The process of teshuvah – return home!
Changing direction in life, little by little, to reach your potential!
Teshuvah means “returning to G-d”, from the root of the word shuv, “return”. A transgression causes one to travel away from G-d, moving in the wrong direction. With teshuvah, we are making a U-turn to change course and reconnect to G-d!
If we, so to speak, turn our head away from G-d, it takes only one small turn, one small decision, to change direction, and in one moment we can return to being one with Him. That moment is the decision not to transgress but instead to return to doing G-d’s will.
On a deeper level, teshuvah is to return to ourselves, to who we truly are. Sin can only occur when we momentarily forget who we are and what our purpose is in the world. When we do teshuvah, we are returning to ourselves, to our essence.
Changing a lifestyle is not easy. Make a deep inner decision to begin to change and then grow little by little in a way that’s tailor-made for you, with proper guidance, lots of simchah (“joy”) and nachat (“gratification”) from yourself and your growth!
May you be signed and sealed for a good and sweet year 5783 both physically and spiritually!
Rabbi Mo
GPS for the Soul – Gate of Repentance [Chapters 41-45. Pages 443-486]