Rav Yisroel Salanter zt"l used to say: "How great is the Mercy of HaKadosh Baruch Hu upon us! For if He had given us the Command of Yom HaKippurim to observe only once in seventy years to forgive us for all of our sins, this would be considered for us great fortune and very supreme kindness! And now that He has given us this opportunity each year, how very much do we need to feel our fortune and the kindness of Hashem upon us!" (HaMeoros HaGedolim).
Rabbosai! Now that we do have this opportunity, we must use it well. It is not only the chance to have a clean slate (with Teshuva), but also a new beginning in a way.
As we discussed for Rosh Hashanah, we need to try to have lasting Teshuva and lasting changes for the better. But how do we do so?
Perhaps we can glean the answer from a quick story that happened to me this morning: I had just stepped out before going to do Shacharis, when I saw that some of our outside-rugs needed adjusting, as they had been blown out of position by the wind. Now, this could easily have waited until after Davening, but I decided to take care of it really quick. As I went to fix them up, however, a bee came buzzing right near me -- near my legs, mid-section, and even face and head -- and I had to stay almost totally still until, finally, it flew away.
Well, I was glad it was gone. Anyway, now I could fix the rugs. But as I was doing so, yet again, this bee came buzzing all around me, and even landed on my one of my fingers. Baruch Hashem, however, I didn't get stung and it buzzed away. After this, I rushed back inside. But I began thinking about the fact that maybe it wasn't just a bee just happening to fly around here at this moment, acting aggressive; maybe it was a message from Hashem that I should Daven first. So indeed, I went to do Shacharis.
After Davening was finished, I went back to fix up the rugs, and sure enough, (Baruch Hashem) the bee didn't bother me at all, and I didn't even see it
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The message from this little story is that we might not be able to hear Hashem speaking to us like Moshe Rabbeinu, but maybe we can in a way... Indeed, Hashem does speak to us every day just like we speak to Him! He sends us messages, but it is up to us whether we hear and take them to heart as we should, or Chas V'Shalom, take them as just coincidences. The example of this I like to give is say you are about to go do something you aren't supposed to (whatever it is), and you trip. Hashem is trying to tell you to not go do that thing!
And this is one of the ways to be a better person and have lasting changes for the better: To try to listen to and internalize the messages Hashem sends us every day.
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Before we finish, though, I would like to share with you something beautiful I heard from my Rebbe, Rav Moshe Shulman shlit"a: He quotes from the Kedushas Levi (Rebbe Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev zt"l) who explains that the difference between having a broken heart (Sheviras Lev) and depression (atzvus) is that if we, Chas V'Shalom, did something wrong, that thing was bad -- we aren't bad. What we did was evil, but deep down, we are still good people.
It is up to us, with the Help of Hashem, to clean those bad things out of ourselves, and bring out our true selves -- not just for right now, but for all time, B'Ezras Hashem.
May Hashem inscribe you and your family and friends in the Book of Good Life, may you be helped to do proper Teshuva and have lasting affects for a long, long time to come, and may you continue to grow and grow -- and help others to grow -- in Torah and Mitzvos, for many, many, many more years in good health and be zocheh to see Mashiach Tzidkeinu with your own eyes, very speedily in our days!
Gmar Chasima Tovah, Gut Shabbos, an easy fast, and a Shanah Tovah U'Mesukah to you and your family!
Kol Tuv!
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