Who doesn’t remember that fateful day of כ“ג אלול תשס”א [commonly known as 9/11]? The day when two planes struck the enormous Twin Towers that came crashing down soon after. The horrific shock that made waves ripple through the world, which was followed by mourning and sadness.

The sight of the tremendous שרפה with people jumping from the higher floors to avoid getting consumed by the flames is still etched in our minds and hearts. Just the thought that people [so called] can be so cruel make us sick in the stomach.

The truth is that if you haven’t yet sung שירות ותשבחות on the miracles that Hashem performed for many Yidden on that day, then you should do it right now. Many may not be aware, but there were thousands of Yidden that had offices at the Twin Towers. Yet for one reason or another [as each person has another story], they weren’t there at that time. It’s simply mind boggling.

However, there were nebech seven Yidden who died on that fateful day with all the ד’ מיתות ר״ל, [along with thousands of goyim]. It was a tragedy of such magnitude. Whoever heard of such a bizarre tragedy? It should move us to tears when we think about our brothers who died in such a way.

Yes, we Klal Yisroel knew who was behind this–our Loving Father, Hashem. After all, He Alone orchestrates everything and especially such worldly events. All the Hashgacha stories that emerged afterwards just prove that Hashem was behind all of this.

What this means on an elementary level is that there was a group of wicked people that plotted and planned this attack and Hashem approved of their plan. If Hashem didn’t want it to happen then it couldn’t and wouldn’t have happened. Why Hashem did exactly this, we don’t know, but there are definitely messages we can take if we think into it. This is the Alef Bais in our Emuna.

What was loud and clear is that Hashem was sending us a loud and clear message, and that is WAKE UP! Wake up from your slumber. Stop sleeping so much. Don’t you see that I am shaking up the world? Stop hitting the snooze button. This happened right before Rosh Hashana. Is that a coincidence?

I heard from a friend that there is a Zohar that says that starting from the beginning of the Torah each passuk has a remez, a message corresponding to a situation related to Klal Yisroel. For example, there are seven horrifying pesukim in Parshas Nitzavim that correspond to the seven years of the Holocaust.

In Parshas Haazinu there is a serious pasuk that corresponds to the horrific tragedy of the Twin Towers Later in the Parsha you will find pesukim of mussar for our situation r”l.

It’s said over that Reb Shloime from Bobov used to say הקול קול יעקב is the sound of the alarm. While והידים ידי עשיו – this is when we hit the snooze button and we wake up late.

I remember when I was a bachur, I once wanted to get up at a certain time. I set my alarm for that time with the intent to wake up on the first ring. However, since I had gone to sleep extremely late, the alarm rang, and I was so tired, so with my eyes closed I hit the snooze button. Five minutes later it rang again, and I hit the snooze button.

This kept on repeating itself over and over for close to an hour. What made things even more comical was that I remember making all kinds of calculations why I was permitted to hit the snooze button. The cheshbonos had even divrei Torah in them as well.

Finally, my mother came into the room and was shocked to see that I was still in bed. She went over to the bed and shook it very hard. When that didn’t do the trick she did step two. She grabbed the cozy blanket out of my grasp. This finally shook me out of my slumber. I finally got up and got ready for Yeshiva.

I remember in camp when a counselor employed this tactic of taking away the blanket but it still didn’t work. So he took drastic measures and he used the Negel vasser method. The rest is history….

We daven three times a day and we implore Hashem תקע בשופר גדול לחירותינו. Did you ever wonder why it’s called the שופר גדול? Will this shofar be larger than the average shofar? What are we comparing it to?

The simple answer is that it says by Mattan Torah וקול השופר הולך וחזק מאד and since when Moshiach comes, Hashem will once again use that shofar, that’s why it’s called the שופר גדול.

However, perhaps we can suggest another reason why this shofar is called “gadol”.

The idea of the shofar, says the Rambam, is the message of עורו ישינים משינתכם. The Medrash tells us that the shofar tells us to improve our ways, שפרו מעשיכם. This is what we should be hearing when we hear the shofar.

We know that in the Midbar when it was time to move on they blew the shofar. The message that the Yidden heard with the shofar was that it’s time to move on. Similarly, we can say that the shofar is also telling us that we should let go of our past and move on שפרו מעשיכם. This is the essence of מלכיות.

My friends, the truth is that whenever Hashem does something drastic and is shaking up the world, this is a קול שופר from Hashem Himself. He is calling out to us to wake up and improve ourselves like we do each day in Elul – עורו ישינים משינתכם.

So when the Twin Towers came crashing down with a thunderous crash which happened at the end of Elul, that was a קול שופר from Hashem Himself. That קול שופר should be reverberating in our ears until today. No, we cannot forget the victims nor can we ever forget the great message of the קול שופר that was blown that fateful day.

Many people don’t want to think about that tragic day. They just want to move on in life, which, in a way, is understandable, but this attitude is in itself a great tragedy, as we are explaining, and there is still room to look at that tragic event with glasses of kefira r”l. However, we cannot forget a day that has such clear and strong messages that need to reverberate.

A few short years ago the world was overturned by a virus, which they called COVID. The result of this virus was the closure of our Shuls, our Yeshivos, our wedding halls and all other public venues, including restaurants. We weren’t allowed to leave our house for a while. It was as if the world came to a screeching halt. Doesn’t this sound insane?

During the virus we lost many Gedolim and choshuve Yidden r”l. I am still in pain with the loss of Hagaon Hatzaddik Rav Ahron Walkin z”l with whom I was very close. There were many other korbanos as well. These Gedolim didn’t even get their proper levaya and hespedim.

We can go on and on, but many people don’t want to hear the word COVID. They just want to forget about the whole ordeal. My friends, this is the Yetzer Hara talking, because this was another קול שופר that was blown by Hashem Himself to wake us up to work on ourselves.

As we mentioned in a different article, the word COVID has a very similar connotation to the words Kavod which represents Kavod to a Shul, Kavod to a friend and to our families. Additionally, it also sounds like the words “Koved Rosh” which means that we need to have the right awe for a Shul and our esteemed Rabbanim. Many speakers mentioned this during COVID, and it’s the basic message that we were supposed to hear.

The big question is, did we listen to that Kol Shofar and wake up or did we hit the snooze button r”l? I heard from a choshuve Yid who noticed that during COVID many bachurim [and many others as well] either went up spiritually or went down significantly. My friends, the reason for this is simple. If you listen to the קול שופר and grab a hold of the light, you go up, but if you hit the snooze button and reject it, you will go down r”l.

Over the past five years there were many shofros that we kept hearing. These shofros were supposed to wake us up – עורו ישנים משינתכם. The question once again is what did we do with all the messages from Hashem? Did we utilize them to change ourselves or did we hit the snooze button r”l?

Then there were the constant wars that have become so frequent in the world that some of us may have become used to the situation r”l. This is a big problem that each person needs to find solutions to this machla of regilus.

Almost a year ago we had a horrific attack in Eretz Yisroel which shook up the entire world and especially the Jewish people. This was a shofar that was powerful as it blasted through the entire nation. So many Yidden died in such a horrible fashion.

Them there were the hostages who were abducted and tortured by inhumane creatures who are better known as the פרא אדם. At first, we stormed Shomayim with heartfelt tefillos. However, over time, it’s not the same anymore.

If you think about it, it should really be that the longer the hostages are in captivity in the hands of the חיות רעות , the more we should be crying and davening. After all, their pain keeps growing and the danger gets stronger. The answer is obvious. We are in Galus, our hearts are in Galus, and we are nebech sick people.

The situation in Eretz Yisroel doesn’t seem to be improving as the physical danger is getting stronger r”l. Eretz Yisroel is being confronted with wars with Yishmael now. Then there is the spiritual danger that is lurking from the Israeli government that is trying their utmost to uproot the Bnei Torah r”l. All these are loud shofros with strong messages, and it’s happening right before Rosh Hashana.

Recently, Hashem blew five loud Shofros. It started with Rav Baruch Ber Ziemba zt”l right before Elul. The month of Elul was ushered in with the פטירה of four giants each in their own respect. ארי-ה שאג מי לא יראה? Did we hear the loud shofros of Hashem? One would expect people to walk around the streets shedding tears from the loss of these great luminaries. Why not? Again, we see clearly that we are sick people from the lengthy Galus.

I am not justifying anyone nor am I pointing fingers. I am just demonstrating that we have a big problem at hand. Why am I saying this? That’s because if one doesn’t think that they have a problem they won’t get help. Sometimes even when one knows that there is a problem but they don’t realize the magnitude of their problem, they still won’t seek help.

Furthermore, there is a fundamental concept that we must mention, as it’s one of the first questions they ask a person when he arrives in בית דין של מעלה, and that is צפית לישועה? If someone doesn’t realize that he has a problem, he won’t be waiting for his Yeshua.

There is well known Mashal brought down by Rabbeinu Yona.

There was a group of robbers in jail that dug a tunnel and escaped. There was one fellow who stayed behind and did not escape. When the jail warden came in and saw the tunnel, he beat the prisoner and exclaimed, “You stubborn, foolish man. You have the opening in front of your eyes, how can you not escape?”

The obvious question is what did this man do wrong by remaining behind? The answer is that this man obviously doesn’t realize that jail is a punishment, and rather, he looks at it as part of life, so he never anticipated trying to escape or even to hope for freedom. Therefore, when the others escaped, he stayed behind. Therefore, this man needs a beating to wake him up to realize that this is not where he belongs. Humans are supposed to be free and not imprisoned.

Similarly, if we make ourselves comfortable in Galus as if this is our home and we don’t walk around with the hope that we should be redeemed, then this means that we made peace with our Galus. This is a grave error. Galus is not where a Yid belongs, and we certainly don’t belong amongst gentiles. One of the Baalei Mussar used to say that a Yid in Galus is like an animal that’s out of its habitat.

We belong in Eretz Yisroel, our home, with the Bais Hamikdash, the Home of Hashem כביכול and living amongst our holy brothers. That’s where we will finally have the freedom to serve Hashem the way we really want, with hearts full of love and Yiras Shomayim.

All of us want to thank Hashem for all the billions of Chassadim that He did for us personally and for the Jewish nation, but our hearts are hard like stone. We are nebech sick people who complain about this and that, but that’s not how we want to be. We want to thunder מודים three times a day and we want to storm at נשמת, but we are tied in shackles.

Elul – I heard from many sources and Reb Avigdor Miller zt”l who elaborate that a great part of Malchiyos is thanking Hashem for the unlimited Chesssed that He does for us. As we mentioned, we may have difficulty with this due to our hard hearts. However, now in Elul, we need to fight like soldiers and keep thanking Hashem non-stop.

The truth is that all the shofros that we are hearing are certainly doing something despite the hardness of our hearts, but at the same time there is still room for us to reject the messages and hit the snooze button. Obviously, we should not excuse ourselves and we should try to make small Kabbalos and try to emulate the Gedolim we lost. We should think about all the shofros and mend our ways.

Getting back to the שופר גדול. As mentioned, throughout the years, whenever shofros were blown, we have the ability to heed them or to simply hit the snooze button.

However, there will come a time when Hashem will blow the שופר גדול that we are eagerly waiting for. When this shofar will blow there will not be any option of turning over. This shofar will break down the iron מחיצות and our hearts will become soft once again. This is as the passuk tells us clearly והסירותי מכם את לב אבן ונתתי לכם לב בשר–our hearts will finally be healed.

I once heard a peshat from Rav Daniel Glatstein shlita that the Navi tells us בבכי יבואו–when Moshiach will come there will be lots of tears shed. He asks the obvious question. When Moshiach will come it says אז ימלא שחוק פינו, it will be a time of joy like no other. So what is the explanation of this great crying that will take place.

Says Rav Daniel, that Klal Yisroel has lots of pain that has built up over the years. However, there is a great dam that is holding back the tears from flowing.

When we heard about the tragedy of the Yidden who died in the Twin Towers we want to cry but the dam doesn’t allow the tears to flow. When we heard about all the giants who we lost over the past five years and especially with the recent losses we want to cry, but we can’t.

When Tisha B’av arrives, we want to cry over the Churban Beis Hamikdash and all the chorbanos that Klal Yisroel endured over the years in Galus, we want to cry non-stop but the dam is blocking the tears.

Says Rav Daniel, when Moshiach will come, the dam will finally burst. This will cause an outburst of all the tears that were built up and we will finally be able to cry over the Churban and everything else.

However, I would like to add that afterwards those very tears that come gushing forth will turn into tears of joy when we realize that all of that was meant for our good. We will realize how everything was part of the process to reach this day of זה היום עשה ה’ נגילה ונשמחה בו.

Rosh Hashana – We see from many sefarim that the shofar of Rosh Hashana has more power than the other shofros. The shofar of Rosh Hashana has the power to purify our hearts and to take down the iron מחיצות between us and Hashem as well.

The Satmer Rebbe zt”l says that this is why when the Yetzer Hara hears the shofar, he gets frightened. That’s because he hears in the shofar the potential to purify our hearts and to take down the iron מחיצות between us and Hashem, and he is afraid that perhaps Moshiach is coming. However, we have the ability to ignore the messages of this shofar as well r”l.

Perhaps that’s why we make a תקיעה גדולה to hint to us that this shofar is also like שופר גדול and we should take advantage of the moment. At this time of tremendous עת רצון, there are two approaches to our Kavana. We can either daven for ourselves that Hashem should be my King and He should take down my מחיצות של ברזל and soften my heart.

Perhaps it’s time to think bigger. Isn’t it time that we stop thinking only about ourselves and daven to Hashem to take down the מחיצות של ברזל between Klal Yisroel and Hashem. We need to beg Hashem at this time that He should blow the תקיעה גדולה that will bring everyone back from all over the world back to our home with our Father, our King, with no more pain and suffering.

Rav Asher Arielli shlita in his drashos on Elul reiterates that throughout the entire tefilla of Rosh Hashana we are constantly begging Hashem for Moshiach with the ‘מלכות ה to be restored in its glory. Thus, it’s obvious that our avoda on Rosh Hashana is to beg Hashem on this day that we are focused on מלכיות זכרונות ושופרות to make it finally happen.

In fact, the Zohar Hakadosh notes that it is upsetting that Klal Yisroel scream like dogs–הב הב. The Meforshim explain that the Zohar is referring to the fact that during our tefillos our main emphasis is often on ourselves and not on מלכות שמים. This Elul, while it’s still Elul, we need to resolve that, yes, we will daven for בני חיי ומזוני but our main emphasis will be on מלכות שמים.

If we do that, then we will for sure hear together with our shofar [which can be from the shofar of Elul] the shofar gadol of Hashem blowing stronger and stronger. Our hearts will begin to heal as we will finally be reunited with Hashem with hearts overflowing with love במהרה בימינו אמן,

Wishing Klal Yisroel a כתיבה וכתימה טובה

Pinchas Halevi Doppelt

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