Translated with permission from Ko Somar L Beis Yaakov This lecture was given on the Ko Somar Line on Tuesday 7 th Elul Parshas Ki Setzei by HaRav HaGoan Rav Feivel Schneebalg Shlita, one of of Monsey s most respected Rabbonim. Title: With what can we prepare for the Yomim Noiroim and what should an Erev Shabbos look like? Elul is a time of Teshuva, the time to prepare for the Yomim Noiroim. The Rov then brings a quote from the Yitav Lev in Selichos that translates Everyone trembles from Rosh Hashonoh From the other side we see that the Tor brings a Halocho that on Erev Yom Tov we have to wash and cut our hair because we are happy and trust that Hashem will help us with a good blessed year. It seems as though the two things are opposites. The reason is if we prepare the whole Chodesh Elul then we can be happy when Rosh Hashonoh itself comes. If chas vesholom, we did not prepare in Elul and did not consider how to be ready for Rosh Hashonoh, but when Rosh Hashonoh comes we suddenly start getting ready and do teshuvah and we convince ourselves that we are properly prepared that is not the correct preparation for the Yomim Noiroim. To be truly happy and be able to trust that we will be zocheh to a good gebentchte (blessed) year we have to prepare in chodesh Elul when it is a time of teshuvah. Rabbeinu Yonah says that one of the biggest favors that Hashem did with Klal Yisroel is the gift of teshuvah.the Rabbeinu Yonah says that teshuvah is never mind how many sins a person did all the aveiros are eradicated and the Mesilas Yeshorim adds that the whole image of teshuvah is above our secheil (understanding). A person ch v killed someone is it possible that the person should return to life how is it possible that when a person does teshuvah the aveiroh is eradicated as though he had never done anything? The Mesilas Yeshorim brings the language When the person changes his will the whole will of what he did is changed. The Rov brings another quote This is one of the biggest chasodim Hashem did with Klal Yisroel Rabbeinu Yonah says that if a person ch v does not do teshuvah, the punishment gets worse each day because he knows the terrible punishment that comes for an aveirah, and he has a choice to escape the punishment through teshuvah and he stands in his wickedness and doesn t do teshuvah it is considered a terrible terrible fault by Hashem. Page 1 of 5
A person should imagine that he owes money everywhere and there is a simple choice, here is a gemach that wants to give him the money and he says I don t want to pay and I don t want to borrow. Everyone will be furious with such a person. The same is, Hashem knows that a person has a yetzer hora and the whole year a person can do aveiros. Hashem did a big chesed there is an advice for everyone Do teshuvah! and everything is eradicated. There is a terrible punishment if a person does not do teshuvah in these days. There are many points to mention of what to do teshuvah, especially the women, it is written A wise women builds her home. The home is called after the woman. There are many things that are dependent on what the woman does and I want to concentrate on one point that is the gevaldige foundation of the home and everyone knows that Shabbos Kodesh the Zohar HaKodesh says that the brochoh from all the six days comes from the Shabbos. I want to tell a story from the holy Chofetz Chaim Zt l. A great person tells over, when he learnt in Mir he stayed by a family who had one child. In those days the yeshivas did not have a dormitory like today and the bochurim would eat teg days in people s houses. The bochur noticed that when he went to Yeshivah in the morning, it was Friday, the husband wanted to leave his wife said to him You should know that today is Erev Shabbos make sure to come home very early. In the morning, the bochur went to Yeshiva and returned at midday, long before the zman, the table was set, everything was ready for Shabbos, and the lady was standing by the window upset that her husband had not yet returned and it was midday. The bochur asked her What happened? What s the rush? The lady said I will tell you the story. I did not have children for many years and then Hashem helped and I was zochez to have my only child. Unfortunately, unfortunately the child became ill, and the doctor from our shtetl (village) found out that the heart is a sick heart and in those days there was no remedy, nebach. He sent us to Vilna to a big doctor. The big doctor said the heart is lacking, he can live for a few years, there is nothing to be done. Go home and be happy every day the child lives. You can imagine, I came home to the lodging in Vilna and started sobbing loudly and crying How can I go home with my only child who is ill? The people there advised us that on the way home to our shtetl we should go through Radin and go into the Chofetz Chaim. We went to the Chofetz Chaim and told him the story. The Chofetz Chaim said What can I do to help you I have no money how can I help you? She started to cry It is my only son help me!!! The Chofetz Chaim said Listen if you will accept on yourself that by Chatzos the table Page 2 of 5
should be set and everything should be prepared and ready for Shabbos and from the time of candlelighting you should not do any more work. We accepted and came home to our doctor in our shtetl.the doctor saw an enormous wonder - the child is healthy. He gave us money to go to the big doctor in Vilna to examine the child. When we came to the big doctor in Vilna he said I am sorry this is not the same child that I was treating. Which doctor did you go to? She said We did not go to any doctor we went to the Chofetz Chaim. The big doctor said We can make something from something can heal a heart that is there but to heal a heart that is completely decayed, only the Chofetz Chaim can do that. The lady said that since then on Erev Shabbos everything is ready by Chatzos. Until here the story from the Chofetz Chaim. Morai V Rabboisai, I want that we should understand this story. It is big wonder. If we were to tell this story about the Talmidei Baal Shem everyone would understand it. In all generations of Chassidim, Shabbos was an issue. By the Chofetz Chaim, we know that he stormed the world with Shmiras Haloshon, he gave lectures on Shmiras Haloshon and he gave out a Sefer on Shmiras Haloshon and was zocheh that the generation is careful with Shmiras Haloshon, since he gave out the Sefer on Shmiras Haloshon there is a tremendous improvement in Shmiras Haloshon. It would be expected that when a woman came to the Chofetz Chaim wit such a trouble he would tell her not to speak loshan hora for 2 hours. What is this with Erev Shabbos Kodesh she should be prepared and was completely helped.? What did he do and what did the Chofetz Chaim want with such a wonderful thing that we can see that they had a nes above the laws of nature? The answer is: The holy Ohr HaChaim Hakodesh says that when Hashem created the world He created the world only for six days. He created after that a Shabbos as the Shabbos gives the world strength to exist another six days. If ch v no-one would keep Shabbos the world would cease to exist. The Ohr HaChaim says that the Gemoro says that when one is mekabel Shabbos and says Vayechulu he becomes a partner with Hashem in creating the world. The Ohr HaChaim asks a person now a partner he has a connection to the creation of the world with that he keeps Shabbos. The Chofetz Chaim says Yes! Because the world only exists because Klal Yisroel are keeping Shabbos.Therefore when a person keeps Shabbos he is a partner with Hashem that for the next six days he should stay in this world. It comes out that the whole existence of the world and how everything goes for the next six days depends on how one behaves on Shabbos. Therefore it is very good to understand. We see it actually how the yetzer hora puts in tremendous power that we should come into Shabbos with no strength, no patience and shouting. How many houses are there that, that is what Erev Shabbos looks like? There are women who decide Friday afternoon to go and buy shoes for the children! Everything Erev Page 3 of 5
Shabbos! They go shopping and there is the responsibility of the house, the house has to be clean and we have to cook for Shabbos, the whole house is turned over, the husband comes home from work to a complete mess. He shouts at her and she shouts back and they come into Shabbos r l as though they would have been who knows where! The day, the day that is the whole building of the hatzlocho of the whole next week, nachas from the children, parnossoh, plenty of health, everything depends on the Shabbos and people come into the Shabbos with the minimum, the least preparation possible. The Chofetz Chaim wanted to give a brochoh for that woman that she would bring in such a simcha in Shabbos that Shabbos would bring in the biggest brocha in the home. The Shabbos should be ready by chatzos and many women are capable of it. A woman once told me, it is a wonder that in the middle of the week her cooking goes very fast and when she cooks for Shabbos it takes four times as long, the preparation drags on for hours. We see it, actually, that the yetzer hora makes a person very busy, angry with the children why things are not done. Everything is turned over, in the middle of the week we can be so organized. The reason is simple, the yetzer hora puts in enormous power that the Erev Shabbos should not be with appropriate preparation for Shabbos. Therefore, it is a wonderful idea, the new year is coming Iet us contemplate I want to know, I want to imagine if someone is a Satmarer Chossid and imagine that the Satmar Rebbe Zt l is going to be his guest for Shabbos, he will be at his table on Shabbos. We can imagine that he would have prepared weeks earlier, by Erev Shabbos everything would be ready and we see even by less important guests or when the parents come - when we put thought to it that everything should be organized by Erev Shabbos. We see that if we put our minds to it we can do various things, prepare on Thursday, and don t have to leave everything for Friday, it is self understood that shopping is done on Thursday, and only a few things are left for Friday and by Friday chatzos 12 1 midday everything is prepared and we are sitting and waiting for the Shabbos, taking care of the children, it is calm. Understandably, the husband goes to daven like a mentsch, with such an approach - everyone knows that once it was unheard of that a woman should not shed tears by lighting the candles, it was a normal thing. The Gemoroh brings that since the Beis HaMikdosh was destroyed all the gates are closed except the gate of tears is never locked. When a person sheds tears to Hashem he pierces the heavens. When a woman goes to candlelighting and she sheds tears for good children, one can imagine what she can accomplish with each tear she sheds for her own children. It is self understood that it all depends on what happens on the Erev Shabbos. If the Erev Shabbos is disorganized and with arguments and one returns home from shopping two hours Page 4 of 5
before Shabbos, things are tossed about, yelling at the children, quickly getting dressed with the Shabbosdige clothes and going to light the candles with no feeling then the joy of life is missing from the candlelighting. Therefore, we have small minds, we have to organize to buy everything before Erev Shabbos and Erev Shabbos in the morning finish off all the little things and therefore we will come to Shabbos calmly, calm with the children, the whole house is calm, the Sholom Aleichem, Friday night the whole atmosphere of the house is different. The husband leads the Shabbos differently, he does not read a newpaper after eating the Friday night Seudah, the whole house is different. It is the biggest brocho that can come into the house. Therefore, in my opinion, even if it is difficult, we have to work it out, because as I said before, what does a person not do for themselves? A person should think that when the men come home from shul two malochim accompany him, the Shechina comes into the home, we have to think about the hachonoh (preparation) that that is the foundation. The seforim bring that without an Erev Shabbos there is no Shabbos, how we prepare that is what we have. Therefore, we should accept for the New Year, no shopping on Erev Shabbos, when there is a simcha one has to buy something, be a little bit organized not to leave too much work for Friday, we will see that the whole Shabbos will be different, as the Shabbos is different is the week different. We see that when a person makes a simcha it all starts with the bavarfen. That is the foundation of the simcha. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year, before that is Shabbos Shuva, Pesach has Shabbos Hagodol. Everything starts with the Shabbos, the foundation of hatzlocho of a person dependson how he behaves on Shabbos. The yetzer hora knows that source and he prevents it from happening. Let us all accept upon ourselves to improve in the kovad of Shabbos and Hashem will Help. The Gemoroh brings Shmiras Shabbos KeHilchosoi even if r l a person served avoda zorah Hashem forgives him, if we keep two Shabbosois there will be the Geulah, the whole Geulah is in the zechus of Shabbos. We will be zocheh to a good gebentchte (blessed) year, a Kesivah VaChasimah Toiva, Moshiach will come speedily in our days, Amen. Page 5 of 5