" Not Too Early! "

Parshas Re'eh

As the month of Elul, is ushered in this week, I would like to share with you a famous parable by the Dubno Maggid that can help inspire us during this all-important time.

There was once a security guard who, every day at 4 pm, transported money from a business to the bank. One of the salesmen in a store along his route noticed this and of course had his eye on the money.

The problem is that he did not want to just outright accost this security guard. So he came up with a plan.

One day, at exactly four o'clock, the salesman went outside his shop and looked up and down the street, scanning the passersby in order to find a man of a certain size. As soon as he saw our security guard, he immediately said,

"Perfect! I need someone to try on a suit and you're the perfect size!" The security guard replied that he would not be able to do this, for he was in the middle of a job. But when the salesman offered the man $500, the security guard acquiesced and said he would try the suit on. The security guard told himself that he would absolutely not put down the money. He entered the shop and started trying on the suit but of course needed to put down the money for a moment as he was putting the suit on. As soon as he put the money

down, the salesman grabbed it and ran. The security guard ran after him, but the store owner stopped him and said he was forbidden to leave the store until he took off the store's suit.

The money and the salesman are the Yetzer Hara (the Evil Inclination), who lures us into doing things ("suits") that we do not really want to do. He gets us so preoccupied during the whole month of Elul and the days of Awe, that before we know it, the High Holy days are gone...

Let us all start preparing now for the days of awe and G-d willing we will all merit a sweet new year.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Naftali