Rav Herschel Schachter, as quoted by Rav Dovid Hirsch, gives an opening on how to address the Vilna Gaon’s notion that our purpose in this lifetime is to rectify our character deficiencies. How does one eradicate something that seems to be embedded in our DNA?<\/p>\n
The answer comes by way of a powerful question Rav Schachter has on the Ramban in the approaching parsha of Nitzavim. There\u2019s a fundamental question as to what mitzvah the verse is referring to when it says, \u201cThis thing is not in the heavens.\u201d Rashi says it\u2019s going on Torah and the Ramban on teshuvah.<\/p>\n
The problem is that the Gemara says it\u2019s going on Torah, and the Ramban, a Rishon, can\u2019t argue on the Gemara.<\/p>\n
In beautiful fashion, Rav Schachter says the Ramban agrees that it\u2019s going on Torah, but it\u2019s only Torah that can bring one to a full teshuvah.<\/p>\n
Besides the fact that the Torah embodies all the ideas necessary to overcome character flaws, it can only be acquired through toil. This is the meaning in the Amidah where we say, \u201cHashivenu Avinu le\u2019Toratekha<\/em>\u00a0– Return us, Our Father, to Your Torah.\u201d<\/p>\n A new standard has been created: \u201ctoil in teshuvah.\u201d To me, this means using any creative method possible to find what can help one solve their faulty traits<\/span>, whether through a book or other medium.<\/p>\n The gematria of teshuvah is\u00a0tasig<\/em>, to reach. With this kind of teshuvah, complete return is a possibility.<\/p>\n In this way, this year will be unlike any other year, in which through focus and fortitude, character flaws can be corrected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rav Herschel Schachter, as quoted by Rav Dovid Hirsch, gives an opening on how to address the Vilna Gaon’s notion that our purpose in this lifetime is to rectify our character deficiencies. How does one eradicate something that seems to be embedded in our DNA? The answer comes by way of a powerful question Rav […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133844,"featured_media":58089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rosh-hashanah"],"yoast_head":"\n