׳׳הנסתרת לד׳ אלוקינו והנגלת לנו ולבנינו עד עולם לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת׳׳ דברים כט:כח
“The hidden things are to Hashem our G-d and the revealed things are to us and our children for eternity to perform all of the words of this Torah” Devarim 29:28

The Ksav Sofer explains that there are two possible times for Mashiach to arrive. One of these times is hidden from us and is known only to Hashem – this is the set time for the arrival of Mashiach. The alternative time is a well-known concept that is reliant on the Bnei Yisroel doing Teshuva and repentance. The pasuk says – ׳׳היום אם בקולי תשמעו׳׳ “Today, if you listen to My voice,” which we can understand to mean that still today, Mashiach can make his appearance if we listen to the words of Hashem. This potential early arrival of Mashiach is dependent on our actions, if we return to Hashem with a Teshuva Sheleima; a complete repentance, we can hasten the arrival of Mashiach.

This is the meaning of the pasuk, ׳׳הנסתרת לד׳ אלוקינו׳׳ – the set time for the arrival of Mashiach is hidden from us and known only to Hashem, however ׳׳והנגלת׳׳ – the revealed time is dependent on ׳׳לנו ולבנינו עד עולם׳׳ – us and our children, through the medium of ׳׳לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת׳׳ – for through our repentance and good deeds we can bring the Geulah even today.

We (Ashkenazim) begin reciting Selichos this Motzei Shabbos, even though it would seem more appropriate to begin to recite them during the ׳׳עשרת ימי תשובה׳׳ – the Ten Days of Repentance. We don’t have to commence the Selichos at this “early” stage but the fact that we do may well be an insight into the reason why we are saying Selichos. Pouring out our hearts in supplication during Selichos is our way of showing Hashem that we want to do Teshuva and that we want to be close to Him. So much so that we want to start saying them early, even though we don’t have to. By showing Hashem that we are getting an early start saying Selichos and doing Teshuva, as we have seen from the hint in our pasuk, we may even merit to greet Mashiach before his pre-determined time.

Moshe Rothenberg / MMHK