Cheshbonot

5 Elul 5772

Here at the end of the year, the Master Accountant is going over the books and calling in old debts, Hashem yerachem, settling all accounts. This is the time that we take stock of our own situation and try to clear up any outstanding debts, whether to G-d or to man, so we can stand ready to be judged on Rosh Hashanah. Sometimes, we owe something as simple as an apology or a thank-you.

The way this month has started makes me quake internally. It seems that Hashem really means business with us this year - as if there really is no more time left to waste. Maybe there won't be another opportunity after this.

My day started out with an email asking for urgent prayers for one and half year old Shai Shalom ben Rachel who was in emergency treatment after an electric tris fell on him.

Then, I got to work and my co-worker told me what happened in her neighborhood. You can read the story at the link. I'll add to it what she told me - that all of the children were out in the area to buy cotton candy and nearly the entire neighborhood witnessed this event. The details were heart-rending. The mother identified her child by the shoes he was wearing. Enough said.

Then I read in the news about a child in Bnei Brak being burned all over and about the passing of another gadol - The Shomrei Emunim Rebbe, ztz"l.

This kind of news is a wake-up call for us all. We are not privy to how Hashem balances His books, but we know that we are standing in judgment at a time when we are so regrettably deserving of it. Please let's make the best possible use of our time and spend it making amends and trying to repair anything we have damaged in the past year. Let's show Hashem that it's worth it to give us another year of life.

Besorot tovot!