Last Wednesday, September 23rd, in the week before Yom Kippur, Chief Rabbi Isaac Sacca was invited by the Colel Erev of the Sephardic Congregation of Buenos Aires, Yesod Hadaat, in which he gave a conference for all audiences.
The Rabbi explained that on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, we strengthen the bond with G’d as the King and Creator of the world and of our existence, and as a Father, since we are his creatures and therefore he loves us. On Yom Kippur, by asking for forgiveness, we know who we are talking to. G’d really wants us to amend ourselves and does not want our failure or revenge, because He is our Creator, our Father. Therefore, we are motivated to present ourselves with a sincere plan before Him.
Rabbi Isaac gave 5 tips or pieces of advice so that on this Yom Kippur, we can make an authentic Teshuba (return to the path of good):
1- Make a diagnosis of the origin of our mistakes. If we have transgressed because of ignorance, temptation or in a malicious way. Then, we can make a plan for the coming year, strengthening 3 areas: combat ignorance with study, temptation with cunning and evil with the study of morals and ethics, always based on our sources.
2- Use common sense. We must present each Yom Kippur with a viable program, with something concrete to improve ourselves a little more. Commit to change things we can do, and do not make false promises.
3. Aim to improve the fundamental and not the superfluous. Do not want to cover everything but have an order of priorities.
4. Take advantage of the crises, in this specific case the current pandemic by covid that affects us all, to develop the values and internal potentials that we had abandoned, rediscover ourselves and value the bonds with others, and with G’d.
5. Let beauty and elegance be present in everything we do. Since man is programmed to lean towards beauty, it must be used for good, to achieve constant attitudes: compliance with the precepts and improvement of educational and religious environments.
