When Shabbos comes to a close, Yidden around the world call for Eliyahu Hanavi as we beg Hashem to usher in a week of geulah. “Eliyahu Hanavi, Eliyahu Hatishbi, Eliyahu Hagiladi, b’mheira yavo aleinu im Moshiach ben Dovid — may he come quickly with Moshiach ben Dovid.”
As we sing out his name, what is Eliyahu Hanavi himself doing? The Kaf Hachaim brings down the most incredible Medrash, and uses it to explain why we have a minhag to mention Eliyahu Hanavi on Motzei Shabbos.
בא”ר או’ ט’ כתב עוד טעם אחר הא דמזכירין אליהו הנביא במו”ש משום דבכל מו”ש נכנס אליהו לגן ויושב תחת עץ החיים וכותב זכותן של ישראל עכ”ד
“It is written in Elya Raba (295:9) that when Shabbos ends, Eliyahu Hanavi sits down in Gan Eden under the Tree of Life and writes down the merits of the Jewish people.”
As the Jewish people are calling on Eliyahu to come take us out of Galus, Eliyahu himself is sitting down and writing good things about Yidden (on what we can only imagine is some sort of very thick notebook)! We see from here that there is something incredibly powerful about writing down good things about Yidden. And if that is what Eliyahu Hanavi is busy doing at the very moment that we are davening for him to “come quickly in our days with Moshiach ben Dovid”, then this avodah must be one that hastens the Geulah.
It’s one thing to have a good thought about a Yid, and it’s another thing to go so far as to say it out loud. But an even more tangible and permanent avodah is to write it down. Writing it down forces us to flesh it out and articulate it. Writing one thing can quickly lead to writing another, and before we know it, we can have a notebook filled with “Good Things About Yidden,” ready to be submitted to the Heavenly court to help defend and advocate for another Yid.
It is with this in mind that we at TYH Nation are thrilled to present our See The Good Campaign — a fun and easy way to build the habit of seeing the good, saying the good, and writing down the good you see in another Yid. Head over to OnlySeeTheGood.com (or take out a notebook at home after Havdala!) and take a moment to write something good about another Yid. Let’s all join this holy avodah of Eliyahu Hanavi, and join the ranks of advocates for the Jewish people. Let’s all be Little Bardichevers.
במהרה יבוא אלינו עם משיח בן דוד
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 86.