The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called the Aseret Yi-May Teshuvah – Ten Days of Repentance, and the Shabbat that falls during those days is called Shabbat Shuva (Return). According to our tradition God is especially receptive to our prayers and pleas during these days. Rabbi Pinchas Teitz Z”L, a great Rabbi and Scholar who was the founder and dean of the Yeshiva in Elizabeth, NJ that I attended for elementary and high school, used to address the student body of the Yeshiva every year during these Days of Repentance. Every year he repeated the same...
Yom Kippur – Approaching God
One of the greatest gifts given to the Jewish People by God is the ability to repent – Teshuvah. Part of the Teshuvah process is crying out to God in supplication and repentance. How does one cry out to God? The traditional form of communication with God is through prayer. The Sages composed the traditional prayer service and hid within its words the secret formulas to unlock the mysteries of the heavens and the gates of atonement. In fact, the Torah in Genesis teaches that God created the world with the words, “Let there be light”. The Kabbalists derive...
A Time to Reflect
The Jewish fast days serve two purposes: 1. To remind us of a tragic time in our history 2. To give us the opportunity to reflect and repent Today is the fast of Asarah BiTevet, which commemorates the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem during the First Temple period. Although that event may not directly touch our emotions, the battle that Israel is fighting must. The fast day is an opportunity for us to reflect on the current situation, and on our own lives. Are we doing all that we can to help our people? Are we leading...
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