During the week of Tisha Be'Av Israel honored the 120th birthday of our great Nobel Prize winner, author Shemuel Yosef Agnon. He left us a great treasure; many novels and short stories written in a beautiful blend of classic Biblical, Mishnaic, Talmudic and modern Hebrew, describing the life in the Diaspora and in the old and new yishuv in àøõ éùøàì, Eretz Yisrael.
In his writing he creates an everlasting memorial to his birthplace Buczacz in Galicia, while declaring in his Novel Prize address that he was born in Jerusalem.
Both facts are true – the crowning achievement in his life was inspired by Jerusalem.
As a Baal Teshuva he was moved to compile a book: , Days of Awe, dealing with the importance and significance of Elul and the days of repentance, òùøú éîé úùåáä, especially Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
In his preface to the book he describes an early childhood experience which motivated him to write the book. As a four year old he was taken to the Yom Kippur prayers to join his father and grandfather. He was awed and charmed by a congregation of people covered with white tallitot singing the prayers. They looked like a pure united group of people. When there was a pause in the prayers, some of them removed the tallitot and started talking. The child started crying; he felt that the beautiful union of the day, the place and people vanished, the charm was broken, so was his young heart.
Ever since, when he sees the transformation of praying Jews into everyday human beings, his soul is saddened.
Thus was born the decision to write a book that can fill the gap between the prayers, which can focus the thoughts on the meaning of úùåáä, repentance.
He quotes Rabbi Zvi Elimelech Shapira of Dinov, known as the author of "Bnei Yissaschar".
In Elul we read from the úåøä, Torah:
"Judges and officers (police) shall you appoint in all your gates (cities). "
The meaning of the words is self evident. Society needs judges and enforcers to keep law and order, to prevent chaos. The Rabbi gives his Chassidic interpretation: These words indicate the beginning and the core of úùåáä, repentance. The Ba'al Teshuva is obligated to put a guard and a judge on all the gates, the gates being all our senses that HaShem endowed us with; eyes, ears, mouth etc.
When we see how people get into trouble by not closing their ears to gossip and malicious accusations, by not watching their mouth from uttering insults, falsehood and slander, by not watching their eyes from seeing abomination and coveting riches beyond their means, we realize the deep meaning of the words of the Bnei Yissaschar.
May we heed the words of our Sages who point us to the ways of , repentance, so that we merit a happy and healthy year.
With New Year greetings
Miriam Hauer
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