Kosher Bookworm: Mitzvah of teshuvah in our time

The very word itself, teshuvah, brings to mind the very essence of the element and experience of spiritual return. Teshuvah is the experience of returning, not to the good old days, but rather to a new world experience, one that is G-d centered and ordered.

Into this mix comes forth the teachings and writings of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, whose very persona reflects upon the very core of what teshuvah, spiritual return, should to mean to us in our time.

In two books, one titled “Teshuvah: A Guide for the Newly Observant Jew” [Maggid Books / Shefa, 2010] and the other, “Change and Renewal: The Essence of the Jewish Holidays, Festivals and Days of Remembrance” [Maggid Books / Shefa, 2011]

Rabbi Steinsaltz brings together some of the finest teachings concerning spiritual return and concern for the very heart of belief and faith in Jewish religious thought.

The first book makes for apt reading this time of year, for we are all ba’alei teshuvah in the eyes of our G-d at worship and in ritual practice. Herein can be found eloquent definition of what it means to return to that which we may never have left, to show contrition for sins we might, by our calculus, may never have committed.

First written 30 years ago, this work was described by Rabbi Norman Lamm as “a book that has been waiting to be written and it could not have found a more sensitive, knowledgeable and emotionally balanced author.” Consider that Rabbi Steinsaltz himself came from a non-observant family background.

With teshuvah uppermost on our minds, those sections dealing with the month of Elul, and its intense preparations for the upcoming high holiday observances, details the very definitive core of what truly and seriously constitutes true spiritual return.

To this mix the rabbi adds an intellectual component that should help you sort out the true nature of what constitutes true religious belief that is not defined by the swaying during prayer. The narrative by the rabbi transcends the bodily expressions and goes to the heart of our minds and hearts challenging us to face reality in terms of ethics, financial integrity, interpersonal relations and the day to day realities that we all must face as servants of our G-d.