The following was originally published in The SHPiEL, a bi-weekly student-run Jewish newspaper out of the University of Florida.

Repentance. Not a Jewish Word.

You can?t marry a woman under false pretenses. If a man says to a woman, ?Marry me on account of the fact that I am rich man,? and it turns out that, indeed, the man is quite poor, the marriage is nullified. The Talmud relates an instance where a man enters into a marriage claiming to be a righteous man. The woman agrees to marry him due to his status of being a righteous man. Well, after the wedding it becomes clear that this guy is known as the biggest jerk in town, and he is infamous for being a rasha, (really bad guy who has made a habit of sinning whenever given the chance). The Talmud rules that in such a case the wedding is valid. This is strange, and perhaps even disturbing.

Like any good talmudic discussion, the correct questions follow. Why?! Is this not another case of a bogus misrepresentation? The Talmud answers that the marriage stands because at the moment the man told this woman that he was righteous, he was! At that very instant he did tshuvah.

Tshuvah literally means: to return to oneself. This is what we do during this High Holiday season; this is what we hope to do throughout our lives. Our only true happiness wells up from our ability to be connected to our selves. When we are able to commune with ourselves, we gain perspective and ultimately a desire for life. We have an open invitation to do tshuvah. This could mean going for a walk in the woods, making good on a commitment, closing your eyes, talking with a friend, or a good High Holiday service. We are constantly involved in this activity all year round. As we head towards Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, our tradition urges us to do tshuvah. When we can bring into focus our own voice, our identity beneath our personality, we begin to approach the Divine. The Jewish people stand together before God during this time as a reminder that our inner meanderings help us to see the relationship we have to each other and to our Source.

A sweet year for all of us!
Rabbi Yonah