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)

Intro

ONE.
- The loneliest number, according to Harry Nilsson.
- The number of Shabbosim until we'll all be free, according to Avraham Fried.
- The amount of extra mitzvos, per day, this blog is asking you to do.

Welcome to A Time for Teshuva, a blog dedicated to helping Klal Yisrael in their quest to grow in Yiddishkeit. We recognize the enormous task that every single Jew faces - and we're trying to lend a helping hand. Here you'll find anecdotes, stories, and a bit of insipriation to keep growing, to keep fighting to get closer to God.

This blog encourages the reader to perform ONE extra mitzvah a day, in an effort to gain favor in the eyes of HKB"H, in an effort to reach towards Him, to embark on the journey that is Teshuva. Judaism is a derech, a path of life, not just a religion. In order to travel down the entire path, we must first take ONE step. Pick something to improve on. Do it every single day, yehareig v'al ya'avor.

This step will vary for Jews on different levels. For one person, it will involve eating an entirely kosher meal. For another, it will be wearing Tzitzis all day. For a third, it means learning five extra minutes of morning seder. For a fourth, it means focusing even harder on Davening. Every Jew has his/her own set of challenges. (We'll talk about this more later, but if you're interested in some great reading check out R' Akiva Tatz's "A Thinking Jewish Teenager's Guide to Life" and the first chapter there about different levels)

I leave you to ponder what your challenges are. Share it with us. What is a particularly challenging realm of Judaism for you? Discuss it, anonymously if you want. Perhaps others with the same problem will see that they are not alone in their struggles. They will be fortified to know that they are not a single warrior. Rather, there is a whole army out there, fighting together as ONE.

Daily posts will begin, iyH, on Rosh Chodesh Elul.