Torah and Teshuvah

The beautiful and famous words of this week’s parashah have always touched my heart. This year, I read the following passage with new lenses, as I immerse myself in the month of Elul and the spiritual preparations for teshuvah. The Torah teaches:

“Surely, this Instruction (Ha-Mitzvah Ha-Zot) which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who among us can cross the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it” (Deut. 30:11-14).

Shattering Our Idols

Sep 4, 2004 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Ki Tavo | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

Judaism tantalizes the senses with the sights, sounds and fragrant smells that characterize its observance. Rosh Hashanah is certainly one of those times when we are overwhelmed by the richness of Jewish symbolism. At the heart of our New Year observances, however, lies the piercing cry of the shofar. What is the meaning of the shofar? Many explanations have been offered to explain why we blow the shofar during the month of Elul into Rosh Hashanah, and at the close of Yom Kippur. Included in these interpretations are the following: it signifies creation, specifically of the beginning of God’s kingship, it is meant to remind us to hearken to the blasts echoing from God’s revelation at Sinai, it links us to the binding of Isaac since the shofar is a symbol for the ram caught in the thicket by its horns that ultimately is offered to God in place of Isaac; and, that the sharp sound of the shofar is to be understood to be a call to teshuvah, repentance.

A Psalm for Repentance

Aug 28, 2004 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur

The Hebrew month of Elul offers us an opportunity to repent. It is an auspicious time granted us each year, during which we can shake off the shackles of our spiritual apathy and seek an engaging and loving path back to ourselves, our fellow human beings, and most importantly, God. One of the traditions prescribed to arouse the feeling of teshuvah, repentance, is the recitation of Psalms.

Sea of Repentance

Sep 18, 2010 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Yom Kippur

I can think of no better metaphor than mikveh for God’s role during aseret y’mei teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentance that lead up to and include Yom Kippur.

“All beginnings are difficult”

Apr 26, 2003 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Pesah | Yom Kippur

“All beginnings are difficult.” This rabbinic maxim resonates with us on many levels. As individuals, we experience the challenge of beginning a new job, a new phase of life, a new relationship or a new place of residence. As a Jewish people, we also recognize and ritualize this truism. We have just concluded our Passover celebration, in which we commemorate and reenact the difficult beginnings of our national identity. The Mishnah instructs us to organize our Seder with the awareness of the difficulty of beginnings: “One begins with disgrace and concludes with glory” (Mishnah Pesahim 10:4).