SPECIAL EPISODE: We Study Together Chayei Adam's Timeless Wisdom and the Awakening Power of the Shofar

0:01 we're going to do something a little bit different today. We're going to step into some uncharted waters and we are going to embark on the journey of a lifetime, as we will have our first ever Chavrusa session, or Chavrusa Shaft in Yiddish. We will have a studying together, a partnering up, where we will learn inside one of the most famous texts. That is very pertinent to this time of year. I'd like you, all of you, to introduce y'all to the great Rabbi Avraham Danzig. You have most definitely heard of him before.

0:42 You have most definitely heard of him before. Avram Danzig is known to many as the great codifier of halacha and the author of the Jewish law book titled Chayei Adam. We call him, most of us, just Chayei Adam, based on his great magnum opus. But this great Torah sage, who was born in 1748 and died in 1820, he put together one of the greatest sefarim, easy-to-read halakhic works known to mankind, works known to mankind.

1:23 And the Bali Muslim have long praised the practice of specifically studying Chayei Adam, the laws of Elul, the laws of how to focus our efforts during this month as we lead up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. So I'd like to take this opportunity to study Klal Kuf Lamed Ches, chapter 138 of the Sefer Chayi, adam with Y'all. And just as a word of introduction, to get the feeling of what we are studying and from who we are studying, I'd like to tell you about Rabbi Avram Danzig.

2:05 His father's name was Yechiel Michal, and Avram Danzig was born in well, you guessed it Danzig, or in German I'm going to give it my best shot Gdansk, and that's in Poland. He was born into a prominent rabbinic family and when he was only 14, he was sent to study away in Yeshiva in Prague with his father's promise and his hopes that my son, that he would not mingle with the moderns. He was clearly referring to Moses Mendelssohn and his movement that swept away so many from authentic Orthodox and Torah observance.

2:55 So Rav Avram Danzig sent far away to Prague. The great Chayei Odom, as we will continue to call him, studied in Prague for four years underneath the great Rabbi Rebbe Hezkel, landau, the Neude Be'yehuda, the Tzelach, and eventually Rabbi Avraham Danzig was offered a position as a rabbi in Vilna, but interestingly enough he declined, choosing to earn his livelihood as a merchant frequenting fairs in Leipzig and Konigsberg. He writes about that often in his writings. Miraculous and kind of tragic episode.

3:50 Did he acquiesce and accept the position to become the chief dayan, the halakhic decider of Vilna, in which he served this position until 1812, when he died in Vilna on September 12th 1820. Now, rabbib Avram Danzig, the halachic work speaks for itself. Just because of the fact that most of you have probably already heard it gives it some prominence, makes you understand what we're talking about. But Reb Shlomo Gansfried, who wrote the Kitzershalchan Aruch, based his halachic work on only three sepharim and one of them, one of the three sefarim selected, was the Chai Adam, it's reportedly told over that, the Chassam Sofer.

4:35 He instructed his son that when you cannot find or consult the Shulchan Aruch for halakha, you could refer to the Chachmas Odom in making a Halachic decision. And this great work, the way it is laid out, is that it's a primarily organized work of Halacha for the Bala Bost, for the cultured laymen. It isn't necessarily for the rabbinic scholars. It's very easy to learn, it flows, the writing is very seamless, the work is very much presented as accessible, easy to consume, and in many cities there were big study groups formed to study practical halacha from you guessed it the chayada, the way that the Sefer works.

5:36 It is 224 sections, chapters, 69 of them deal with daily practical conduct, halacha and prayer, while 155 deal with Shabbos and Yom Tov, special days. The great Rebbe Avram Danzig added the Nishmas Adam, which is published as kind of the author's footnotes, to his halachic summaries. Up top the Chai Adam is the practical halacha. The Nishmas Adam beneath it discusses the halachic issues in greater depth.

6:19 Almost every edition of the Sepharim has them printed together. The Chai Rebbe Avram Danzig. Almost every edition of the Sepharim has them printed together. Avraham Danzig also did author some other works. He authored Zichru Teres Moshe, introduction to Hochos Shabbos Kitzer, sefer HaRedim, something that is a summary of the great classic of Rabbi Lozar Izkari. Of the Sefer Haredim. He authored Told Us Odom. It's on the Haggadah. He authored the famous tefillah that you probably say on the eve of Yom Kippur, the tefillah zakah. It deals with giving over your heart and praying to Hashem for forgiveness in areas of immorality.

7:05 He lived an incredible life and he really still lives through his work, the Chai Adam. Just want to speak a second about that episode I referenced earlier that took him away from business and sent him into the rabbinate. It was on November 18th 1804 where a gunpowder magazine exploded accidentally in the town of vilna. It killed 31 people, destroying large amounts of property. Explosion occurred at vilna fort and occurred and spread to nearby areas.

7:46 Many people lost their home and their business and among them Rabbi Avraham Danzig, the Chai Adam. But ultimately and thankfully, rabbi Danzig and his family were spared from death. They were so grateful that they declared that date a celebration to be the pulver purim, the gunpowder purim, because they were saved and with Hakara Satov it was a quasi-holiday. Some, even to this day, do celebrate the pulver purim, the gunpowder purim, for the Danzig family.

8:27 But ultimately this sent Avraham Danzig to the rabbinate. And now we have in front of us the Hilchos Rosh Hashanah of the Chaye Adam. I have the edition that has nekudos vowels. I have the edition that has nekudos vowels. I have then, with the commentary on the bottom of nishmas adam, that has all the halachic footnotes. Recently a new edition rather pricey edition but worth it edition came out that has also the kopsakim, the halachic decisions of the Mishnah Brura, so you can learn the Chai Adam and get the ease of study while getting some practical law also wherever it is that the Mishnah Brura doesn't see eye to eye with the Chai Adam.

9:11 I have the second Chalek, the second of the two volumes of this edition of Chai Adam and I'm on page Tafresh, tes Zion. I believe that page 616, if my math is correct, klal Kuf Lamed Ches, chapter 138. Din Yimei HaSlichos Ve'Erev Rosh Hashanah. The laws of the days of Slichos and of Erev Rosh Hashanah. The laws of the days of Selichos and on of Erev Rosh Hashanah. I'm going to read it slowly inside and translate to the best of my abilities and hopefully we'll come away with some practical halacha and a little bit of a new Elo mindset.

10:04 With the love that Hashem has for His Jewish nation, he increased His goodness and gave to us and commanded us to return to Him after every sin. And yet and yes, repentance is good at all times the month of Elul is selected and readied more for tshuva to be accepted than all the other months of the year.

10:55 Why? Because the month of El consists of days that are days of ratzon, days of desire, days of want and wanting Back from the times that we were chosen by Hashem to be His nation. Because when the Jewish people sinned with the golden calf and the tablets were smashed.

11:36 So Moshe went back up the mountain and he davened and he said my apologies. And Hashem said to Moshe Carve for yourself New luchos and I want to give you new luchos. There's this month, there's this time here of God giving us second chances. It sounds like is the drift of the after the egregious, egregious sin of the people.

12:22 Moshe went back up and Hashem said let's run it back and do it again. V'oz Allah b'Rosh Chodesh Elo. And then Moshe went up on Rosh Chodesh Elo, b'nishtoha Shom Ad, yom Kippur. And Moshe hung out up there. He resided on the mountain until Yom Kippur. Shahia Gemar Kapar. That was the complete atonement. That's the step one. The very first paragraph here tells us that Elul is chosen and selected. It's more accessible to repent. There are days of ratzon and there are days of ratzon.

13:03 They're days of second chances. It is also stated in the great work of that the Jews have a practice, a custom all of these days, to fast, and specifically to fast on the last day of these 40 days, of this stretch from Rosh Chodesh Elo until Yom Kippur, specifically on the 10th of Tishrei. A commandment, a decree to fast on what we call Yom Kippur.

13:45 It was therefore instituted forever for all the generations, the day of atonement To be a day of atonement, going forward, going forward. And since these days are days of want, from now meaning all the way back to when we were in the desert and recovering from the sin. Therefore, every single year, therefore, every single year, there is an inspiration again of mercy up in the heavens, and that is the definition of a hamey mei ratzon.

14:36 They're days of ratzon, of want, which is a side note, very hard word to translate. It really is what El is. They're days of Ratzon, and here we got a bit of a definition. It seems like the drift is that God wants us and gives us a second chance. It's a Ratzon, it's a Ratzon of Hashem, it's a day or times that we will have the ability to accomplish more, because they're good days. Lefi, therefore, shekesha'ala Moshe. When Moshe went up the mountain taku bashofer ba'machaneh, there was a blowing of the shofar down in the camp lehodia to make knownly Yisrael to the Jews.

15:17 Shaloyitu'o, that they should no longer make a mistake, they should no longer have a misstep. L'chaim, therefore, gam anachnu, we as well. No, hagem letkoa b'shofer b'chol yom erosh chodesh elo. In mimicking what was done on that very first blowing of the shofar during the recovery from sin, we too blow the shofar every day of El. We blow every single day, every single day of the month, but we do not blow the shofar on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

15:59 Why is this? It's an order To make a separation between the days that we blow it, keday. Why is this? It's an order, lahavsik b'en tekios, roshos l'chova, to make a separation between the days that we blow it as merely a custom and the days that we blow it as an obligation, meaning that of Rosh Hashanah. V'yeish mekomos. There are some places shetokin gam b'mincha they blow the shofar even during the afternoon prayer. V'yeish ma'ashchilim, miyom alef derosh, they blow the shofar even during the afternoon prayer. Some begin blowing the shofar from the very first day of Rosh Chodesh Elul. Some only begin blowing the shofar on the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul.

16:41 The main goal of the shofar blowings during Elul they are to inspire, to hopefully ignite the nation's hearts and to make their hearts tremble, tremble so that the ultimate goal should be reached of inspiration in their hearts to repent. Ki kein teva, because this is how nature works. Kol ha-shofar le-ha-charid, that the blowing, the sounding of the shofar makes one tremble, as is proven from the verse in Amos, chapter 3, verse 6, if you will blow the shofar in the city, will the nation not tremble and therefore it is obligatory Every single person nevertheless to prepare himself, to ready himself, but for the day that he will enter into judgment You're obligated.

17:59 It would be very smart if you would ready yourself and prepare yourself for the day of judgment on Rosh Hashanah and spend 30 days in tshuva and tefillah. It's necessary to point out the two double wording there of tshuva and tefillah. Both seem to be needed, and you should give your heart only to Avodah Hashem. This means that if you have a choice to do business or take care of getting your passport renewed or paying off some sort of bill that will require you to do something that could otherwise be pushed off a month, you should try to push it off a month, because Elul is for focusing on Avodah Hashem only.

18:58 And there's a hint to this. As we say in the Song of Songs, chapter 6, verse 3, I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me. Take away the first letters of all of those words and you have yourself the word Rashi, tevos, elo. The acronym of those four words spells the word Elo. It's a time that you are to your beloved and he is to you. V'lochen, and therefore yarbe, becholach chodesh b'tshuva u'tzvila. Therefore, we increase during this month with repentance and with tzvila u'tzedaka, and with here we see something new about giving charity and doing acts of kindness V'nasnu remez lozeh.

19:46 And there is also a hint to this when it says In chapter 9, verse 22 of the Megillus Esther we are told to send presents every man to his friend and gifts to the poor. Take away the first letters of Ish L'Re'eyu U'matonos La'Evyonim and you get the word Rashi Tevos Elo, the acronym Elo L'Ramez. This hint Sh'bechodesh Elo, yarbe B'matonos La'Evyonim. Increase your giving to the poor, u'mitamzeh. And for this reason, yesh no.

20:28 And for this reason, many have a custom to fast from the beginning of Rosh Chodesh Elo. You should not take this practice of fasting during Elo, except for one. You are very healthy and you know in all certainty that the fast will not harm you and it will not impede your Torah study sessions. And these generations that we are very weak, we lack sufficient strength, are very weak. We lack sufficient strength. Upshita halomdim.

21:09 This certainly applies to those that are learning Torah full time Mikol sheken, mishien lo balav hachiela, lechem b'dochek, and all the more so to someone who is already struggling with his finances that he shouldn't fast to make it even harder. Financial burden on himself. Yoser tov, it is better she. Sheyokhal ma'at, eat little, but eat, don't fast. V'yilmot kiflayim and learn double the amount. Ukevar he'erachnu. And he concludes that I have already gone into depth about this topic. B'zeh b'hechostainis in the Laws of Fast Days, end quote.

21:50 That is the first chapter of the Laws of Rosh Hashanah from the great Chayei Adam. It reads beautifully and you really get a feel for what we should be doing during these days. In summary, god loves us. He gave us hope, even after we mess up, and he gave us specifically this month of Elul, which is special, going all the way back to the very egregious sin of the golden calf. We kind of get to tap into that time period where Moshe went back up the mountain. God gave us hope a second chance.

22:30 The shofar sounded. So we sound the shofar to kind of shock ourselves awake, hear that alarm clock and have your heart fear and take life seriously. What do you do about it? You repent, you repent, you pray, you give charity, you give donations, you do righteous, kind acts and you don't take away any Torah study. If you are considering fasting which, he concludes, is not really a good idea we should increase our mitzvos, increase our connection to God, it would seem, and most definitely take full advantage of this incredible time period of Ani L'dodi V'dodi Li, a time when we are our beloveds and he is ours, and there are days of want, days of ratzon.

23:25 Thank you for tuning in and hope you enjoyed this first ever Chavrusa Shaft episode of Sefer Chai Adom on the Motivation Congregation podcast.