#t'shuva

[progressivejudaism]

What does Am Yisrael collectively need to do teshuvah for most this year?

Only those who identify as part of Am Yisrael are invited to post. (The purpose here is not shame/guilt/anger/blame but aimed towards constructive collective efforts).

[progressivejudaism]

We Return/Hashiveinu by Elana Arian and Noah Aronson

New song for the new year. What are you returning to this year? Sheet music available by emailing: [email protected] We Return /Hashiveinu By Elana Arian ...

As Elul comes to an end and we approach Rosh Hashanah, we begin to think about who we are, who we aim to be, and who we will return to.

[progressivejudaism]

As we enter the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and the fast of Yom Kippur, we continue to reflect, think about our lives, and contemplate the future.

Who are you? Where are you going? What does your future hold?  How are you accounting for your soul (Cheshbon Nefesh) and practicing T’shuva (a return) in this season?

[salixj]

Written for Rosh HaShanah 5777 תשע”ז: One of the hardest and most important aspects of proper behavior between man and his fellow, Bein Adam L’Chaveiro, is judging favorably. The Chofetz Chaim tell…

Written for Rosh HaShanah 5777 תשע”ז:

One of the hardest and most important aspects of proper behavior between man and his fellow, Bein Adam L’Chaveiro, is judging favorably. The Chofetz Chaim tells us of how important this trait is, and that the extent to which we work to find excuses for the behavior of others, trying to interpret their actions in a positive light, is the extent to which our own actions will be judged favorably as well. Despite this, we have a very hard time giving others a positive judgment, especially when we feel that they have wronged us in some way.

Regardless, we still strive to do so. When we see someone act in a way that does not seem correct to us, we must strive to find ways to interpret their behavior in a positive light. In my experience, sometimes even interpretations that seem convoluted and highly unlikely actually turn out to be the correct interpretation of the situation. So long as there is any way to give them the benefit of the doubt, even when we ourselves feel slighted or hurt by their behavior, we must do so. It is important to remember in such a case that we, too, are human, and were we in the same situation, would we actually have done any better?

What do you do, then, when a person performs an act that is clearly forbidden by the Torah? How do you find a positive interpretation for the person when their behavior is inexcusable, such as getting a tattoo or smoking on Shabbat? Here we should not be naive and try to say that really it is acceptable what they did. It is not, it is wrong, and there is no excuse. There may be reasons, explanations for why they did it such as going through a difficult time in life, suffering from some loss, but that does not excuse their actions. How, then, do we judge such a person favorably?

Even great Rabbis will sometimes make mistakes and do things that are wrong. In such a case, when we are certain that their behavior is contrary to Torah, we are required to presume that they have done T’shuva for their sin. This is because a righteous person is not one who never makes a mistake, but one who seeks to correct it the moment they realize they’ve made it. When it comes to an average person, what we would call a Beinoni, we are to presume that they are either unaware of what it permitted, and have sinned in error, or perhaps that they have even done T’shuva for it, even if we see them performing this sin again and again. Obviously, if we are in a position to have a positive influence on the person, we should teach them the error of their ways to prevent further sin, but in some cases that is impossible and our attempts at rebuke could even worsen the situation1. This answers the question of how we relate to others who sin, even when the sin is inexcusable, but there’s still someone missing from the equation.

What do you do if the one sinning is yourself?

We are often quick to rationalize our own behavior with even more convoluted explanations than what we’re prepared to offer for the actions for others. Often we view everything we do as correct, because our minds are factories for producing reasons which somehow seem relevant enough to excuse our behavior. In some cases, perhaps these reasons are even accurate and do provide excuses, but what if you are performing a sin which is clearly forbidden by the Torah, and you are aware of the fact? What if you’re the one whose actions are inexcusable? You can’t presume that you’ve done T’shuva already, because you know if you have or not, and you cannot claim ignorance of the fact that what you’ve done is a sin.

There’s only one clear action that you can take in such a case. You can’t rationalize or excuse anything, your only recourse is to actuallydo T’shuva. That doesn’t mean, next Rosh HaShanah or Yom Kippur, you’ll vaguely recall something you did wrong eight months ago, but it means eight months ago when you commit a sin, you do T’shuva then and there. You don’t wait, you don’t push it off, you don’t excuse yourself: you commit yourself right away to improve with proper T’shuva, and do not carry the sin in your hands one minute longer.

In last week’s Parsha, Nitzavim, Moshe accurately predicted that there would be people in the crowd who would not heed his warning, they would say to themselves, 29:18, “Peace will be with me, though I walk as my heart sees fit”. People says things like, “I’m sure God will understand” and continue as though they’ve done nothing wrong. These people are right that God will understand, but that doesn’t mean He’s not going to take you to task for your actions! Now, today, while there is still a chance, don’t ignore your mistakes, don’t pretend you have no flaws. There’s no need to wait until Rosh HaShanah: repent now! As the Mishnah in Pirkei Avot states, a man should repent the day before he dies, and since he doesn’t know when he will die, his whole life will be spent in T’shuva.

We have a beautiful opportinuty to get a clean slate for this coming year, and inevitably we will all sin, in one way or another, because “there is no one righteous who does not sin”, but we don’t have to wait until Rosh HaShanah next year to correct our actions. Repent right away, and keep your slate clean! Don’t push it off, because you may not get a chance to repent tomorrow.

May we all have a life of health, success, happiness, and real T’shuva. Shanah Tova U’M’tukah!

1 When rebuke is appropriate or not is a whole other discussion.

[walkingintorah-blog]

Moving Notice

I've enjoyed using this medium as a place to share my thoughts on Torah. Recently, I was blessed to start studying with another family. So now, along with a good friend and follower of Y'shua, we have started T'shuva Ministries. Please considering following us on Facebook & visiting our new website with over 100 hours of teachings from acclaimed Torah teachers.

Visit our Website: http://teshuvaministries.net

Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TeshuvaMinistries.Net

[walkingintorah-blog]

The Harshest Reality

We were in a deep sleep

Then one day, this verse was given to us:

Whoever belongs to God listens to what God says; the reason you don’t listen is that you don’t belong to God. - John 8:47

Time to wake up! T'shuva (repent). Come out of the (mainstream) Church. Give up the false doctrines and traditions of man. Observe his mizvot (commandments).

Not a burden!

Start with the Sabbath: Is it truly that difficult to not work, relax, don't spend money (that should be easy!).

Pray! - I asked our Father to make the things that are detestable to him, detestable to me.I cringe at the thought of/sight of bacon (pork) - turkey bacon is great :)

Read your Bible!! - Stop expecting to be spoon-fed the answers from a man at the pulpit. He's just a man! The answers were given to us by G-d, not man.