{"id":76688,"date":"2020-06-30T11:11:07","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T08:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76688"},"modified":"2020-06-30T11:11:07","modified_gmt":"2020-06-30T08:11:07","slug":"the-power-of-words-on-the-road-to-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-power-of-words-on-the-road-to-return\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power Of Words On The Road To Return"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"76688","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46656,"related_cahpter":"514","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A path we walk alone and together\r\n\r\n","content":"

The Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Shabbat Shuva is so named for the opening of the <\/span>haftarah<\/em> <\/span>read on that day, from Hosea 14:2, \u201c<\/span>Shuva Yisrael<\/em> <\/span>\u2013 Return Israel\u201d. In this passage Hosea is prophesying about the path to <\/span>teshuva<\/span><\/em> – repentance.<\/span><\/p>\n

The importance of words in the act of repentance is evident in the language of these verses. \u201cTake <\/span>words<\/span><\/em> with you and return to God (14:3)\u201d; \u201c<\/span>Say<\/span><\/em> to Him, forgive our iniquities and accept our good, and let our <\/span>lips<\/span><\/em> substitute for our offerings (14:4).\u201d Malbim describes a process of repentance, that begins with regretting one\u2019s misdeeds. During the ten days of repentance before Yom Kippur, we speak aloud to those we have wronged and ask their forgiveness. It\u2019s not enough to simply decide for oneself a path to repentance, we need to verbalize it and share it. Malbim continues that we then use words again to identify those things that stand in our merit and ask God to judge us on those merits. Teshuva <\/em>is not about self-flagellation, it\u2019s about self-awareness – of our good acts and our bad. Finally, it is in our words, not in our physical offerings (which had gone so wrong in the days leading up to this moment), that we ask for redemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the opening of this chapter the root of <\/span>teshuva<\/em> <\/span>is used two ways: \u201c<\/span>Shuva Yisrael<\/span><\/em>\u201d (14:2) uses the singular, addressing the nation as a unit, while \u201c<\/span>shuvu <\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/span><\/i>(14:3), in the plural, considers all of the individuals that comprise the nation. Rabbi Steven Sirbu offers this explanation: \u201cOne\u2019s sins (and I might add, good deeds) have ramifications that affect the community, and a nation\u2019s sins impact every individual. It is impossible to fully separate individual and communal culpability and repentance.\u201d So, self-realization, acknowledgement of our deeds (both bad and good) and commitment to repentance are both an individual and a national endeavor.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is power in the word <\/span>teshuva<\/span><\/em> itself. It does not mean atonement, nor repentance. It literally means to return. You can only return to a place you once were. So perhaps the crux of teshuva <\/em>is a return to our true selves; to the connection to God that is always there (God is the constant in this relationship) but that we, as individuals or a nation, have lost sight of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is through words (to each other, asking forgiveness and to God in prayer) that we begin on the road to teshuva<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":76689,"id":76689,"title":"hos14-thinker words","filename":"hos14-thinker-words.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos14-thinker-words.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-power-of-words-on-the-road-to-return\/hos14-thinker-words\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hos14-thinker-words","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":76688,"date":"2020-06-30 08:09:42","modified":"2023-05-14 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