The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi Shlita, is careful to tell the following story year after year, and for the fiftieth time, with the twilight of the time of Av approaching the beginning of the sacred time of Elul:
In a small, snowy town, a loving child was born to a couple of hard-working parents, a tender, little boy with a pure, innocent look on his face. In Israel, his name was called Yitzhak Elhanan. The boy passed through infancy and reached childhood, and behold, robbery and destruction. The boy's mind was easily deceived by his evil nature, and his heart was led astray by the playfulness of youth and their games. And so the boy Yitzhak Elhanan would frolic with the village boys and neglect his studies at the local "Haider.".
Day after day, inviting the teacher to the child's parents became a routine. The boy would feed his father and mother bitter things. His mind was closed and dull. To study in the Rebbe's classes in class - no. To play with the neighborhood children and to "Candace" - yes. The father tried well, the mother tried pleasantly, and the child was stubborn. No flattery was of any use, just as no beatings were of any use. The mother's tears mixed with the father's grief, and the future seemed very hazy.
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And then, one night, as the boy lay in bed, he overheard his parents' conversation without intending to - and so his father said to the housewife: "Our son is feeding us bitter things and does not want to study. Tomorrow at dawn I will speak with Haykal the shoemaker and ask him to take our son Yitzhak Elhanan as his apprentice and helper." And the boy hears and inside - jumps out of his bed and cries "Father, no! Leave me in Haykal, I promise that I will study and will continue to satisfy you with true peace." And the father, lacking faith, smiles dryly and informs his son, "Get up Yitzhak Elhanan tomorrow at dawn and I will take you with me to Haykal the shoemaker's cabin.".
Yitzhak Elhanan, ten years old, specializes in gluing soles. Yitzhak Elhanan, twenty years old, is an expert shoemaker in town and a good 'homeowner', his free hours are dedicated to studying Torah and teaching in the synagogue. Yitzhak Elhanan, thirty years old and forty years old, has built his house to be magnificent, is as careful as he is serious, and of course does not neglect the Torah lesson in the synagogue for even a day. Yitzhak Elhanan, fifty and sixty years old, his deeds are sacred. His shoemaking and his hut have long since become a stronghold of kindness, and his hours are more devoted to sacred professions. Yitzhak Elhanan, seventy and eighty years old, his sons and grandchildren fear God, and his body is separated from his soul, which ascends to the court of heaven.
And there, in the real world, the announcer comes out: "Yitzhak Elhanan to the left!!!"
""Me? Left"?
""Indeed, Yitzhak Elhanan, to the left! You murdered!!""
Me? Did I murder? Who didn't I revive?? Who didn't I care for??
And when the announcement was made when Yitzhak Elchanan was dragged to the left on the slopes of Hades, all who heard were horrified: "Yitzhak Elchanan, you are a murderer! You murdered the Rabbi of Israel, the Knight of the Shepherds, Rabbi Yitzhak Elchanan Spector!! You tore up his books. You canceled his lessons. You are a murderer and your place is in Hell!""
**
The story is a parable - because that night, when little Yitzhak Elchanan heard his father's words, he decided to find a place to improve his path and dwelt in the world of Torah until he was blessed to reach the immense level taught in the history classes of Haredi Judaism.
And with a pathos that belonged only to him, the Rosh Yeshiva would strike the table and shout: With us now are Moshe, David, Yitzhak, Chaim, Yaakov and their like. But this must be known: Moshe is not here, but the great Rabbi, the Knight of the Shepherds, Rabbi Moshe, may God bless him. And Yaakov is not here, but with the Rebbe of the Lubavitch, Rabbi Yaakov, may God bless him, may God bless him. It is true that their bodies now belong to the young Chaim or Yitzhak, but their souls are the souls of Maran Rabbi Yitzhak and the great Gaon Rabbi Chaim.
This is the entire Torah of labor in one step. The multitudes of young men of the Hamed who are now returning to the time of Elul did not set out to create a Ben Torah. They are on their true path to "discover" the Ben Torah that lies deep within their souls, to polish, attach, and peel until the true and inner power of the Torah emerges and reveals the divine soul carved from the throne of glory. All that remains is to pray that we may be worthy of recognizing and seeing the inner purity, lest we inadvertently damage it and murder the complete "man" within us.
The time of Elul is fruitful.
