A person who is sad about his current situation and wants to change – indicates that he has an inner flame. He does not give in to the drift of life and does not lose his true direction. I Article by Rabbi Menachem Brod
Soon we will gather in synagogues on Yom Kippur, stand with our heads bowed, beat our chests and say, "For the sin we have committed against you." Over and over again, in all the prayers of the holy day, we will list our stumbles, ask for forgiveness and pardon, and pray that we will not fail again.
On Yom Kippur, every Jew stands before his Creator with a pure heart and confesses his sins sincerely. This is not pretense, God forbid. We all feel that we have failed and stumbled during the year, and we ask the Creator to purify us and turn over a new leaf for us. But are we truly preparing to change our ways and actions?
Don't lose the spark.
There are those who have lost the desire to change and advance in the spiritual sense. In their own eyes, they are like a tree that has thickened and hardened, and it is no longer possible to reshape it. "This is how I am," they say to themselves and those around them. Sometimes this position stems from the bitter experience of making decisions during terrible times, and returning to the usual routine immediately afterward. Why strive to change if I am not successful anyway?
Such an attitude practically condemns us to spiritual degeneration. It expresses the loss of spark and hope. Such a person lives and acts by the law of persistence, but there is no inner vitality in him. When the terrible days come, he strives to 'get through them' and 'be done with it.' He misses the challenge they pose before us.
On the other hand, there are those who truly want to change and awaken during the terrible days. They make good decisions, make new beginnings, but over time, the decisions fade. Hasidic doctrine explains that the very desire to change, to correct, to be a different person – is a fulcrum from which change can be brought about.
A person who is pained by his current situation and wants to change – indicates that he has an inner flame. He does not give in to the drift of life and does not lose his true direction. He knows where he should strive, even if in practice he does not succeed in carrying out all his good decisions. But there is a thread here where one can grasp.
Catch the awakening
One piece of advice given in this situation is to direct the awakening of the High Holy Days towards specific, practical decisions, even if they are small. The natural tendency of a person in the midst of the awakening on Yom Kippur is to turn their entire life around, to change from end to end; but sometimes this is too big or too general. It is better to choose a few small tasks and try to meet them.
When a person makes a specific and clear practical decision, they transcend the awakening of Yom Kippur towards an achievable goal that can be followed. Sometimes the goal seems 'small', but those small decisions contain and capture the great awakening, and keep it from fading away. Next year we will make another good decision, and thus we will progress and transcend.
Yom Kippur is a call to every Jew – do not stop, do not stand still, do not despair. God extends a hand to us, and we are called to grasp it. It is a sublime day, on which the deep inner connection between us and the Creator is revealed. Let us prepare for this holy day and use it to be better next year.
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