The forty days
between the giving of the Torah and Tisha B'Av marks a period during which the
nation was on a very high level of holiness and closeness to God. Chazal[1]
teach us that the forty days between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur were also
days of closeness to God. During this period
the nation repented for the sin of the golden calf. Chazal[2]
teach us that Moshe Rabbeinu himself left no stone unturned in heaven during
this period to rectify the source of our souls.
Rashi[3],
based on Chazal[4],
learns that every punishment that God renders includes a little of the sin of
the golden calf. The Sfas Emes notes
that if the sin affects us to this day, certainly the repentance from
the sin affects us as well. Furthermore, Chazal[5]
teach us that penitents have an intensely strong desire to be close to God. Their actions therefore have far reaching
ramifications. The nation and Moshe
Rabbeinu, through their repentance and rectification, transformed the period
preceding Yom Kippur into a time during which it is easy for us to repent and
return to God.
May we merit taking
advantage of this propitious period to return to God.
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