(Moshe Block)
The days Of Elul are days of intense love and closeness to HaShem. The very letters that spell the word Elul hint to this idea in the phrase, “Ani lidodi vidodi Li,” “I am to My beloved as My beloved is to Me.” This is Hashem’s expression of His endless love for Klal Yisroel, which is heightened in the month of Elul. How though do we bring about that closeness?
Five months ago a Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people was lost and is yet to be found. The world was shocked at how a mammoth Boeing 777 could just disappear into thin air without leaving a trace. It brought me back to the Yomim Noraim when we stood in Shul and frightfully uttered the words of the holy Nesaneh Tokef. “Mi yichyeh U’Mi yamus…..” In the context of this tragedy these words take on a whole new meaning. They don’t just tell us of God’s definitive judgment. In this context these are questions that still remain. “Mi yichyeh” -are they alive? Was the plane hijacked to some undisclosed location? “U’Mi Yamus”– did the plane crash? And if so why? These are questions that may never be answered, and the world continues to watch in utter disbelief how all search attempts have come up empty handed. This may be one of the greatest mysteries of all time. Amelia Earhart was one person. Her plane didn’t have the communication systems that today’s airplanes are equipped with. The Boeing 777 is one of the most sophisticated planes to fly the skies today. And 239 people! What were we to make of it?
There was one detail in this saga, albeit minor, that made a tremendous impression on me. It was reported on March 26, that relatives of the passengers of MH370 marched on the Malaysian Embassy in China in protest. “Out on the streets, angry relatives of the missing Chinese wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with “Let’s pray for MH370” pelted the Malaysian Embassy with plastic bottles and tried to storm the gates in protest while chanting “Liars!” and “Malaysia, return our relatives!”. As if the Malaysians really know exactly where their relatives are and that they are the ones who are actually holding them hostage. To the average reader I assume that this event was dismissed out of hand, after all, their claim makes no sense at all. “Come on,” is the first thought that comes to mind when reading something like this and probably the last one too. But to me it was constantly nagging at me. What were they doing? What were they really saying?
In a moment of feeling the pain and desperation of these people who may have lost members of their family to an unknown cause, it became clear to me. They were expressing their unwillingness to accept the loss. Until the cause and the reason of their loss can be explained to them they cannot find closure. They are telling the Malaysian Government that they are suffering because the cause of their relative’s disappearance is still unknown to them.
These events teach us a great lesson about the essence of Elul. The forty days of Elul and the aseres yimei teshuvah are days of closeness for it was during those days that Moshe Rabbainu prayed to Hashem on behalf of Klal Yisroel to forgive them for the sin of the golden calf. Let us examine that sin for a moment. Forty days after leaving Mitzrayim, standing at the foot of Har Sinai ready to become the Am Hashem by accepting the Torah, the Jews make an Egel and serve it as avodah zarah. Why? Because Moshe Rabbainu said that he would return after forty days, and a mistake in calculation on Klal Yisroel’s part led them to think that Moshe will never come back – for some unknown reason. The Ramban explains that Klal Yisroel did not make an Egel for the purpose of serving Avodah Zarah. Rather they viewed Moshe Rabbainu as an intermediary between Hashem and them. Now that Moshe was gone they came running to Aharon demanding a new one. So they made the Egel and served it as such.
The question is striking. Why did they demand a “new” Moshe Rabbainu? Why did they accept that fact that Moshe Rabbainu disappeared without a trace and will never come back? Why didn’t they grab Aharon and demand that he bring Moshe his brother back? Furthermore, why didn’t they at least pray that Moshe come back? Perhaps this was all part of the Chet Ha’Egel. This is the lesson that these events have taught me.
Perhaps the message that Hashem was sending through that tragedy was that we too must not be complacent. We too must not feel that we can find closure after Hashem has “disappeared” from us for over 2000 years. We must not accept the loss of the Shechina and the Bais Hamikdash. We must show Hashem that after 2000 years, we are still searching.
This is the essence of Elul. The passuk says “Dirshu Hashem B’himatzo,” “Search out Hashem when he is found.” Chazal tell us that the time when He is found is the days of Elul. Throughout this month we must do our part in seeking Him out, by making Him part of our daily lives. In doing so, we will achieve that closeness and in turn, be afforded the blessings of a happy and healthy new year.
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