Below is the teaching of Chaplain (soon to be Rabbi) Adam Ruditsky in conjunction with the book Preparing yourself for the High Holidays.
רפואה מן התורה
What is the
straight path a person shall chose for themselves? (Avot 2:1)
When the temple stood the sacrifices served as a hands-on way for the members
of Israel to interact between God and themselves. When Israel was dispersed after the
destruction of the temple they needed to rebuild that connection, hence the
famous words of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai spoke those words
to Rabbi Joshua after the cessation of the sacrifices at the destruction of the Temple, teaching his disciple
that there were now new ways to connect to God, through prayer, charity and
loving kindness. Israel had to choose to move on after the destruction of the
temple and the early Rabbis reformed the Jewish faith for that reason. Today sacrifice is the intent of each Jew and for that matter person that lives; sacrifice of prayer, holiness, choice of right and wrong or
commitments to name just a few.
Sacrifice is about choice; how are we going to live and behave, believe
and practice, love and hate, work and play.
Sacrifice is no longer an animal on the alter but the direction of our
free will in what we do. But sacrifice also may include a loss, but a loss for a bigger reward. Judaism does
provide a road map, it’s not a random bunch of choices that lack meaning and/or
purpose. Putting order to our lives creates the path of righteous sacrifice.
When we offer up sacrifices we let of our inner selves
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