Varieties of Teshuva

As we have now begun the month of Elul we are all trying to tap into the special connection this unique time period lends itself to-specifically teshuva and closeness to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. What better tool to use to learn the best ways of connection and teshuva than our lifes guide book, the Torah. In tonight’s class we will look at the first humans-their mistakes and punishments, but most significantly, what they each learned from the experience.

Last week we got to meet Kayin and Hevel, the first humans to be “born” in the world. Kayin was not only the first born, but seemingly the pride of his parents. The text described how both brought gifts to Gd but only Hevel’s was accepted. Hashem then explained to Kayin the power of both our evil inclination and our good one. It felt like a pep talk to improve and yet in the next verse Kayin murdered his brother! Tonight we will pick up in the narrative to understand G-d reaction, Kayin’s punishment, and what messages G-d felt Kayin’s life and story could teach the world about regret and Teshuva.

The Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah have always caught my attention. On two of the holiest days of our calendar we focus on the character of Yitzhcak. One day on the story of his birth and the second on the story of the akeida. To focus on such a significant and holy character makes sense to me so at first glance I appreciated it. But after looking more closely, the question of some of the surrounding characters surfaced-why do we learn about Hagar and Yishmael too? How do they better help us connect to Rosh Hashanah? Tonight we will go back to where all these characters are first introduced and start to develop the incredible messages they are trying to convey as well.

In last week’s class we started getting to know the characters of Sarah and Hagar and the challenging dynamic that developed between them. Hagar seems to have been a unique and special woman to be chosen to mother a child of Avraham. In tonight’s class we will take a closer look at Hagar, and her son Yishmael to appreciate their roles in our history and even more specifically, why they are part of the Rosh Hashanah Torah portion.