Beat the chest lightly

One of the things that bother me is when we pick up bad ideas from other religions or societies. There are some very good things to learn, but over the centuries some very un-Jewish ideas have crept into our religion.

One of those is the Christian idea of self-flagelation; that we must physically punish ourselves to atone for our sins. In A Treasurey of Jewish Folklore there are even stories from Europe of Chassidim going to their rebbes to confess their sins and be assigned specific penance. This is extremely far from the concept of T'shuva, which concentrates on restitution (if another person is involved), sincere regret and sincere resolve to do better.

When we say Vidui on Yom Kippur, we tap our chest lightly near the heart. This is symbolic of telling Hashem that it is our Yetzer Hara, as symbolized by the lusts of our heart, that has caused us to sin, and we ask Him to forgive, as well as to help us strenghten our resistance to those urges. But I hear people every year hitting themselves so hard that they MUST wake up the next morning with a bruise the size of an ostrich egg. This is not the intent at all.

So let's try to remember how the whole thing works; as we enter Yom Kippur let's concentrate on trying to make ourselves and the world a better place.

G'mar Chatima Tova

L'Shana Tova Ticatvu V'Tichatmu

If there is one thing that our tradition emphasizes over and over, it is that we always have the chance to change our ways. T'shuva is basic to our beliefs; otherwise we would all be lost, for all of us make mistakes and do things we know we shouldn't. And it's not even three strikes and you're out; Hashem gives us many, many strikes; we will see over and over again in the Machzor that He waits until the day of our deaths, hoping we will repent. Along with that is the implied promise that we have the ABILITY to change; it is not the impossible goal it may at times seem to be.

This is my wish for all of this in this time of T'shuva; that we all can find the strength within ourselves to make those changes that need to be made, and that together we can join L'takein Olam B'Malchut Shakai, to perfect the world in the Kingdom of the Almighty. Chag Sameach.