It’s not only the “unusual events”— every story in our lives, every moment, every detail is Hashem Melech in action
Elul is the narrow bridge between the warmth of summer and the majesty of the Yamim Noraim — days that will shape not only our year, but our destiny. The Manchester Rosh Yeshivah would count each day of Elul like one who counts Sefirah — a personal countdown to Rosh Hashanah.
But what about those of us who are not on such an exalted level? When we stand in shul on Rosh Hashanah and declare “Hashem Melech,” will it just be words we say? Or will it come as recognition of a truth that awakens us and changes how we live, every single day?
Rav Dessler warns those who mouth the words “while their hearts remain distant” that they can only truly attain this recognition by making changes to their actions — “and if no action changes, then no real recognition ever happened.” But he assures us there is path to achieving this: “When one truly sees Hashem’s guiding Hand and internalizes it… then, inevitably, his actions change entirely — from one extreme to the other.”
Of course, it is one thing to understand this intellectually; it is another thing to internalize it emotionally. The Steipler Gaon explains this distinction with the example of Noach, who entered the Ark “because of the waters of the flood” (Bereishis 7:7). Despite Hashem’s warning, Noach hesitated until the rain actually began. His emunah, explains the Steipler, was sichlis, intellectual — but not chushis, an emotional, sensory conviction. And intellectual acknowledgment of Hashem’s Hand simply isn’t enough.
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