Chizuk for the 5th of Elul by Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli, Shlit"a

The following is based on Rabbi Shmueli's Hebrew Chizuk video for the 5th of Elul.

The Days of Elul and the Power of Preparation

With the help of Hashem and His salvation, we find ourselves five days into the month of Elul. How much must a person hasten during this time to repent, perform good deeds, and conduct a thorough accounting of the soul! Every morning upon waking, one must reflect: Today, with the help of the Blessed Creator, we will advance in the service of Hashem. How shall we proceed? How will one study a page of Gemara, learn the Zohar, review Halacha, and genuinely strive in divine service? This daily resolve is essential.

The Parsha, the Root, and the Nature of Inception

Our Torah portion opens with the laws of war: "When you go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem your L-rd delivers them into your hand and you take captives. And you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire her..."

In this passage, several distinct topics are juxtaposed:

1. The beautiful captive woman.
2. The inheritance of the son born to an unloved wife.
3. The law of the wayward and rebellious son (Ben Sorer U'Moreh).

Rashi explains the connection by noting that the Torah only permitted marrying the captive woman as a concession to the evil inclination. If Hashem had not granted a permissible outlet, a person would marry her unlawfully. Even great, righteous, and pious men—those not affected by: "the man who is fearful and fainthearted shall go and return to his house"—would find it nearly impossible to withstand such trial without this dispensation.

However, because such an act originates from impulse rather than pure intention, its end is predictable: the woman will eventually become unloved by her husband, and from her will be born a wayward and rebellious son. The Torah places these passages adjacent to one another to teach that when a marriage is founded not for the sake of Heaven, it yields hatred and rebellion.

Judging the Future: Yishmael vs. The Rebellious Son

A fundamental question arises regarding the rebellious son. At the moment he is sentenced, he has not committed a capital offense; he merely stole money from his parents to consume meat and wine as a glutton and a drunkard. The Sages explain that the Torah anticipates his trajectory: as his desires grow, his parents will no longer be able to fund his habits. Driven by lust, he will eventually resort to robbery and murder. Therefore, the Torah mandates that he die while still relatively innocent, rather than guilty.

Yet why is he judged based on his future trajectory, when the Torah explicitly establishes regarding Yishmael that a person is judged only "where he is" (ba'asher hu sham)? When Yishmael was dying of thirst in the desert, the angels argued that Hashem should not save him because his descendants would harm the Jewish people. Hashem rejected this, stating that a person is evaluated solely by his present state. The Talmud in Rosh Hashanah confirms this principle through Rabbi Yitzchak: a person is judged only according to his actions at that specific hour.

Why, then, is the rebellious son treated differently?

The Rabbis explain that the rebellious son possesses a fundamentally rotten root. When the foundation itself is corrupted, everything built upon it will inevitably turn out rotten; there is no realistic hope for a good outcome. Conversely, Yishmael possessed a holy root—his father was Avraham—meaning there remained potential for goodness. Indeed, Yishmael ultimately repented.

If one sows thorns, no amount of water will produce fruit; it will only grow more thorns. Water symbolizes the Torah. Even if a person with a corrupted foundation studies Torah, if the initial seed was a thorn, thorns will emerge.

This principle applies similarly to a mamzer. Why is such an individual forbidden from entering the congregation? What did the child do wrong? The issue lies in the inception: he was conceived through forbidden, impure acts driven by sinful passion. The root was planted in impurity.

Impressions in Utero and Elisha ben Avuya

The Talmud in Yoma illustrates how subtle spiritual influences during pregnancy affect a child's soul.

• The First Case: A pregnant woman smelled food on Yom Kippur. When the Sages asked Rebbe (Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi) what to do, he instructed them to whisper in her ear that today is Yom Kippur. They whispered to her, she was calmed, and her craving subsided. From that child came the great sage Rabbi Yochanan.
• The Second Case: Another pregnant woman smelled food on Yom Kippur and was similarly whispered to, but she was not calmed. From her descended Shabbetai, the infamous food hoarder and evil merchant.

This explains a striking anomaly in Pirkei Avot. The Mishna quotes: "Elisha ben Avuya says: He who learns Torah as a child, to what is he compared? To ink written on new paper..." Throughout the rest of the Talmud, Elisha ben Avuya is never called by his name after his heresy; he is referred to anonymously as "Acher" ("The Other One"). Why did the Mishna explicitly use his actual name here?

The Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, explained that Elisha ben Avuya serves as the living proof of his own teaching. Why did Elisha stray to evil ways? Because his root was compromised by his parents' intentions. His father, Avuya, dedicated him to Torah study not for the sake of Heaven, but out of pride when he saw the honor given to scholars. Furthermore, his mother had eaten from idolatrous offerings.

Therefore, when Elisha taught that childhood learning endures like ink on new paper while later learning is like ink on erased paper, his own life demonstrated the power of early foundations. Rebbe specifically recorded his name to teach that everything depends on the quality, purity, and holiness of the inception.

Pure Intentions and Holy Ancestry: The Ades Family

Because the root shapes the future, one must exercise extreme care to ensure that thoughts and intentions remain pure, particularly when seeking to raise righteous children.

Rabbi Yosef Ades, zt"l, was a beloved lecturer at Yeshivat Porat Yosef. His students spent much time with him, often visiting his house. His mother was a woman of exceptional righteousness whose sons all grew into world-class Torah scholars, including Rabbi Yehuda Ades (Rosh Yeshiva of Kol Yaakov), Rabbi Ezra Ades (Chief Rabbi of Herzliya), Rabbi Daniel Ades, Rabbi Yitzchak Ades, and Rabbi David Ades of Bnei Brak.

When asked why all her sons became great rabbis, she revealed a practice handed down by her father-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Ades: She was instructed to maintain completely pure thoughts at all times and to visualize the image of great righteous Torah scholars in her mind. By maintaining this holiness, she merited children who illuminated the world.

These scholars descended from a line of remarkable giants. Their maternal grandfather was Rabbi Ezra Raful, and their uncle was Rabbi Avraham Raful, the elder sage of Aleppo (Aram Soba). Rabbi Avraham Raful would come to Porat Yosef every single day, visiting a different classroom each time to deliver words of moral instruction (Mussar). He would check on the students' daily discipline, asking: "Did you eat bread (Pat) today?"—referring to the weekly Torah portion with Targum (Parashat Targum)—and ensuring they kept up with daily study regimens like Chok Le'Yisrael.

In his old age, after study sessions, he would sit with the students. As a master paytan knowledgeable in musical modes (Makamat), he would imitate the sound of a violin with his mouth before singing, filling the room with sweet holiness.

The masters of that generation—such as Rabbi Yehuda Ades and Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul—acted exclusively for the glory of Hashem. They avoided personal honor, stood firmly for truth, and maintained absolute inner purity regardless of external influences.

The Power of Holy Inceptions

The vital necessity of a holy beginning is illustrated across generations:

• Rabbi Moshe Shapira would tell his young students Rashi's commentary on the verse "To speak of them" (Ledaber Bam): the moment a child begins to speak, his father must teach him "Torah tziva lanu Moshe" in the Holy Tongue. Rashi notes that if a parent fails to do this, it is as if he buries the child. Citing Rabbi Yeruchem of Mir, he explained that if the very first words spoken to a child are not words of Torah, his spiritual trajectory is fundamentally skewed from the start.
• Rabbi Chiya ensured that Torah would never be forgotten in Israel by founding his institution entirely on purity from its absolute inception. He personally sowed flax, spun nets, hunted deer, fed the meat to the poor, and prepared parchment from the hides to write the books of the Torah—ensuring every stage was performed purely for the sake of Heaven.
• The Vilna Gaon taught that if a synagogue is built from its foundation with absolute holiness and pure intent, anyone who prays inside it will be protected from foreign thoughts during prayer.
• The Volozhin Yeshiva laid its cornerstone not with celebrations, but with hours of intense weeping and prayers. It was said that the founders shed enough tears to mix the mortar for the building.
• The Ponevezher Rav fasted, wept profusely, and recited Psalms on the day he founded the Ponevezh Yeshiva, refusing even a cup of tea, desiring only that his tears merit the growth of great scholars.

The Baal Shem Tov emphasized that when a person wakes up, his very first thought and word must be dedicated to holiness and Torah. This is the meaning behind "The first of your dough (Arisoteichem) you shall lift up as a gift"—the word Arisah relates to Eresh (the bed). Immediately upon waking, one must rise and conquer the Evil Inclination rather than lingering in bed.

Sanctifying Rosh Hashanah and Utilizing Time

Just as the start of a day demands holiness, so too does the start of a year. This is the special significance of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, and the High Holy Days.

The Jerusalem Talmud states: "One who sleeps on Rosh Hashanah—his fortune (mazal) sleeps." A person should rise early before dawn so as not to sleep during the day. While one who finds it extremely difficult may rest briefly after the Shofar blowing in the afternoon, the custom of many great rabbis was not to sleep at all.

In the Abramoff synagogue, where services ended early around 9:30 AM, the congregation—including Chacham Sasson Levi and Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri—would return by 11:00 AM. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, they sat continuously for four to five hours, reciting the entire Idra Rabba and the entire Book of Psalms. On the second day, they recited the entire Idra Zuta and all of Psalms. Nobody rushed or engaged in idle talk; they proceeded seamlessly from study to Mincha, Tashlich, and Arvit.

Even on holy days like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, fixed Torah study—such as Daf Yomi—must never be neglected. If morning schedules are full, the lesson should be completed in the afternoon before Mincha or during afternoon breaks. The essential goal is that a person utilizes every moment of time.

Parables of Awareness and Commitment

To emphasize the importance of mindfulness and spiritual awareness, two powerful stories are told:

The Violinist in the Subway

A story is recorded among the Belz Hasidim regarding a traveler named Mordechai at a train station in the United States. A man dressed in ragged clothes and a beret stood near a trash container, pulled an ancient, priceless violin from a case, and began playing extraordinary compositions while busking for spare change.

Over the course of 45 minutes, an observer counted 1,097 passersby. Almost everyone walked past without looking. A few dropped ten cents, and one generous person tossed a dollar bill. When a young child pulled on his mother's hand to stop and listen, she forcefully dragged him away in a hurry.

The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest virtuosos in the world, playing a Stradivarius violin crafted in 1713 (~5473). At the time, his concert performances commanded $1,000 per minute, and his albums had sold millions of copies. Yet because he was standing in a station wearing torn clothes, thousands of people walked right past divine musical genius without taking a single moment to pay attention.

This serves as a profound moral lesson: A person can stand directly next to the greatest spiritual opportunities in the world, yet fail to contemplate what is happening right beside him due to the rush of daily life. When one pauses to pay attention, reflect, and evaluate his actions, his entire world changes.

The Power of a Single Mitzvah

The legendary genius Rabbi Mordechai Pogremansky, whom the Chazon Ish held in supreme esteem, married late in life and passed away shortly thereafter. His widow approached the Chazon Ish, explaining that her late husband had mentioned a younger brother living somewhere unknown, from whom she required the ritual of Chalitzah.

The Chazon Ish did and investigation and instructed her to travel to New Zealand, telling her she would locate him there. After extensive effort, rabbinical authorities located the brother. However, having become completely alienated from Jewish observance after the horrors of the Holocaust, he adamantly refused to perform what he viewed as a primitive, meaningless ritual.

Even when offered $5,000 as compensation, he refused. Eventually, a date was set, and he agreed to attend. He arrived and performed the Chalitzah ceremony properly. Afterward, when presented with the monetary reward, he surprisingly rejected the payment.

He explained: "Last night, my late brother appeared to me in a dream and said: 'Shame on you! You have not fulfilled mitzvot in your life, and now you have been given the rare mitzvah of Chalitzah—a commandment others long to fulfill. Do you wish to sell your only mitzvah for money?! Shame on you!'" Recognizing the absolute truth of his brother's words, the message penetrated to the very depths of his soul, and he refused to accept a single cent.

Hidden Perception and Divine Knowledge

The holy masters possessed spiritual perception that transcended ordinary human limits:

• Kabbalist Rabbi Sasson Mizrachi: Author of Bati LeGani, he was once hospitalized at Hadassah Hospital. One day, he fled the building. When Rabbi Yehoshua Sharabani found him and asked why he ran away, Rabbi Sasson revealed: "I cannot stay there! Souls of the deceased are constantly surrounding me, begging me to perform spiritual rectifications (tikunim) for them, and I do not have the strength to manage them all!" His brother-in-law, Chacham Ben-Zion Abba Shaul, advised him to transfer to Shaare Zedek Hospital, where fewer bound souls would disturb him. He transferred there, and indeed found tranquility.
• Foreknowledge of Maran: The righteous masters possessed a clear, holy spirit. When a mother asked a great sage for a match for her daughter, the sage assured her not to worry, predicting her daughter would marry his own son—even though he had no living sons at the time. Rabbi Shmueli implied he was the predicted son.
• Personal Rectification: Rabbi Shmueli once approached his master, asking for a spiritual rectification (tikun) to cleanse all his past sins. The master looked at him and smiled, revealing: "When you were a young child, your father already paid me to perform a complete tikun for your entire soul, and I performed it for you. You are already cleansed; you do not need another tikun now."

These tzaddikim such as, Rabbi Benayahu Shmueli's father knew and perceived hidden things. Their words carried strong spiritual authority.