As we are in the midst of the ten days of repentance and approaching the awesome day of Yom Kippur, there is an important part to understand about the process of repenting for our sins. Of course a person needs to reflect on specific misdeeds but there is a larger picture that can't be missed as well. There is a famous metaphor told over about repentance which says that if a person is driving from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and then he realizes he really needs to be in Jerusalem, the first thing he needs to do is to figure how to turn around and make his way back to Jerusalem. It isn't important how fast he gets back to Jerusalem the first part is to stop and turn around. The driver needs to realign his direction, change his focus and then progress toward the new goal. Throughout the year people sin and make mistakes which push them further away from Hashem. A person needs to first conclude that he is going in the wrong direction and needs to change course. The Hebrew word Teshuva is understood to mean return to (the letter Hei) which alludes to Hashem's Name. We need to return to Hashem, we need to change our direction and mindset. Developing our relationship with the Eternal One needs to become our main focus, we need to re-align our lives and priorities to match this goal.

This is really one of the main points of Teshuva. During these days we have special spiritual help and enlightenment to reach this realization and we should all merit in returning to Hashem wholeheartedly. 

Shabbat Shalom and Gemar Chasima Tova,

Heath