael is an aspect of malchus. And hence the relevance of

ובכן תן כבוד ה' לעמך תהילה ליראיך שמחה לארצך וששון לעירך.

All those core bechiros of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It's the prerogative of the melech who doesn't answer to anyone to be bocher, to choose. Another element, another aspect of malchus. We mentioned earlier the eimah. The eimah culminates, expresses itself in וישתחוו לפניך כל הברואים. Hishtachavah, which connotes pishut yadayim veraglayim, prostration, expresses total hisbatlus. Recognizing Malchus Hashem fully means feeling this sense of complete and total hisbatlus, which physically is manifest through hishtachavah. And it's perhaps this element of malchus which helps us shift the. to what it means to prepare oneself spiritually for malkhuyos. Malkhuyos should elicit from us that again spiritual, psychological posture of וישתחוו לפניך כל הברואים and and what that indicates is that a central focus of of our avodah in preparing for Rosh Hashanah, preparing for the day of malkhuyos is working on that is that avodah of of hisbattlus. Hisbattlus obviously which is engendered by awareness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, but which also expresses itself in terms of והוי שפל רוח בפני כל האדם. Genuine shiflus engendered by awareness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu expresses itself bein adam l'chaveiro, it has to express itself bein adam l'chaveiro as well. If if if one is generally nikhna to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, if if one has an awareness that everything is from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, including existence itself, so shiflus is is becomes a mode of being. It's not just when we stand shmoneh esrei. It it has to be present in in our bein adam l'chaveiro as well. And in many ways the bein adam l'chaveiro context provides the better test for authentic shiflus. When one is just standing shmoneh esrei and standing shmoneh esrei not only literally but as a metaphor or representative example of relating directly to Hakadosh Baruch Hu without having to relate to other people, so relatively speaking it's easier to manifest and to experience shiflus. But when called upon to be mevater to other people, to our friends, to people who are not our friends but should be our friends, to to family members, whoever it it may be, that's a better test and and the more exacting test of of how genuinely we feel and therefore exhibit the middas hashiflus. And at this stage one can understand how the hakhana for malkhuyos not only converges with the other avodah of Elul, of teshuvah, but in a certain way helps to guide and steer. And and elevate that avoda. And and that is because halevai that we should be, I I apologize for for projecting. halevai that we should be holding by doing teshuva meahava. halevai we should be holding by that, not rachmana litzlan to to be mekanter, but but just leshem havanas hadevarim to know what it is we we aim for, what it is we strive for. But truth be told, there is an element of self absorption in teshuva meyira. At the end of the day, teshuva meyira, even even as it must be teshuva, when it contains all the elements of teshuva, the nichamti uvoshti and and the the acknowledgment of asisiti kach vekach and and the the genuine sincere resolve of לעולם איני חוזר לדבר זה, at the end of the day, the driving force, the engine of the teshuva is my self survival, is my instinct for for survival, that's what a teshuva meyira is. מי יזכה לפניך בדין, and and in a paradoxical sense, halevai this should be our biggest problem and our biggest shortcoming. But in a paradoxical sense, one can become spiritually self absorbed while engaged in in avodas hateshuva. The hachana for malchuyos, the hachana of of seeing Elul as a time. Let's let's leave teshuva to the side for a moment as it were. malchuyos is about hisbatlus. When there's a coronation, there's no opening act, there's no secondary guest of honor, there's no whole list of guests of honor. There's there's one guest of honor. Everything is focused focused upon the melech when when there's a coronation. malchuyos is not about us. A teshuva meyira to a degree is about us. malchuyos by definition, וישתחוו לפניך כל הברואים, malchuyos is not about us, is not about the reflected glory of of being mamlich. malchuyos is something selfless, and in that sense, this avoda of Elul, the preparing for the hisbatlus, working on the mida of vatranus. Again, hisbatlus, not only by trying a little bit to to inject more of a lishma into what we do, into our avoda, but a hisbatlus which also again is is evident in our bein adam lachaveiro with the mida of vatranus, is something which can then and inevitably does spill over and and elevate and and sanctify the other hachana, the other avoda of Elul, the teshuva.