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
There is not a righteous person on this
earth who only does good and does not sin … (Ecc. 7:20)
Adam sinned in the garden. Did he (and his wife, Eve) have to leave the garden because they sinned or when confronted by God they both refused to accept responsibility for their actions? While the answers are many, here, the above is asking us to not only recognize our imperfectness but also to consider how we respond. The reasons why people do not like to reflect on wrongs are many. Perhaps a person just has a hard time saying they are wrong or saying sorry, or maybe the guilt and shame of that wrong turns into a state of self-loathing that at all costs must be avoided. Sure there is the fear of rejection; who has not been afraid to approach a person who we have wronged not knowing quite sure how they might respond? Honestly, I also think there are people out there who just don’t know or even won’t count the cost of the power of wrong. And yes, self-wrong and self-forgiveness, that is a real big issue that has led to terrible results. It’s not easy, but being “free” of whatever wrong constrains us is a big part of how we contend with our faults, just as we also do with others. Righting wronged relationships has the power to help restore the world we live in, but the first step begins with ourselves.
By doing t’shuva, you participate in the act of recreation.
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