In Aramaic, the word Elul means l'chapes, to search. In the month of Elul we begin digging deep within ourselves to find the road back to repentance. As the call of the shofar resounds in the still morning air, it seems to echo, "Horeinu Hashem darkecha." Hashem, show me Your way.

Rabbi Nachman teaches that there are many gates to repentance and every person must forge his own individual path. At the time of creation Hashem said, "Naaseh adam. Let us make man." With the gift of daat (knowledge), man became an active partner with Hashem in creating himself. When a Jewish child is born we rejoice and when a Jew dies we mourn because every one of us has our own unique perception of Hashem.

Adam was given extraordinary powers of insight. He saw from one end of the world to the next. But when he sinned with the Tree of Knowlege he separated himself from Hashem. Chazal say, "A person does not sin unless a streak of madness enters him." An absence of awareness of Hashem brings us to evil.

In Tehilim, David writes, "Tov v'yashar Hashem al kein yoreh chataim b'derech." Hashem guides sinners back to the path. In ancient times a Jew would go to a prophet to help him do teshuva. Today when we no longer have prophecy, Hashem puts this awarenessdirectly into our hearts. All we must do is turn to Him.

Repentance begins with cheshbon hanefesh (an accounting of the soul). The Ramchal says this means increasing our Torah knowledge in order to know clearly what is right and wrong. Teshuva involves not only evaluating our negative deeds but working to develop our strong points by using our talents to uplift our avodat Hashem.

There are many barriers to teshuva. Some people are complacent and don't think they need to improve. Some are not sure what their unique gate of teshuva is or don't know how to get there. Reciting Tehilim awakens our consciousness of Hashem's presence. So does talking to Hashem in our own words. Women were given nine measures of speech. Our strength is prayer.

Noach is the only person in the Torah who is called a tzaddik because he lived in a generation when remaining loyal to Hashem took a lot of strength. Hashem measures our deeds by our efforts and by our mindset. What are our aspirations? How much do we desire perfection? Do we long for Hashem's closeness?

May He who discerns the innermost workings of a person's heart judge us mercifully and inscribe us for a year of fulfillment and growth.

In the Hebrew language there are two ways of saying, "And it was:" v'haya and vayehi. Vayehi coupled with the word beyemei means something difficult will happen soon. Vayehi has two yuds and one heh. Vahaya has two hehs and only one yud. Hashem created the world with two letters of His name: yud and heh. The verse states, "Ki b'kah Hashem tzur olamim."

His will is symbolized by the shapes, names, spelling, and placement of these letters. The letter yud symbolizes the invisible world of the spirit. The heh with its two feet on the ground represents this world. When it says vahaya it means that the events being narrated can be interpreted according to human perception. When it says vayehi it signifies something that is not easily understood from the perspective of this world. Hashem's picture isn't our picture. He sees from above to below. He can perceive a person's past and future.

The initial events in Chana's story were almost incomprehensible. She was married to Elkana, a righteous Jew. Although she herself was also a great prophetess, she was childless.

The word Chana is related to the word chen. Chen always appears in conjunction with the word ayin, to see. This signifies the ability to see things in a way in which Hashem's presence is visible. It's having an outlook towards life through which one can absorb Hashem's light.

The Gemara tells us that Elkana was from Ramatayim. In the deepest sense this means he was a person who was berumo shel olam (at the apex of the world). He was descended from Korach and is described in the Midrash as the only true tzaddik in his generation. A tzaddik is someone whose speech, deed, and actions are focused solely on Hashem. The Midrash says Elkana was like Avraham. Avraham's righteousness was that he saw Hashem as the ultimate giver and, therefore, he too wanted to give. His life was dedicated to reaching out to people and trying to give them a sense of Hashem's presence. Bringing people closer to Judaism involves judging them favorably and believing in their inherent goodness. The Tana Devei Eliyahu says this is what Elkana did.

Penina angered Chana. She meant well although Hashem judged her actions as wrong. She thought Chana wasn't praying enough to have children and had accepted her situation. Penina would talk about her children and Chana would weep and refuse to eat. Elkana questioned her, "Am I not better to you than ten children?" He meant to say, "I am to you what a family should be." When Chana heard this she understood that she was depending too much on Elkana to pray for her. As much as a tzaddik's prayers can help, they cannot replace one's own prayers.

The Maharal says tefilah awakens a person's heart to his utter dependence on Hashem. It's the recognition that only He can give us what we desire. When a person perceives this he rises above nature. Then he can merit a supernatural response. Chana had accepted her fate to some degree. She thought, if Hashem isn't answering the tzaddik Elkana why would He answer me? But now she understood that it was up to her.

Chana's depression turned to bitterness. The voice of depression says, "I don't want to deal with this." This was Chana weeping and refusing to eat or drink. The voice of bitterness says, "This is not how it should be. I will do something about this." This was Chana eating and drinking and going to the mishkan. It says that she prayed "on Hashem" not "to Hashem." The commentators explain that in her mind she it was as though He was in front of her. She seemed to say, "The reason I'm talking to you and confronting you this way is because I trust you and believe in you and love you. It's because I know that if it's at all possible to give me this and it isn't bad for me, you could do it."

Tefilah accompanied by tears has a great effect. Chana didn't suppress her emotions. She made a vow as an accompaniment to her prayers, not as a manipulation. She promised Hashem, "I'll give him to you all the days of his life."

When Yaakov perceived that his death was near, he summoned all of his sons to gather around his bedside. Chazal say he wanted to reveal matters related to the future of the Jewish people. Hashem's presence departed momentarily from Yaakov and he thought that perhaps something was wrong with one of his children that they were not worthy of hearing his prophecy.

The Gemara says that the tribes responded by saying Shema Yisrael. They affirmed their belief in the one Hashem and were following in the ways of the forefathers. This is the origin of Shema Yisrael, which was later incorporated by Moshe into the Torah. Yaakov responded with the words, "Baruch shem kavod malchuto l'olam v'aed."

The Midrash in Devarim Rabbah says that Moshe heard the angels say Baruch shem when he was in heaven but he didn't include it in the Torah. The Gemara asks, if we say this phrase in the Shema it would be a slight to Moshe. If we ignore it would be a slight to Yaakov. So we compromise by saying it quietly. On Yom Kippur we say it aloud because then we are considered like angels.

The Yerushalmi in Brachot says that one can remedy a bracha levatala (blessing uttered in vain) by reciting the phrase Baruch shem. The Rosh adds that if a person only says the first part of the blessing stopping after the name of Hashem he can end with the words, lamdeini chukecha.

In Hilchot Shevuot, the Rambam says that not only is swearing in the name of Hashem prohibited but even mentioning one of Hashem's name in vain. If a person made a mistake and said a bracha l'vatala he should immediately say Baruch shem as a form of praise to correct the slight brought about by empty usage of His name.

The Chiddah offers another reason. When a person says a bracha lavatala it causes a chillul Hashem (desecration of Hashem's name). The world's equilibrium is upset on a cosmic level. Saying Baruch shem restores that balance. The Panim Meirot writes that Baruch shem eliminates the bracha lavatala by making it as though one never said the bracha. Similarly, the Aruch Hashulchan explains that if one said Hashem's name in vain one can undo the damage by accepting the yoke of heaven and giving the Almighty honor with Baruch shem.

The verse in the Haazinu says, "Ki shem Hashem ekra havu godel lelokeinu." When I call out the name of Hashem, ascribe greatness to him. Baruch shem is a form of sanctifying Hashem's name. The Gemara in Taanit writes that in the beit hamikdash the Jews didn't answer amen to a bracha. Rather they responded with Baruch shem and other phrases of praise. On Yom Kippur when the high priest would utter the ineffable name the Jewish people would bow and fall on their face and say Baruch shem.

If you say the name of Hashem several times in vain how many times do you have to say Baruch shem? The Aishel Avraham says you have to say Baruch shem for each mistake. Rav Shlomo Zalman maintains that saying Baruch shem once suffices since it only serves as a form of praise. Repeating the praise does not add to it.

The Rambam rules that one should hurry to say Baruch shem after the bracha levatala. The Aishel Avraham holds that although it's preferable to say it right away you can fix your mistake later too. The Chayei Adam and Rav Shlomo Zalman maintain that the praise must be related to the blessing right away, otherwise it loses its address and cannot be said anymore.