This Shabbat, the one that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is called Shabbat Shuva. The name comes from the first verse of the Haftarah (Prophetic) reading on this day, Hosea 14:2-10, which begins, “Return (shuvah), O Israel, to ADONAI your God, For you have fallen because of your sin.” (Hosea 14:2)
This is the reality of our lives, as human beings: we will always fall short of the mark. Teshuvah (repentance) and shuvah (return) share the same three letter Hebrew root: ש-ב-ה (sh-v-h) and are thus grammatically linked. To repent, in the Jewish sense, means to return to God and to return to our best selves.
Later, in Verse 5, Hosea continues, “I will heal their affliction, generously will I take them back in love; for My anger has turned away from them.” This Shabbat’s prophetic reading is a reminder of the promise that if we do teshuvah, turn toward God, then God will turn toward us and take us back in love. As the Prophet Ezekiel wrote, “Is it my desire that a wicked person shall die?—says the Lord GOD. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live.”
The promise of the High Holy Days is that change is always possible; we can continue to grow and become better people.
This week’s prophetic selection reminds us that God is always there to receive us and forgive us. Are we willing to do the work? Are we willing to forgive ourselves and others? God’s door is always open; is ours?
Vayelech, Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30, Parshat Hashavua for Shabbat Shuva, October 1, 2022
September 30, 2022 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
This Shabbat, the one that falls between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is called Shabbat Shuva. The name comes from the first verse of the Haftarah (Prophetic) reading on this day, Hosea 14:2-10, which begins, “Return (shuvah), O Israel, to ADONAI your God, For you have fallen because of your sin.” (Hosea 14:2)
This is the reality of our lives, as human beings: we will always fall short of the mark. Teshuvah (repentance) and shuvah (return) share the same three letter Hebrew root: ש-ב-ה (sh-v-h) and are thus grammatically linked. To repent, in the Jewish sense, means to return to God and to return to our best selves.
Later, in Verse 5, Hosea continues, “I will heal their affliction, generously will I take them back in love; for My anger has turned away from them.” This Shabbat’s prophetic reading is a reminder of the promise that if we do teshuvah, turn toward God, then God will turn toward us and take us back in love. As the Prophet Ezekiel wrote, “Is it my desire that a wicked person shall die?—says the Lord GOD. It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live.”
The promise of the High Holy Days is that change is always possible; we can continue to grow and become better people.
This week’s prophetic selection reminds us that God is always there to receive us and forgive us. Are we willing to do the work? Are we willing to forgive ourselves and others? God’s door is always open; is ours?