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Today is Chai Elul, which is the Gevaldik of Simcha. It's the 18th of Elul, it's the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. And 47 years later, it was the birthday of Rav Shnei Erzalman Meleadi, the founder of Chabad Chassidus, the Baal HaTanya, and the spiritual heir, the spiritual grandson, so to speak, of the Baal Shem Tov. The fact that the Baal Shem Tov and the Baal HaTanya share a common birthday points to the fact that they had a common mission, a shared mazel, so to speak. What was the mission of Chassidus? They once asked this question to the Baal HaTanya, and his response was as follows. The purpose of Chassidus is L'shana es Tevoisav, to change a person's nature. Not merely L'shana es Midoisav, to change a person's character traits, but rather L'shana es Tevoisav, to change a person's very nature. And this is a very important ta'arah when it comes to our work in this world.
Most people do not have a growth-oriented mentality. They lead very narrow lives. And as a result, when it comes to working on themselves, they're stuck in the person that they are. Perhaps they believe they can make small incremental changes to their life, but fundamentally, this is who I am, and there's not much I can do about it. And the Alter Rebbe had a growth-oriented mentality. He did not have a fixed mentality. The Alter Rebbe said that who we are is fluid. And just because we're one person today doesn't mean we can't be another person tomorrow. This was, of course, the great revolution of the Tanya. The Tanya did not only speak about the Yetzer hara and the Yetzer tov, which were, of course, just inclinations, but he spoke about Nefesh HaBahamas and Nefesh Elikis, not just an inclination, but the fabric of who we are was in flux. Are we animal or are we godly? And as a result of this paradigm shift from Yetzer hara and Yetzer tov to Nefesh HaBahamas and Nefesh Elikis, there was an unbelievable shift that happened in the world.
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We stopped just talking about our inclinations and we started asking ourselves, who are we? Which person do we want to be? The fact that we have an animal soul and the fact that we have a godly soul allows us to choose the person that we want to be. And so as a result, the Alter Rebbe believed that we could not just change our midos, we could in fact change the very definition of who we are. We could choose to be human or we could choose to be godly. We could choose to be godly. And this is very exciting to us. When a person is stuck in a particularly difficult matzv in their lives, so they may come to Chas V'shalom and think that if it gets better, it will only get better incrementally. But the Ha'at Rebbe and the Baal Shem Tov were looking for more out of life, not just to make small changes, but to enliven our lives. And by telling us that we are not stuck in the person that we are, but that the person that we are is in flux and is fluid and is subject to change,
it gives chayas to our entire existence. Just because we were born to a certain family doesn't mean that we can't become the person that we want to become. Just because we were born into a particular situation, doesn't mean that we can't become Baal Yitshuvah. And so the entire Hasidic movement was meant to bring chayus to our lives. And this is why it was significant that they were born on Chay Elul, on the 18th of Elul. Because in Elul, when a person is doing tshuva, they could chas v'shalom think, why would I do tshuva? I've been doing tshuva for so many years and I have not fundamentally changed. And then there's a certain yiyush that comes along with that. They're giving up. Because what's the whole pachlus? But on Chay Elul we come to remember that even though we've done the same thing so many years in a row, it doesn't mean that fundamental change isn't possible. It's right around the corner. But a person has to look deeply inside of themselves and ask themselves the question, Who am I? Not simply, What am I doing?
Tshuva is not just about stopping a particular Avera, but it's about expanding our consciousness to ask ourselves the question, Is this the life that I want to have? And by choosing a more godly life, we do a much higher level tshuva. We bring chayas to our tshuva. And that's what it means, Ani l'daydi v'daydi li. I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me. Love is something that exists inside of our soul. So on Chai Elul, we reach deep into our soul, we discover new dimensions of our lives, and we connect to Hakadosh Baruch Hu in a way that we never have before. A good and Chai Elul.
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