Teshuva = Fixing Mistakes
by Lori Palatnik Everyone makes mistakes. The Torah is filled with people -- great people -- who made mistakes. Moses himself made mistakes. He was not allowed to enter the Land of Israel because of them. Our forefathers and foremothers were human, made of flesh and blood. Indeed, what made them great was not that they led perfect lives, but that they learned from their mistakes. When they fell, they got up and continued on the path toward God. What does God want from us when we make mistakes? Teshuvah. The word teshuvah means "return." It is often mistranslated as "repentance." When we are asked by God to do teshuvah, we are asked by God to return. RETURNING TO THE FAMILIAR If you are flying "return" to Chicago, you leave your home and fly to Chicago. After you complete your stay, you use your return ticket to get on a plane to go back home. Returning means going back to somewhere you've been, somewhere familiar. Teshuvah means we return to the path...