Welcome to a new series of lessons on D aily Bitachon , which will take us through the month of Elul. This will be a 30-day program, with lessons on Sundays and a double dose on Fridays. Our goal is to go through the 30 Cheshbonot , or 30 accountings, found in the book Chovot HaLevavot , in the section called "Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh" (the Gate of the Soul's Accounting). What Is a "Cheshbon HaNefesh"? When we typically think of a Cheshbon HaNefesh —an internal accounting—we tend to focus on things like, "How many good things did I do today versus bad things?" But Chovot HaLevavot takes a different approach. The author compares it to a business: you track what's coming in, what's going out, and what you owe. The core question isn't, "How many mistakes did I make?" but rather, "Do I reciprocate for all that I've received from God?" This is the eighth of the ten "gates" in Chovot HaLevavot . The previous gate was on repentance, and the author connects this topic to repentance, explaining that a proper Cheshbon HaNefesh is one of the conditions for true repentance. He brings a verse from Psalms, where King David says, " Chishavti drachai ," "I made an accounting of my ways," and because of that, " Va'ashiva ragli el edotecha ," "my feet returned to Your statutes." The Importance of Cheshbon HaNefesh in Elul The Zohar teaches that every night before you go to sleep, you should do a Cheshbon HaNefesh , a daily accounting. It refers to those who do this as "masters of accounting." Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai ( the Chida ) writes in his book, Avodat HaKodesh , that even if we don't do this all year, we should do it during the month of Elul, which he calls these "awesome days." Understanding Our Debts The concept of Cheshbon HaNefesh is about a person figuring out what they have and what their debts are—what their chovot are. A story is told about Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who left his son's wedding early. When asked why, he said he had to take care of his chovot . His in-law initially thought he had debts from the wedding, but it turned out that Rabbi Kanievsky was referring to his daily responsibilities of Torah study. For him, those were his debts. The question then becomes, "How do I figure out what my debts are?" The answer depends on your unique life experience. The more God has blessed you or revealed to you, the greater your responsibility is. Grasping What You Can't Yet Do The author of Chovot HaLevavot gives us one more key piece of advice: once you figure out your debts, do what you can. But what about the things you can't do yet? He says, " grasp it with your knowledge and desire it. " He brings a verse from King David that says the words of Torah are " nechmadim mi'zahav u'mifaz rav "—more desirable than precious gold. The author explains this with a beautiful analogy: just as someone might look at a fancy car or a piece of expensive jewelry they can't afford and desire it, so too can we desire higher spiritual levels that we're not ready for yet. A person who acts this way and hopes for higher levels, the author says, " God will judge favorably " because He sees their sincerity and their desire to grow. This is our introduction to "Sha'ar Cheshbon HaNefesh," a 30-unit journey we invite you to take with us. If you are interested in additional resources, check out our book The Daily Dose of Preparation for the Yamim Noraim . It offers 40 lessons to prepare for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. A link to order the book will be included with this class. https://www.artscroll.com/Books/9781422645086.html