40 Days, 40 Lashes

Last week, this blog discussed the inner core of a person that can never be corrupted.  The Maharal in this week's parsha says a similar idea explaining why there are 39 lashes as written years ago by my father, here.  The gist is that the 40 corresponds to the 40 days of a person's creation (it takes 40 days for the embryo to form;) when sinning a person contaminates himself but the innermost level, that which is formed on day 1 can't become contaminated. 

We are standing now in the month of Elul. It is 40 days from Elul to Yom Kippur.  Rashi on Chumash says that they are the 40 days that Moshe went up to receive the second luchos.  We can understand that the first 39 days are in place of the 39 lashes.  It is finally on day 40, on Yom Kippur, when we achieve ultimate purity and are granted forgiveness.  It is on day 40 that our inner core which is completely uncontaminated is revealed and hence we merit forgiveness.

What are the "lashes" of the 40 days between Elul and Yom Kippur? [Those that say selichot may say that those are the lashes.]  The possuk (Tehillim 94:1) says קל־נְקָמ֥וֹת י״י֑ קל נְקָמ֣וֹת הוֹפִֽיעַ.  The Baal Shem Tov the possuk means, how is Hashem the קל נְקָמ֣וֹת, by הוֹפִֽיעַ, by showing his greatness.  The punishment of the person is to see the the greatness of Hashem, to feel a tremendous embarrassment for rebelling against Hashem who gives him everything.  The Kabbalists teach during these days the 13 middot harachamim are present in the world, Hashem is הוֹפִֽיעַ, he is very close to us.  We receive the lashes of that great feeling of closeness of Hashem.  Hashem shows he is so close to us, he wants to come into our homes but first it must be cleaned, its too dirty and disgusting for Hashem to enter.  Those are the 39 lashes that are meant to remove all the dirt from our souls and to cleans it so that we can indeed welcome Hashem in.

[Of course, it's no coincidence that its 40 days for a embryo to form.  As discussed in the past, from the Maharal, the number 4 is expansion and 4*10, 40 is complete expansion, hence a new person is formed. It is also discussed there how the number 40 relates to geulah, which we can tie in  especially according to the writings of Rav Kook that teshuvah is on a worldly level, which will be the ultimate geulah, ואכ"מ.]