Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul…
- Reb Shlomo Carlebach
Parshat Nitzavim contains the “Parsha of Teshuvah.” After describing the punishments that will befall the Jewish People should they stray from God, the Torah describes a process of Teshuvah, return:
And it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, then you shall take it to heart among all the nations, where Hashem your God has dispersed you. And you shall return unto …

Anxiety begins to set in as the Yemei Hadin, the Days of Judgment, quickly approach. The month of Elul beckons us to do teshuvah: to return to Hashem, His Torah and mitzvot. The shofar is sounded each day, blaring like a six am alarm clock; waking us up to make amends, ask for forgiveness, and forgive.
This is time for personal reflection.
The selichot prayers also wake us up- literally and figuratively. Selichot, the additional service that begins this Saturday Night for those who follow the Ashkenazic practice, …

The school year has just begun. As parents, our children’s education is a top priority. As Jews, our concern is not just with the material that is covered, but the subtler elements of education: what is imbued in our children, Torah values, moral development; the affective level of education.
Every seven years, during the festival of Sukkot, the entire Jewish People are commanded to gather together for “hakhel,” a special mitzvah performed in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The King would read selections from the book of Devarim as …