A Call for Teshuvah in Kovno

Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, chief Rav of Yerushalayim and author of Har Tzvi, used to tell a story from his childhood that made a deep impression on him all his life.

He said: "When I was a child in Kovno, at the beginning of Chodesh Elul, I followed all the adults into the Bais Medrash to hear the derosha of Rav Yisroel Salanter zt"l. The Bais Medrash was packed, and since I found nowhere else to sit, I sat down on the steps leading to the Aron Kodesh.

"In the middle of the derosha, Rav Yisroel Salanter called out, 'Yidden, mir gefinen zich itzter in Chodesh Elul, macht teshuvah. Fellow Jews, we find ourselves in the midst of the month of Elul. Do teshuvah.'

"As he said these words, he fainted and fell at the foot of the bima. I saw him lying there, pale as a ghost, looking as if he had died. The sight of such a thing has left its mark on me all my life."