Congregation Ohave Shalom, Pawtucket, RI hosts the Jewish Spirituality Mailing List

Jewish Spirituality
Volume 26

By way of preface:

The "Jewish Spirituality" mailing list is an outgrowth of several conversations in which people told me that they felt "alone" in their quest to develop their relationship with Gd. I knew they weren't alone, just from my own interactions with other people, and so I extended an invitation to the Jewish community of Rhode Island to join in a weekly mailing list exploring issues within their relationship with HaShem.

Many of the messages posted on the list reflect people's personal struggles and sensitivities. As a result, some of the people who post remarks on this list opt to do so anonymously; they send me the e-mail, and I drop their names. The list is "blind cc'd," as well, so that no one knows who else is on the list. Our goal is that the members of this list should draw strength and inspiration from the words of their peers, and thereby continue to develop as Jews.

If you would like to join the list, please e-mail me at rijewish@juno.com.

Jewish Spirituality - Volume 26

After Yom Kippur

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Subject: After Yom Kippur
By: Scott Spiegler

Hi,

In post-Yom Kippur mode, I am reviewing what I communicated to G-d in terms of doing teshuvah. And, as everybody knows, in doing teshuvah- we:

1. acknowledge before G-d what we have done that was wrong
2. feel and express remorse for the wrong deed
3. vow not to do it again

What I am interested in getting feedback from this list about is how do people come up with a plan of not doing it again? In other words, if someone has violated a halacha, you can tell G-d with a sincere heart that you will not repeat that violation. But, whatever was in you- prior to commiting the aveirah- that caused you to commit it- may still be inside you. And, so the question then is- given that it still may be a part of me, what would prevent me from repeating the action under similar circumstances in the future?

Now, I know that there is an inyan by Y"K that the day itself cleanses. And, if one were to have fasted and davened, there would perhaps be a deeper purification. And, it is possible that, because of this quality of Y"K, a tikun (a fixing) was done on that person on that day, which removed the blemish from us to correct our middot. But, suppose one either did not fast and/or daven properly or the middah (personality trait) that caused the person to do the aveirah is so well-engrained in the person that the cleansing process of the day of Y"K did not fully remove the blemish on that person's neshamah.

So, my question is how do put in place a plan to work on that middah, so that we can live up to our vow on Y"K that we not engage in that wrongful act in the future? What would a workable plan of action look like? And, if we can create a workable plan, what are the practicals that we need to do to carry it out?

Good Shabbos and Good Yuntif, Scott

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