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The Shulchan Aruch (+ Chofetz Chaim/Shmirat HaLashon) and the Year

 B”H

There are 1705 chapters of Shulchan Aruch + 115 sections in the Sefer Chofetz Chaim and the Sefer Shmirat HaLashon combined. 5 chapters/sections a day.

Today is the 13th of Elul, Yom Hilula of the Ben Ish Chai, and we begin the first five sections of the Sefer Chofetz Chaim.

Reflections

 B”H

We are entering the month of Elul this Tuesday, and I wanted to take the idea of Cheshbon HaNefesh to the next level. Hopefully a daily reflection, starting today:

Last night I had a dream about an interview someone who was not honest in business (in the interview, the person kept fixing his hair, which was red and in a weird sort of wavy style). He was treated very lightly by the interviewer. No one, especially the person himself, seemed to think it was a very big deal. There was a sound in the house, and I was brought back to reality im such a way that I felt had descended many levels to get back to my bed.

As I was waking up, I felt a strong urge to study Rav Kook (his yahrzeit is this week). As soon as I could, I stacked up all the books I had of him that I could find and started perusing them. I was struck by the spirituality and universality of the works, which I seemed to only vaguely remember. I was taken by his passion, his description of mystical experiences, his longing for a new prophetic era. It was so beautiful and so real. I longed myself to be again in that mystical mode and defined my return to observant Judaism.

Every Elul, when the King is in the field, I seem to connect back to the liberating ideas of Rav Kook. He is like the missing link that brings everything else together and also helps me share my journey with others. This year, I hope to not forget this again.

[The day this was originally posted was the 28th of Av, the Yahrzeit of the Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin for close to forty years. The Netziv once said that if the Volozhin Yeshiva had been created just to to have a student such as Rav Kook, it would have been worth it.]

Until Eliyahu Comes

 Until Eliyahu Comes

There’s so much doubt,

We feel knocked out,

Not quite sure

What it’s all about,

Until Eliyahu comes.

We’re in the dark,

Everything gray,

Forgot the taste,

Feel just decay,

Until Eliyahu comes.

And then he comes.

And then you know,

He’ll always know

Just what to say

To change the mood.

It’s about the good,

About the morning,

The wonderful 

Ah!

It’s about the day.

[In appreciation for R' Eli Stefansky.] 

Parallels between the Three Weeks of Mourning and the Yamim Noraim.

 B"H

The Maharsha teaches that the 21 days of the Three Weeks of Mourning can be compared to the 21 days from Rosh Hashanah to Hoshanah Rabbah. Following this logic, we see additional parallels:

The 17th of Tammuz is Rosh Hashanah.

The 25th of Tammuz is Erev Yom Kippur.

The 26th of Tammuz is Yom Kippur itself.

Erev Rosh Chodesh Av, the yahrzeit of Rashi, is the 13th of Tishrei, yahrzeit of the Rebbe Maharash.

Rosh Chodesh Av is Erev Sukkot.

The 2nd of Av is Sukkot.

The 5th of Av, yahrzeit of the Arizal, is the 18th of Tishrei, yahrzeit of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov.

Erev Tisha B'Av is Hoshanah Rabbah.

Tisha B'Av, the 22nd day, is Shmini Atzeret.