The high holidays are upon us and I am looking forward to being with you for our Rosh Hashanah services Monday night and Tuesday. As we do and continue the work of teshuva, repair, I want to lift up a parallel process on making accountability and repair that disability justice activist and scholar Mia Mingus writes about and also the Rambam, a Medieval Jewish philosopher. You can read Mia Mingus on accountability here. You can read Rambam in the Mishnah Torah: Hilchot Teshuvah on teshuvah beginning here.
I want to highlight a powerful similarity between both of these author’s works, the final step in both of their frameworks. The process of teshuva, repair, is not complete when you have said “I’m sorry” or even when you have named your actions and also named the actions you will take to ensure that you won’t commit the hurt or harm again. Teshuva is complete when you have had the opportunity to make the same hurt or harm again and do not. In chapter 2:1 of Rambam’s Hilchot Teshuva he writes: “Who has reached complete teshuva? A person who confronts the same situation in which [they] sinned when [they] have the potential to commit [the sin again], and, nevertheless, abstains and does not commit it because of [their] teshuvah alone and not because of fear or a lack of strength.”
I invite you to reflect on the year past. What did you make teshuva for last year, or in years past? Have you been able to hold yourself accountable to not repeating the same harms? As you make teshuva this year, how will you ensure that you do not make the same mistakes or cause the same harm again? What about when those harms are larger than yourself?
I am wishing you gentleness as you do the hard and important work of making teshuvah. I look forward to seeing some of you at Zoom Shabbat tonight at 6pm and others at our Rosh Hashanah services beginning Monday night.
Shabbat Shalom, may it be one towards liberation.
Rabbi May
I want to highlight a powerful similarity between both of these author’s works, the final step in both of their frameworks. The process of teshuva, repair, is not complete when you have said “I’m sorry” or even when you have named your actions and also named the actions you will take to ensure that you won’t commit the hurt or harm again. Teshuva is complete when you have had the opportunity to make the same hurt or harm again and do not. In chapter 2:1 of Rambam’s Hilchot Teshuva he writes: “Who has reached complete teshuva? A person who confronts the same situation in which [they] sinned when [they] have the potential to commit [the sin again], and, nevertheless, abstains and does not commit it because of [their] teshuvah alone and not because of fear or a lack of strength.”
I invite you to reflect on the year past. What did you make teshuva for last year, or in years past? Have you been able to hold yourself accountable to not repeating the same harms? As you make teshuva this year, how will you ensure that you do not make the same mistakes or cause the same harm again? What about when those harms are larger than yourself?
I am wishing you gentleness as you do the hard and important work of making teshuvah. I look forward to seeing some of you at Zoom Shabbat tonight at 6pm and others at our Rosh Hashanah services beginning Monday night.
Shabbat Shalom, may it be one towards liberation.
Rabbi May
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