Zelig Golden | 8th of Tishrei 5771 | September 16, 2010|

Shana Tova Umetukah ~ Wishing you a good and sweet new year!

One week ago, the New Moon of Tishrei shepherded in Rosh Hashana, our spiritual New Year, also known as Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembering, when we remember ourselves as part of the Divine One. In just over a week, with the full moon of Tishrei, we will celebrate Sukkot – our harvest holiday and Zman Simchateinu, the season of our greatest joy! But before this great celebration, we must first pass through the gates of Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, the day we purify and reconcile our relationships with friends, family, and the Divine.

We traditionally read the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur, which provides profound insight into the Yom Kippur process of teshuva (“repentance” or “return to oneself”). Jonah is called by Creator to go to the city of Nineveh, a city of many misguided souls, to help them find new direction. Jonah hears this calling, but in fear of this path he runs away on a ship bound for Spain, only to be cast into the sea when great storms follow the fleeing Jonah. He is swallowed by a great fish and for three days and nights, descends into the fish’s belly and depths of the sea. Lost in the depths, Jonah cries out and prays for forgiveness, prays for his return. He is returned to the shores near Nineveh and completes his mission.

Jonah’s story is the hero’s journey. His journey is our journey. Upon first hearing his call to serve, he runs from the truth of his power and purpose. Only through a trial that plunges him into darkness and deep prayer and self-reflection – what we might call a soul journey – can he return to embrace his path. From his darkness, Jonah moves through a powerful teshuva process: crying out in distress, surrendering, remembering the One, realizing his purpose, praying with gratitude, and then committing to fulfilling his life’s calling. (Jonah 2: 3-10). The forces of nature, embodied in the great fish and the sea, hold Jonah through his process of losing and finding himself again – a vision quest into the belly of Creation’s soul. As Psalm 24 teaches, “The Earth is G-d’s.” When we return to Creation with our deepest prayers, like Jonah we may do teshuva, returning to ourselves to fulfill our purpose here on earth.

While we don’t need to dive into the belly of a whale to do teshuva, I hope Jonah’s story might inspire in you a sense that teshuva is possible when we really go for it! Whatever your way of teshuva this Yom Kippur, we at Wilderness Torah bless you that you may be written in the Book of Life for a fruitful 5771!