There was once a king who ruled in a town. Once a year he would take off his crown and his royal clothes. He would then put on regular clothes and go out to speak with the people to hear and see what he can do for them. No one would know on which day the king would do this. One day the king got up and said today is that day. He got up, dressed in regular clothes and went out to the park. He saw a man sitting on a bench and decided to sit next to him and ask him how everything was doing.  The man answered that everything is doing well, so the king asked do you need anything and the man answered no, I have everything.  The king asked if there was anything he can do for him and the man answered no.

The next day, news of this event hit the newspapers.   People read the story of how the king went out in plain clothes and asked someone at the park how he was and if there was anything he can do for him.  When the man who was in the park read the paper and realized that he had been sitting next to the king, he was devastated at having missed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  He had a long list of requests that could have been fulfilled by the king.

We know that Hashem is always with us.   We can always ask Hashem to fulfill our requests and needs, but during the month of Elul, Hashem is even closer to us, “right next to us on that park bench.”  He’s waiting for each and every one of us to call out to him, to cry out to Him, to return to Him.  Let’s not miss the opportunity of this month! ~ Divrei Chizuk