So from our practice and from Shulchan Aruch we're accustomed to special hanhagos for Chodesh Elul, whether it's shofar, the David Hashem Ori, whether it's selichos from the beginning of the month, as is the minhag of Sefardim. There are special hanhagos for Chodesh Elul. When you look in the Rambam, kemeduma the Rambam doesn't have anything special for Chodesh Elul. Even selichos, the Rambam only has during aseres yimei teshuva, doesn't have anything special for Chodesh Elul. The pshat perhaps is that whereas aseres yimei teshuva are yimei din, that should elicit from us a ribuy tfila, a ribuy tzedaka, a ribuy maasim tovim that we don't engage in all year long. That's the appropriate response to din. That's what the fact that ספרי חיים ספרי מתים פתוחים לפניו, that's what it's mechayives us. Elul is a time to correct and improve what we should be doing all the time. It's not a time for special hanhagos, but the emphasis, the focus, is on correcting, improving what we should be doing all the time. What's the avoda of Elul? The avoda of Elul is to refine, improve, perfect the avoda of all year long. In that vein, so perhaps we'll just take a few moments to talk about something which is perennially central and therefore very much avodas Hashem, and therefore very much meinyana diyoma of Chodesh Elul. And maybe we'll approach it, I'll read excerpts from a couple of halachos in the Rambam, then bli neder b'ezras Hashem a couple of Maamarei Chazal. פרק ד מהלכות דעות הלכה ד. הדרך הישרה היא מדה בינונית שבכל דעה ודעה מכל דעות שיש לו לאדם.
The correct path, the straight path is the middle path. Ulefikach, skipped a little bit, צוו חכמים הראשונים שיהא אדם שם דעותיו תמיד ומשער אותן ומכוון אותן בדרך הממוצעת כדי שיהיה שלם.
Chazal therefore mandated that a person should constantly appraise his character traits and make sure that they're correctly calibrated. Again in הלכות דעות הלכה ז, כיצד ירגיל אדם עצמו בדעות אלו עד שיקבעו בו,
how does a person train himself in all the correct middos? יעשה וישנה וישלש במעשים שעושה על פי הדעות הממוצעות ויחזור בהן תמיד.
So when is a person finished, with what frequency or regularity should a person be engaged in tikun hamiddos? Tamid. Twice the Rambam emphasized it: שיהא אדם שם דעותיו תמיד, veyachzor bahen tamid. In Hilchos Talmud Torah when speaking of the aspiration. And the attainment of Kesser Torah so the Rambam writes מי שרצה לזכות בכתר התורה I'll begin at the beginning of the halacha. אף על פי שמצוה ללמוד ביום ובלילה אין אדם למד רוב חכמתו אלא בלילה לפיכך מי שרצה לזכות בכתר התורה יזהר בכל לילותיו ולא יאבד אפילו אחת מהן.
The secret to success in Avodas Hashem, the secret to attainment and growth is consistency, is temidius. Tikun Hamidos results from sham de'osav tamid, from yachzor bahen tamid. Kesser Torah is attained by yizhaher bechol leilosav. The Midrash says in Parshas Nitzavim הטיפש הזה נכנס לבית הכנסת ורואה אותם עוסקים בתורה והוא אומר להם היך אדם לומד תורה תחילה?
What's the process? You seem to be quite advanced. How did you get there? אמרו לו תחילה קורא במגילה. First they don't even give you a whole Chumash, you get a little Parsha booklet. v'achar kach basefer. Then you get a Chumash, the Chamisha Chumshei Torah. ואחר כך בנביאים ואחר כך בכתובים. כשגומר המקרא שונה התלמוד.
The maybe it means the drashos. ואחר כך בהלכות ואחר כך באגדות. כיוון ששומע כך אמר בלבו אימתי אני לומד כל זאת?
It's impossible. It's not realistic. He walked into the Beis Medrash and sees the bookcases full of seforim. ופקח מי שהוא פקח מה הוא עושה? So say Chazal שונה פרק אחד בכל יום ויום. The key is the bechol yom va-yom. Shoneh perek echad. No, he's not going to learn, not going to learn kol ha-Torah kulo. Shoneh perek echad. His goal is to master Tanakh. You don't have to learn ten perakim a day. שונה פרק אחד בכל יום. Shisha Sidrei Mishnah פרק אחד בכל יום. שונה פרק אחד בכל יום ויום.
Again, the temidius, the consistency עד שסיים כל התורה כולה. The Gemara in Berachos of Tanu Rabanan ארבעה צריכים חיזוק ואלו הן תורה ומעשים טובים תפילה ודרך ארץ.
So Rashi comments what does it mean tzrichin chizuk? That a person applies himself tamid bechol kocho. The secret to attainment, to growth in Avodas Hashem which be-ezras Hashem yields kirvas Elokim is the consistency, the day in, day out. That consistency is needed to initially attain and then subsequently to sustain for both. אם תעזבני יום יומים אעזבך. It's the temidiyus, the consistency, the bechol yom v'yom. How does that translate halacha l'maaseh? So first of all, no goal is attainable unless we identify it. You have to put in the, you know, the way is fantastic but you have to fill in the where too. No goal, no goal is attainable unless unless we know what it is that we're striving for, what it is that we aspire to. So that's first of all, that we should know just how central and fundamental and indispensable that is. Secondly, we should look to develop habits of temidiyus. What does that mean? So especially at this stage of life, at other stages of life when there are other variables, maybe this wouldn't be a good example, maybe it would, it'll depend, but at this stage of life, something like davening at the same time every morning. There's a consistency on that. To daven again whatever the time is, whatever the time that's most realistic, whatever makes the most sense, whichever minyan davens slowly and you can daven properly. But that that's also it it is an application of temidiyus and it it develops the muscle of temidiyus. That kind of consistency that that a person looks to get up the same time every morning, go to the same minyan. And finally, when a person does stumble, as invariably we all do and and will at times, to recognize how important it is right away the next day to resume. If I missed my kevius in my שנה פרק אחד בכל יום ויום so not to not to drop out because of that, but to realize how important it is and to dust oneself off and the next day to resume and not be derailed by by that occasional stumbling. You know, the Gemara in Brachos, with with this we'll conclude, I think it's in the first perek, I'm sorry, I didn't I didn't bring it, describes what Hakadosh Baruch Hu's schedule is. And every day it's the same schedule. It doesn't it doesn't vary. So whatever else that aggadata means, it it perhaps is also intended to illustrate this yesod that if we can develop that consistency, so then לא נפלאת היא ממך ולא רחוקה היא.