Repentance

What happens online quickly influences what happens in real-time. Our world is angrier and ruder, in part because of the way we speak to one another on the net. 

So many religious politicians have behaved so irreligiously for so long that it often seems easier to believe that the more religiously Jewish you are – the less politically ethical you are. 

Yom Kippur is not just a personal day, it is a public day that invites us to contemplate various aspects of our collective life.

Isaiah depicts two very different metaphors for whitening our red sins – snow and laundered wool. How do these two metaphors illustrate the experience of repentance? 

As Elul dawns on us this week, don’t forget to remember all the tasks left undone, but remember to forget any trivial indignities you might have endured or any petty arguments.

When it comes to human beings, those we offended must be ready to forgive if our desire to be forgiven is genuine.

What New Year’s resolutions can we set for ourselves and for our institutions? How can we inspire our colleagues, students, and children to believe in a more positive future?

Will any of the prayers and poems that we recite on these holidays help us deal with these issues?

Teshuva is primarily an emotional process that has practical implications.

Soon, each of us will begin our heshbon nefesh, our soul-searching.