This Shabbat is a special one in the year’s calendar. The Sabbath between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuvah – the Sabbath of Return. We spend the entire ten days between the the High Holy days focused on improving ourselves and this Shabbat reinforces the themes of these days of repentance.
The word “shuva” or “shuv” means “turn.” We are asked to turn towards our better selves, turn toward our tradition and our God as the Day of Repentance approaches.
We live in linear time, which means we can’t revise the actions and choices we made yesterday — we can’t go back in time and edit out the things we now regret having said or done, or left unsaid or undone. But we can revise ourselves. We can turn towards a vision of our best, most just, kind and moral selves. We can revise our habits and our hearts. Indeed: that’s precisely what the work of teshuvah is about.
This shabbat, as we sit half way between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, I invite you to think about one thing you want to change in your life. Just one shift in your thinking, your behavior, the way you handle a problem or talk to a friend or engage with your family. Turn your chair, your mind, your vision in a new direction. Identify a path towards that vision. Others may have worn a clear road for you or you may have to carry a scythe to blaze the trail yourself. I pray that your journey will be smooth and meaningful and successful. May we embark on this New Year committed to forging a road to a new and better, kinder and more just world, one step at a time.
Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova,
