Parshat Shoftim begins with the verse, "Shoftim v'shotrim titen lecha bechol shearecha." Appoint judges and officers within all your gates. The Gemara says that courts had to be set up in every city in the land of Israel. Outside of the land, one court in every province sufficed. This raises a question. There were six cities of refuge. Three were located in Israel. The other three were outside of the land where only two and a half tribes lived. Crime was more common there, so more cities of refuge were needed. Why then did Hashem command that extra courts be set up in Israel? Shouldn't more courts function where more crime was committed?

The land of Israel cannot contain sin. It is the holiest country in the world and demands a higher standard. Therefore, there was a need for more judges and officers in order to maintain that heightened level.

Similarly, Chazal say about the period of Elul, "Dirshu Hashem b'himatzo." Seek Hashem when he is near. The forty days between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur are a time when Hashem is especially close to us. There is an elevated level of sanctity and therefore any breaches during this period are treated more seriously.

We say on Rosh Hashana "Alah Elokim b'teruah." Hashem ascends with the shofar blast. The Tur and the Bach explain that when Hashem hears the shofar we are elevated, and it raises Hashem too. How can we understand this? Isn't the Almighty perfect?

At the giving of the Torah, a marriage bond was created between Hashem and the Jewish people. The two tablets were the ring. The mountain was the wedding canopy. A relationship was formed that would never be severed. Any deep connection is only as strong as the weakest link. When we stray far from Hashem we create distance. When we come back to Him the bond is revived. Then Hashem rises up with us.

Elul is a time of hitchadshut, renewal. Chadash can mean two things, either something absolutely new or the same physical context with a fresh plan or vision. Perhaps one could say that the idea of rebirth in Elul is that we begin getting into the teshuva modality. Maybe we are not ready to destroy everything and rebuild again but we can start step by step.

Is Rosh Hashana a holiday of joy or awe? The Shulchan Aruch says one should eat, drink, and rejoice. Yet the Terumat Hadeshen says one can fast. The Shulchan Aruch says we can say Tzidkatcha in davening because it's not a yom tov in the classic sense. The Rama disagrees and says the custom is not to say it because it is a yom tov. The Rambam says these are days of joy but not excessive joy. The Gemara says that Hallel is not recited because the books of life and death are open before Hashem.

The shofar too has this dichotomy. On the one hand it reminds us of the joy of the giving of the Torah, the redemption, and the ultimate triumph of akeidat Yitzchak. On the other hand it commemorates the tears of Sisra's mother. The shofar is shaped in a bent and submissive fashion. It's meant to awaken us to repentance.

The prayers on Rosh Hashana reflect this paradox too. The most intense part of the Mussaf tefilah is Unetane Tokef. Yet the mood is soon transformed from fear to joy.

Rosh Hashana is not really a time of repentance. It's a day when we crown Hashem king. We don't say vidui or selichot because we cannot begin the process of teshuva before affirming that Hashem is our master. It's a frightening and awe inspiring day, but it's also a time when we recognize that Hashem loves and cares for us.

The Navi tells us, "Ivdu et Hashem b'yirah v'gilu bir'ada."Serve Hashem with fear and rejoice in trembling. Rosh Hashana is when we are meant to feel the pain of how far we've strayed. But at the same time if we can sense that intimate connection we have to Hashem, then we feel true joy.

In Elul we repent from the outside in. On Rosh Hashana we repent from the inside out. Elul is knocking down the building brick by brick. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur is uprooting the foundation. As we proclaim Hashem king, we can reach into the depths of our souls and emerge transformed.

The Chovot Halevovot writes in Shar Hayichud that the greatest challenge in life is the struggle with oneself. The evil inclination attempts to deceive us at every step of the way. He tries to put doubts in our mind. His lines are convincing. "Is it really necessary for you to do this mitzvah? The weather is cold. People won't appreciate it. Do you think Hashem cares? Is it really important?" The yetzer hara causes us to divert our minds and weakens our emunah. It always finds some new angle to make us stumble. It also makes us sink into routine and do mitzvot without thought or feeling.

How can we guard ourselves? We must recognize that the yetzer hara is false. It compels us to chase after honor and recognition. It convinces us to flaunt our talents, wealth and power. It tells us we deserve a comfortable life even if that means taking advantage of others. It's the voice in our head that says, "You have the right to live any life you want without guilt." The yetzer hara is so powerful that Iyov asked that no person should ever be punished for his sins. Yet if we study the tactics the evil inclinations uses, we can find ways to overcome it.

The yetzer hara doesn't see anything good about life. It works by getting a person to negate everything Hashem does for him. We must learn to cultivate hakarat hatov (gratitude). We must recognize Hashem's infinite kindness. If we're happy with the small things, minor inconveniences won't matter. We must think positive and rejoice in what Hashem has given us.

Chazal say, "Barati yetzer hara barati Torah tavlin." The Torah is like a spice that changes the texture and taste of food. Torah transforms our perspective on life. The sages say, if the yetzer hara tries to entrap you drag him to the beit medrash. The masters of mussar explain that the beit medrash is a place where Torah scholars gravitate. Talmidei chachamim are our role models and can teah us how to deal with the yester hara.

The Michtav M'Eliyahu tells us that we can destroy the yetzer hara through deveikut b'Hashem - attaching ourselves to Hashem. When we become so close to the Almighty it leaves no room for evil to endure.

May the repentant filled weeks of Elul bring us closer to our true goal of vanquishing our inner enemy.

Hashem relates to the world in the form of igulim - circles. He is soveiv kol almin. He surrounds all worlds and every Jews stands in that circle equidistant from the center, which is Hashem.

The root of the souls of all the Jewish people are one. Its inner dimension which is revealed in the soul of Israel on Rosh Hashana is that every Jew is unique. Each one needs the other in order to be accept from him. We are all pieces of the puzzle that make up knesset Yisrael. Therefore every Jew must humble himself before the point of greatness of his brother. Even if he hasn't found it yet he must believe that he is a vital part of the circle of Israel.

If someone loses a thumb or a pinky his whole body is affected. Similarly the Jewish people are one body that make up knesset Yisrael. Losing one Jew throws the entire nation off balance.

Reb Shneur Zalman M'Liadi compares knesset Yisrael to the structure of a person. Although the legs are at the end and the head is at the highest point, in one respect the legs have an advantage. They hold up the entire body including the head. The head must humble itself before the feet. If the head leans down to the feet it can be receivefrom them. In the fetal position, the fetus makes itself into a circle where the head and feet are bound together. Dancing in a circle on Simchat Torah signifies this unification.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that the higher the tzaddik the more readily he will lean down to listen to the humblest of Jews. In the time of Mashiach those most elevated will connect to those who are lowest. Yichud Hashem is when everything becomes one. Just as the head cannot be whole without the feet, a Jew on his own can never reach perfection. There's something missing within him that only a fellow Jew can fill. Hashem sets people up together for this reason. The people you are closest too are the ones meant to help you fix your flaws.

In marriage we see this clearly. One must humble oneself before one's spouse, not as a result of one's flaws, but as an opportunity for perfection. There's friction in marriage. A spouse may challenge you. Arrogance will prevent you from bending. If both the husband and wife would recognize that Hashem custom designed their match to correct their flaws they would not clash. Rather they would be receivefrom one from the other. The Zohar says a couple are two halves of a soul. The Arizal taught that the moment when a husband and wife humble themselves before each other is the point where true love can flourish.

When we humble ourselves before others we become part of the oneness of klal Yisrael and Hashem. Then we can merit revelation. When the Jews came to Sinai it says, "Vayichan sham yisrael." They encamped there. Rashi says, "K'ish echad b'lev echad." They were like one man with one heart. Only after they were united did they merit to experience matan Torah and the revelation of Hashem's oneness.

Someone who is arrogant slips into the world of separation, which belongs to the sitra achra (the other side). Anyone who thinks he doesn't need others and imagines that he is perfect in his own right separates himself from Hashem and the Jewish people and cannot be connected to the side of holiness. By humbling oneself, a person can enter into that mysterious existence of Ein od milvado (there's none other than Hashem) and merit hashraat haShechina (Divine Presence).

The Middle Rebbe writes in his commentary on the siddur that one who doesn't feel that his perfection is dependent on others is in the hands of the nefesh habahamit, the animal soul. A person who nullifies himself is connected to his nefesh Elokit (Divine soul).

Rosh Hashana is the day of "Vayehi beshurin melech" the coronation of the king. It is then that "behisasef rashei am yachad shivtei yisrael," the entire Jewish people gather in a circle united as one. This is the deeper meaning of teshuva on Rosh Hashana. Teshuva doesn't just mean repenting for sins. It's also returning something to its rightful owner. If a person invests his mind and thoughts into something that is not Elokut he separates his divine soul from his divine existence. At the end of Yom Kippur at Neilah we ask Hashem to help us return all that we have stolen. This refers to ourselves. Even while the soul is in the body we yearn to return it to its true source, Knesset Yisrael and Hashem.