Teshuva & Batman

1 Elul

"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do, that defines me."
- Batman
Batman Begins

I think it's a reasonable assumption that if you're reading this blog, you are interested in doing Teshuva. You might even have a certain mitzvah picked out, something special that you're hoping to work on. If you do, great. Wonderful. Fabulous. Buy yourself some ice cream - you're on your way.

The trick is, now, to put that plan into action. It's not enough to simply have good intentions. I would venture to say that most people want to do Teshuva, want to get closer to God. But there's a huge difference between wanting to do Teshuva and actually doing it. It's not who you are underneath, but what you DO that defines you.

Now, don't get me wrong - wanting to do Teshuva is great and should certainly be commended. Both the Malbim & the Be'er Mayim Chayim point out in last week's parsha (Re'eh, 11:28) that we get points for simply wanting to perform mitzvos, as opposed to aveiros which we get punished for only after we do them, chas veshalom. But in terms of Teshuva, the real deal is actually going ahead and DOING it.

Like Batman says, it only counts if you DO it. You could be the greatest guy/gal in the world, but if you stop short of acting, you're missing the boat. Sit down, pick a mitzvah that's within your grasp, and DO it. Don't be too esoteric - like, "daven better" - pick ONE mitzvah and work on it. With HKBH's help, this ONE step will start us on the right path towards the Yamim Noraim and a Ksiva VeChasima Tova.

WHICH MITZVAH ARE YOU PICKING? (I'm starting with Modim in Shemonah Esrey)