Page 140 - Chayei Adam LAYOUT sivan 5782

Chayei Adam - K’lal 143 - Laws of Aseres Yemei Teshuva & Erev Yom Kippur

scholars will realize that most of them violate much of this. There are countless
others as well. Bitul Torah is greater than all of this, because one who is distant
from Torah is distant from serving Hashem. It is for this reason Chazal instituted
10
the beracha “hashiveinu avinu l’Torasecha, v’karveinu Malkeinu la’avodasecha”. If
one learns more Torah, he will come closer in the service of Hashem. It was for
this reason that the early Chachamim decreed that we blow shofar from Rosh
Chodesh Elul; so that a person should turn his focus to the forewarning of
judgement and that his heart should tremble within that his every move is
recorded and brought up for judgement, for good or for bad. When a person
appears before a human king for judgement, he trembles with tremendous fear,
as R’ Yochanan ben Zakai (Berachos 28) said, that if he punishes me, meaning a
financial penalty, it is not eternal, because I can make more money, and if he
oppresses me it is not forever, meaning that if he tortures me, [that king] might
die tomorrow and his successor will free me, like we find with Nevuchadnetzar. If
he kills me, it is not eternal, because he can only put an end to my body but my
neshama will return to Heaven. All of this notwithstanding, he would nevertheless
tremble and search for some way or tactics to save himself. He wouldn’t make a
move and turn his attention to his business dealings and would not stop but
would be completely focused on saving himself. If he would act this way when it
comes to standing before a judge of flesh and blood, then this is certainly true
when it comes to standing in judgement before Hashem over his very life and
those of his children and everything that is his. For if He punishes him financially
and decrees poverty on him, it is eternal. If he physically strikes his body or those
of his children, it is eternal, and if he decrees death on his children it is forever.
Of what help is it that he goes out and works all day long during these days, and
certainly from the beginning of selichos which correspond to inspecting a
sacrifice, and especially during the aseres yemei teshuva which is a time of
judgement and no one knows the verdict of their judgement. Therefore everyone

םדו רשב
10, i.e. in shemoneh esrei, we ask Hashem come closer to serving Hashem.
to bring us closer to Torah so that we will

041