Welcome to our special Elul edition of Chovot HaLevavot , Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh —day 11 of our 30-day journey. Today's cheshbon is an accounting of how we've used our lives until now. How have you used your time? Whom are you serving—Hashem or the yetzer hara ? Rabbenu gives a mashal . A king entrusts a servant with funds for a specific purpose: "Use this money to buy candy bags for the children in shul. Don't use it for garbage bags, don't use it for tissues—only for the kids' candy." At year's end there will be an exact accounting—no leeway. Naturally, the servant keeps careful books, reviews spending monthly, and safeguards the remaining funds for their intended use so he won't be blindsided on the day of reckoning. The nimshal: our accounting shouldn't be monthly but daily . Hashem has given us time and talents for specific responsibilities— חובה עליך —and we must ask: Did I do what I'm responsible to do today? A well-known story about Rav Chaim Kanievsky illustrates this. At a child's wedding, he left early. His mechutan worried that Rav Chaim had heavy debts. The next day he learned what Rav Chaim meant by "my chovot ": his daily learning obligations —pages of Bavli and Yerushalmi toward completing the entire Torah each year. Those were his "debts." I recently heard a story from Netzor , a project sharing daily lashon hara clips. A girl awoke from a coma and immediately asked her mother how many days had passed. "Why does it matter?" her mother asked. "Baruch Hashem, you're alive." The girl insisted: she studies two halachot of Chafetz Chaim every day and needed to know how many she had missed. That's a sense of responsibility. If we were negligent, nu —take stock now and don't allow one lapse to cascade into another . We may forget; Hashem doesn't . As the year closes, ask: Hashem gave me gifts— am I using them as intended? There's a powerful introduction to Sha'arei Yosher by Rav Shimon Shkop . The Torah says עשר תעשר , "tithe," and Chazal read: עשר כדי שתתעשר —"tithe so that you become wealthy." Is that a magical segulah ? Rav Shimon says no. Hashem appoints us as gabba'im , trustees of His resources, and tells us how to use them—like the king and his designated candy fund. If the trustee performs well, he's promoted : from candy funds to the main budget. Likewise, if one gives ma'aser faithfully, Hashem entrusts him with more to distribute. It's not magic; it's how a well-run enterprise operates. This applies to everything. A teacher who teaches well is given more teaching . Any talent or position we have is meant for the community at large . Use them well, and you're given more; misuse them, and opportunities shrink. That is cheshbon ha'nefesh . "The days are scrolls —write upon your scroll," he writes; that's what will be remembered. Don't be among those of whom it is said, גם שיבה זרקה בו והוא לא ידע —"gray hairs have sprouted, and he still doesn't know." Life rolls on while they imagine they'll be here forever, never reckoning with how to use their gifts. Elul's call is simple and urgent: keep the books daily . Time and talent are the King's funds—entrusted to you for a purpose. Use them as directed.