I recall the feeling of the speed of the bike as we cruised. The smell
of the fresh sea air, the crisp wind and the force with which it hit
my body. We were biking through the Malibu mountains, a few months
after the destruction of the Malibu fires of 2007. What remained to
mark those days only a short time after was some charred black ground.
But bright, healthy green vegetation was sprouting everywhere. We
drove through the winding canyon roads and marveled at the sheer life
that was obvious on these mountain tops that had been ravaged by
fires so recently.
Hearing today about the recent fires in Los Angeles, I recall another
set of fires I witnessed in the Valley. The sky was red and the sun
swollen. Ash rained down and it felt like the end of the world. These
natural phenomena come to teach us something.
I sit here in Jerusalem, for the last 2 weeks, learning day in and day
out about the process of Teshuva (repentance). We are in the month
of Elul. This is the month we are told we have the ability to do the
inner work necessary to not only undo our previous wrongs but
if done in accordance with certain prescribed guidelines and correct intention, have the opportunity of turning them into merits.
Really? How could we possibly do that?
That sounds unbelievable and almost counter intuitive but the Torah
teaches that not only is this possible but this is what we should have
as our objectives over the 10 days starting with Rosh Hashana and
gearing up to Yom Kippur.
Michal, get back to your point…What’s the fire connection? you ask…
What fires do at their essence is eliminate old growth and begin the
regenerative process.
So it is with proper Teshuva (repentance). Just as all was growing
and alive prior to the fire, so too can our regret and pain over past
mistakes be burned away completely over this fortuitous time of
the year. When we hurt ourselves or another person or act against
a moral code of values we know to be correct and holy, on a
spiritual level a blemish is created on our soul. True repentance
means putting our souls through the fire. It's going to be just as
painful as it sounds. For purification to take place and for us to
truly remove these stains WE need to be the ones setting alight
the sparks of this fire.
This all sounds very intense and scary but there is a practical
step by step way of accomplishing this:
1. Acknowledge your wrongs and have the desire to not repeat them.
2. Vidui - Confess all of it to G-d. Speak it out in your own words.
3. Charata - Feel regret for these transgressions.
Another enlightening piece of information I learnt relates to our
motivation to undergo such tribulation. There are two reasons
motivating this process that create two differing results.
a) Yirah (awe or fear): We do Teshuva this way when we are
tired of the bad things we’ve done and want them to stop already
or we are afraid that it will all catch up with us or that we may
get punished sooner or later. When we do such Teshuva we
are no longer held accountable for our transgressions. Our
slate is wiped clean and the blemishes removed.
b) Ahava (love- the desire to give to our Creator): This is all
about knowing that we are loved by the Creator and His
entire universe and so each moment is an opportunity to
connect and get closer. We look back at those instances
we regret and instead of retribution, see Him giving us a
path to be better people and show ourselves to be truly
created in His image. The end result of this is our previous
misdeeds actually become points of merit as we were able to
not only remove them but have them bring us closer to the
fulfillment of our ultimate potential in this world.
What an unbelievable system! Who else other than an all
loving and merciful Being could devise such a plan? I am
so thrilled to be here in the Holiest of cities. For the first time
in my life I truly appreciate what this opportunity is and plan
to dig deep to pull out and sacrifice my sins on the altar that
I am building to serve a higher purpose. That being, working
on being a better person, refining my character traits
and striving for growth.
Success = being a GOOD person.
So, I bless us all that we are able to identify our pain,
bring it out to be burned in the fire, and emerge a confident,
loving, sparkling gem of God’s creation.
of the fresh sea air, the crisp wind and the force with which it hit
my body. We were biking through the Malibu mountains, a few months
after the destruction of the Malibu fires of 2007. What remained to
mark those days only a short time after was some charred black ground.
But bright, healthy green vegetation was sprouting everywhere. We
drove through the winding canyon roads and marveled at the sheer life
that was obvious on these mountain tops that had been ravaged by
fires so recently.
Hearing today about the recent fires in Los Angeles, I recall another
set of fires I witnessed in the Valley. The sky was red and the sun
swollen. Ash rained down and it felt like the end of the world. These
natural phenomena come to teach us something.
I sit here in Jerusalem, for the last 2 weeks, learning day in and day
out about the process of Teshuva (repentance). We are in the month
of Elul. This is the month we are told we have the ability to do the
inner work necessary to not only undo our previous wrongs but
if done in accordance with certain prescribed guidelines and correct intention, have the opportunity of turning them into merits.
Really? How could we possibly do that?
That sounds unbelievable and almost counter intuitive but the Torah
teaches that not only is this possible but this is what we should have
as our objectives over the 10 days starting with Rosh Hashana and
gearing up to Yom Kippur.
Michal, get back to your point…What’s the fire connection? you ask…
What fires do at their essence is eliminate old growth and begin the
regenerative process.
So it is with proper Teshuva (repentance). Just as all was growing
and alive prior to the fire, so too can our regret and pain over past
mistakes be burned away completely over this fortuitous time of
the year. When we hurt ourselves or another person or act against
a moral code of values we know to be correct and holy, on a
spiritual level a blemish is created on our soul. True repentance
means putting our souls through the fire. It's going to be just as
painful as it sounds. For purification to take place and for us to
truly remove these stains WE need to be the ones setting alight
the sparks of this fire.
This all sounds very intense and scary but there is a practical
step by step way of accomplishing this:
1. Acknowledge your wrongs and have the desire to not repeat them.
2. Vidui - Confess all of it to G-d. Speak it out in your own words.
3. Charata - Feel regret for these transgressions.
Another enlightening piece of information I learnt relates to our
motivation to undergo such tribulation. There are two reasons
motivating this process that create two differing results.
a) Yirah (awe or fear): We do Teshuva this way when we are
tired of the bad things we’ve done and want them to stop already
or we are afraid that it will all catch up with us or that we may
get punished sooner or later. When we do such Teshuva we
are no longer held accountable for our transgressions. Our
slate is wiped clean and the blemishes removed.
b) Ahava (love- the desire to give to our Creator): This is all
about knowing that we are loved by the Creator and His
entire universe and so each moment is an opportunity to
connect and get closer. We look back at those instances
we regret and instead of retribution, see Him giving us a
path to be better people and show ourselves to be truly
created in His image. The end result of this is our previous
misdeeds actually become points of merit as we were able to
not only remove them but have them bring us closer to the
fulfillment of our ultimate potential in this world.
What an unbelievable system! Who else other than an all
loving and merciful Being could devise such a plan? I am
so thrilled to be here in the Holiest of cities. For the first time
in my life I truly appreciate what this opportunity is and plan
to dig deep to pull out and sacrifice my sins on the altar that
I am building to serve a higher purpose. That being, working
on being a better person, refining my character traits
and striving for growth.
Success = being a GOOD person.
So, I bless us all that we are able to identify our pain,
bring it out to be burned in the fire, and emerge a confident,
loving, sparkling gem of God’s creation.
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