The following is based on Rabbi Shmueli's Hebrew Chizuk video for the 26th of Elul, 5786

Preparing for the Day of Judgment through True Repentance

Good morning to everyone. Today is Tuesday, the third day in the Holy Sabbath week, the 26th of Elul, 5786. Here we are preparing ourselves for the great and awesome Day of Judgment, striving through tremendous wonders: "A king through justice establishes the land." The Holy One, blessed be He, is a King who pardons and forgives our sins and the sins of His nation, the House of Israel—wonders of wonders!

In order for the Holy One, blessed be He, to forgive us, we must do teshuva (repentance). The main and greatest requirement is to repent. The Chatam Sofer used to say that there are many people who exert great effort reading Psalms and studying the Zohar, yet they forget the essential task: to repent! A person may read Psalms and study the Zohar endlessly, but where is the actual repentance? One must reflect upon oneself—first identifying where mistakes are being made, determining what needs to be fixed, feeling genuine regret for the past, and resolving for the future so that everything can be properly sorted out.

The Danger and Sin of Delaying Teshuva

Furthermore, a person must exercise great caution regarding timing. Rabbi Aharon Kotler used to teach that delaying repentance is an iniquity in its own right. When a person realizes he is acting improperly and needs to turn back from his actions, he should not wait. Delaying by saying, "I will start repenting in another day or two," is unreasonable. No one would willingly remain for two extra days in a foul stench after recognizing it. Remaining in sin when one knows better constitutes a severe claim against a person.

Especially during the Days of Awe, one should hasten to act with absolute purity. The Chafetz Chaim noted that repentance requires more than simply refraining from repeating a sin. A person must actively return before Hashem, confess before Him, feel true regret for past misdeeds, and accept upon himself not to return to folly in the future. One must hurry without delay, lest an unexpected obstacle arise later that completely prevents repentance.

The delay of repentance is itself considered a sin. The Talmud asks why converts sometimes suffer trials, and it answers that it is because they delayed coming under the wings of the Divine Presence. Once they decided to convert, they waited a year instead of acting immediately. If an idolater—who is not initially obligated to convert—is held accountable for delaying once the thought to keep the Torah crossed his mind, how much more so does this apply to an Israelite!

Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer writes that if a person fails to repent during the Ten Days of Repentance when the gates are wide open, he is, so to speak, rebelling against the Holy One, blessed be He. Hashem provides these auspicious days—as it is written, "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him" and "Seek Hashem when He may be found"—so remaining unaroused to repent while persisting in sin during this time is strictly forbidden.

The Acronyms of Repentance and Forgiveness

Repentance remains our primary obligation. Following the passing of Yael, my sister-in-law, I recalled the scriptural passage concerning Yael: "He asked for water, she gave him milk." The tradition asks what hidden meaning lies within this phrasing. "Water" (Mayim) serves as an acronym for Matai Yavo Mashiach ("When will Mashiach come?"). When the world asks when Mashiach will arrive, the answer given is "milk" (Chalav), which is an acronym for Chayavim Lachzor B'teshuva ("We are obligated to repent").

Repentance must come first every single day. Furthermore, the word "glass" (Kos) forms an acronym for Vayomer: Salachti Kidvarecha ("And He said: I have forgiven according to your word"). To merit "I have forgiven according to your word," one must embrace the message of Chalav—our daily obligation to repent. Once, while visiting a place, someone remarked that he preferred a glass of whisky in the morning. I noted to him that the Hebrew letters representing "whisky" can likewise be arranged to recall the phrase Vayomer Hashem (spelled: Yod, Hei, Vav and Hei): Salachti Kidvarecha. The message remains identical: we must repent, for the most severe error of all is the failure to repent.

The Parable of the Musty Cabin

During the month of Elul, people rightly increase their spiritual devotions. However, along with reciting Psalms, studying the Zohar, and performing ritual immersions, true repentance must take center stage. Observing that even righteous people sometimes stumble in this regard, the Chatam Sofer offered an illuminating parable:

A man seeking quiet and relaxation went on vacation to a beautiful resort town filled with fine trees, lush grass, and fragrant, healing vegetation. However, to save money, he rented a cheap cabin situated on the very outskirts of town. Upon entering, he found a foul, musty, and sweltering apartment. Wanting to relax, he walked into the center of town and saw that all the other vacationers were happy. He asked them about their accommodations, and they marveled at the gourmet meals and delicacies brought to them daily.

Realizing what he was missing, the man declared that he would pay full price to move to the main resort area immediately and gathered his belongings. Seeing that he was about to lose a paying client, the landlord asked why he was leaving. The man explained that the other guests were provided with wonderful delicacies, whereas he received nothing. The landlord quickly promised to bring him delicacies as well if he stayed. Being gentle and easily embarrassed, the man agreed to stay. The landlord indeed brought him gourmet food, but the overwhelming stench and mustiness of the cabin remained unbearable.

The Chatam Sofer explained that this represents people who fall into the trap of the evil inclination. In the month of Elul, instead of performing genuine soul-searching to clean their lives and escape their problems, they attempt to partake in spiritual "delicacies" while remaining in a musty, unrepentant state. A person cannot properly repent while leaving his spiritual home in such decay. The evil inclination entices people to stay put, which is why a person must engage in daily soul-searching, morning and evening, to truly return.

Rabbi Saadia Gaon’s Daily Repentance

The imperative for constant, daily repentance is illustrated by a story regarding Rabbi Saadia Gaon. His students once observed him locking himself in his room, lying prostrate with outstretched arms, and weeping bitterly over his sins day after day.

On Purim, when the students felt bold enough to ask personal questions, one student approached him and asked: "Honored Rabbi, I happened to look into your room and saw you weeping so bitterly every single day. Why do you cry so?"

Rabbi Saadia Gaon explained: "Once, while traveling incognito with my attendant, a wealthy man hosted us with royalty, serving us gourmet meals on golden spoons. Before we left on Sunday morning, the host came running out in tears, crying, 'I did not know you were the great Rabbi Saadia Gaon! Had I known your true identity, I would have honored you a thousand times more!' I replied that he had already treated us lavishly, but he insisted he would have done far more."

Rabbi Saadia Gaon concluded: "From that host, I learned a profound lesson. Every day, as I grow in wisdom and understanding, I know the Holy One, blessed be He, better than I did the day before. Therefore, every day I must repent for the fact that yesterday I did not honor and know Hashem as fully as I do today. That is why I weep every single day."

The Baal Teshuva and the Trial of Hot Lead

Rabbi Moshe Galanti, the great Rabbi of Safed, used to recount a story every year during the Ten Days of Repentance, which he had heard directly from Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz concerning the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Di Leon.

In their time, there lived a man who had committed every sin imaginable—he was an adulterer, a thief, a robber, and an informer who routinely turned in fellow Jews. One day, as the Rabbi passed by with his students, this wicked man approached and said, "Peace be upon you, our honored master and teacher, the Rabbi!"

The Rabbi replied sternly, "'There is no peace,' said Hashem, 'for the wicked.' You inform on others, bring people down to the nethermost pit, threaten them, and take other men's wives! There is no peace for the wicked!"

These harsh words struck the man deep in his core. He asked the Rabbi, "If I repent, will I be accepted?"

The Rabbi initially answered, "There is no repentance for the wicked. How could someone like you repent?" The man broke down in tears. A few days later, he came to the Rabbi's home and pleaded, "Whatever you tell me to do, I will do. I want to perform complete repentance and leave everything behind, I promise you!"

Seeing his sincerity, the Rabbi gathered everyone and said, "If you truly do so, there is repentance for you". The Rabbi then prescribed his rectification: "You are forbidden to leave the study hall; your home will be here. You will fast every day for thirty days, weep over your sins, and read Psalms continuously. After thirty days, I will perform the order of rectification for you".

The man immediately went and distributed his money, returning what he had stolen where possible and giving the rest to charity. For thirty days, he remained exclusively in the study hall, weeping bitterly and offering heart-wrenching confessions.

On the thirtieth day, the Rabbi instructed him to immerse seven times in the ritual bath (mikveh). When he emerged, the Rabbi recited an intense confession with him that tore open the heavens. The Rabbi then ordered a stretcher used for the dead and burial shrouds to be brought. He instructed the man to put on the shrouds and lie down on the stretcher.

"Do you still stand by your intention to repent?" the Rabbi asked.

"Of course!" the man replied.

The Rabbi then brought a pot of lead, blew on it with bellows until it was boiling hot, covered the man's eyes with a cloth, and shouted: "Open your mouth and throat wide, for I am going to pour this boiling lead inside! Confess!"

Instead of flinching, the man shouted: "No! Finish it, I want to finish! I take it upon myself to repent! Do it to me, do it to me!"

Instead of lead, the Rabbi placed a spoonful of honey into his mouth.

The Rabbi said to him, "Now it is alright. From today on, fear not and be not dismayed. Walk in Hashem's ways". From that day forward, the man engaged in daily repentance and diligent Torah study.

Hashem’s Endless Love for the Penitent

It is written in Tanna DeBei Eliyahu that the Holy One, blessed be He, sits and waits for Israel to repent more than a father waits for his son or a wife waits for her husband. Hashem eagerly awaits our return so that He may redeem us and rebuild our Holy Temple.

Rabbi Chaim Palagi wrote regarding this passage: "'I believed when I spoke'—every time I read this noble passage, my eyes stream with tears! How is it possible that the King of Glory, L-rd of the universe, sits and waits for us to repent so He can bestow all goodness upon us, yet no one takes it to heart? If a beloved child is late returning in the evening, a father peers anxiously through the windows. If a husband travels overseas, his wife weeps in pain. Yet we remain in a deep sleep, failing to return!"

We must ask Hashem to put the desire into our hearts to utilize these crucial days to draw close to our Father in Heaven. Even if a Jew has fallen to the lowest depths, he remains deeply beloved, and Hashem's hand is outstretched to receive him. When a person repents, he becomes as beloved to his Father in Heaven as an only son.

As Rambam (Maimonides) writes: "Great is repentance, for it brings a person close to the Divine Presence. Yesterday, this person was hated before Hashem, abominated, distant, and an abomination. Today, he is beloved, pleasant, close, and a friend."

The Parable of the King’s Rebellious Son

To explain how Hashem accepts us so lovingly after severe sin—just as He carved out an opening for the repentance of the wicked King Menashe—a rabbi offered the following parable:

A young man abandoned all proper paths, completely rejecting his noble and influential father. He spat on his father, ignored him, and ran off to commit every abomination imaginable. His conduct was so grievous that his father sat Shiva for him as if he were dead.

If that son were later to show up at the king's palace, the royal servants would recognize him and immediately bar the door, saying, "Do not let this troublemaker enter!" But if the son cries out from outside, "Father, Father! I want to come home to you and be a good child! I promise I will only do good from now on!"—will his father refuse him? No! The father will personally open the door for him.

The Holy One, blessed be He, says to us: "I am your Father, and I love you! I am only waiting for you to be willing to return in repentance—that is all. Even if you start with simple, imperfect cries, call out to Me! Come home and say, 'We want to enter Your house,' and your Father will rejoice beyond measure."

The Legacy of Rabbi Yitzchak Alfia

Today also marks the anniversary of the passing (Yahrzeit) of the righteous Rabbi Yitzchak Alfia, may his merit protect us. He accomplished great deeds, establishing the widespread practice of Ta'anit Dibbur (a "Fast of Speech") based on teachings he received originating from Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk. He instituted in synagogues worldwide that people should gather to recite the entire Book of Psalms three times while maintaining total silence from mundane speech. This practice spread across the globe, including to New York and beyond.

Rabbi Yitzchak Alfia himself maintained a strict Fast of Speech every single Shabbat, refraining entirely from mundane conversation from the start of Shabbat until its conclusion. On Friday afternoons, after fulfilling the custom of tasting the Shabbat food, he would leave only a small portion of food at home for his family and personally carry the primary, finest portions of hot stew to an elderly, poor widow named Imma A'isha. He refused to send the food through a messenger, choosing instead to personally exert himself to deliver it to her every single week.

During World War II, Rabbi Yitzchak Alfia traveled continuously to the graves of righteous tzaddikim, weeping and praying for the Jewish people. During this time, the holy sage Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira (the Abir Yaakov) appeared to him in a dream and asked: "Why do you visit the graves of all the other tzaddikim, but you do not come to mine? Come visit me!"

Despite the ongoing war, Rabbi Yitzchak Alfia undertook the dangerous journey to travel to his resting place. Though he initially hoped to travel with a group, he was ultimately granted permission to travel alone. He boarded a ship where conditions were dire and no one provided food, as people during wartime were fearful of strangers, yet he persevered to fulfill his holy mission.

Regarding his personal life, his father-in-law served as his Shofar blower in Katamon. He lived in Har HaMenuchot, and though he had no sons, he had one daughter. May the righteous merits of these holy tzaddikim stand for us, and may we all be sealed for a year of complete repentance, life, and redemption.