“And you shall then proclaim and say before Hashem, your God, ‘the Aramite destroy[ed] my forefather, then he descended to Egypt and sojourned there with a tiny community; and there he became a great people, powerful and numerous.’” (Devarim 26:5)

Chazal tell us that Klal Yisrael merited to leave Egypt because they did not change their clothing, their language, nor their names. Yet, Chazal also tell us that they worshipped idols. How could it be that they merited redemption with these small acts of keeping themselves apart and separated, even while their lives were full of sin?

In this week’s parsha we have the tochacha – the rebuke – and there is no specific sin which is mentioned. The only negative thing which is explicitly mentioned is a lack of serving Hashem with simcha. Is it really such a terrible thing if one serves Hashem but is not enthralled while doing so?

I believe that the answer lies in one’s “overall attitude”. There are many people who, if asked, “Do you learn every day?” would respond, “Of course I do. I have a seder of learning!”. These people feel fulfilled and proud that they are committed not only in thought but also in execution. And then if one would probe further and ask, “How often do you usually miss?” The person usually says, “I am there almost all the time.” But if we get his attendance record from the kollel we would find that the person misses much more than he thinks.

But there are other people who, if asked, “Do you learn every day?” would respond, “No. I only learn when I have time.” Then we examine his attendance record and find out that he has the exact same attendance as the previous person. Which of them would we think is in a better spiritual state?

One way to measure could be as follows: The one who thinks that he is there almost all of the time is expressing a firm belief that this is who he is, and this is what is necessary in life. When he answered, he was delivering a “mission statement.” The other man, who stated that he only learns when he has time, shows he is pursuing what is to him an important hobby. But if he doesn’t set a fixed time for it, it is clear that he doesn’t consider Torah to be an important aspect of his life.

How a person sets up his life represents the beliefs that guide his life. How things turn out, meaning, what one does – or does not do – is sometimes just a lack of impetus in following through.

Years ago, I heard someone make the following statement: “Is there a difference between a person who titles himself ‘Rabbi Doctor’ versus someone who titles himself ‘Doctor Rabbi’”? I believe the answer to this question is found in a teshuva in the Igros Moshe. Rabbi Feinstein ruled that a day school had to hire an extra Rebbe so that all the students would be able to learn Kodesh studies in the morning, instead of some classes having secular studies in the morning and Kodesh in the afternoon. His explanation was that whatever comes first is more important.

So too it seems to me that a person will put his achievements which are more monumental first. Thus, the person who puts “Doctor” before “Rabbi” is making a grave desecration of Hashem’s holy name by suggesting that Torah learning is only secondary to his other achievements.

We are constantly challenged by the Yetzer Hara who tries to tell us, “Who are you trying to fool? Hashem knows what you are really like! You might as well show your true colors.” The Jews in Egypt, though wallowing in sin, still kept their identity, and in truth they considered themselves proper Jews. Hashem also considered them worthy of salvation, as Chazal tell us that because they still kept their original “costume” they were granted salvation.

As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and we upgrade our behavior, we are not fooling Hashem by acting differently in Elul. Rather, we are showing him how we really would like to act. How does Hashem see that this is really how we would like to act? The answer is that anyone who does something happily is showing that this is really how he wants to act.

A great way to express this is by Selichos. Whether you say them late at night or early in the morning, we all will be losing 40 minutes of sleep a day for the next 2 weeks. We should be happy that we have this opportunity to show Hashem who we really are. With this merit, Hashem should judge us “Ba’Asher Hu Sham” – as we are today – and we should merit to a great 5783.