A word of Torah:    

        Having engaged in the process of teshuva in the proceeding weeks, on Yom Kippur we have the opportunity to meet our transformed self. We give ourselves a whole day to just be present—no other task is necessary, not even eating. We dress in white, not in an array of colors, to encourage us to see the simple truth, free from the complex confusion of our daily existence. We want one thing-- to be a better person.
        Yet, we wonder whether this is possible—can I really change?

The Hasidic Master, the Sefat Emet encourages us to believe we can:
“This day the Lord your God commands you to observe all these statutes and laws. (Deut. 26:16)”
 ‘But the meaning of this day in the verse still needs to be clarified. The Midrash and Rashi both say: Each day these should be like new in your eyes. Why “like new”? Is someone out there trying to fool the person, giving her something that isn’t really new, but is “like new”? God forbid! It is really within human power to renew each thing. The renewal is there within everything, since God “renews each day, constantly, the work of Creation.” “Constantly/tamid” means in each moment. Nothing exists without the divine life-force, and the point in each thing that comes from God never grows old, since God’s words are constantly alive and flowing.’

        If we and the world are imperfect as I suggested a few weeks ago, it is also true that each day, in each moment God renews the work of creation. We too can be a beriah hadasha—a new person. Even as the cells of our body are constantly changing; we too can be new versions of ourselves. How? If we believe that there is a divine spark in each human being, then we should remember what the Sefat Emet teaches: that spark never grows old. It isn’t true that it can be too late to change. We are neither too tired nor too set in our ways so as to prevent the possibility of our individual transformation.
        While we share the mortality of every human being, each of us is a unique person. No other person in human history will be a replica of me.  The midrash teaches that each person standing at Sinai heard the Torah proclaimed by God differently. By our deeds, we will write the Torah for the year 5781.  It will be imperfect, just as it has been every year. Yet, the task still lies before us. Yom Kippur is a potential encounter with our soul.
        Even as we spend so much time looking inward, late in the afternoon on Yom Kippur we read the story of Jonah to remind us that we must look outward as well. Jonah has no interest in the fate of the people of Nineveh. Ironically, he is the only successful biblical prophet; no one listens to the warnings of the other prophets. Jonah hopes to sleep through the tempests of his life. Jonah’s story is meant to remind us that this day is not just about us. We are to transform ourselves and thereby change the world. Don’t be like Jonah—be like the people of Nineveh. Create a righteous society.