{"id":23706,"date":"2022-09-29T09:39:42","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T13:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/?p=23706"},"modified":"2022-11-03T13:07:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T17:07:24","slug":"message-from-moreh-alan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan","title":{"rendered":"Message from Moreh Alan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our <\/span>Middat HaShavuah<\/span><\/i> this week is, \u201cBe \u201cwomb-full\u201d and generous, take deep breaths; be kind & honest,\u201d and it is not taken from the weekly Torah portion, but rather from the <\/span>Mahzor<\/span><\/i>, the prayer book which we use on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. In Hebrew, the verse from the <\/span>Mahzor<\/span><\/i> is:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u05d4\u05f3 \u05d4\u05f3 \u05e7\u05b5\u05dc \u05e8\u05b7\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d7\u05b7\u05e0\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05df \u05d0\u05b6\u05e8\u05b6\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05b7\u05e4\u05b7\u05bc\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1-\u05d7\u05b6\u05e1\u05b6\u05d3 \u05d5\u05b6\u05d0\u05b6\u05de\u05b6\u05ea<\/span><\/p>\n

This verse from the <\/span>Mahzor<\/span><\/i> reminds me of the importance of forgiveness. When I think of forgiveness, even before the <\/span>Tefillot<\/span><\/i> which we say during the <\/span>Aseret Yemei Teshuvah<\/span><\/i>, the Ten Days of Repentance, or better yet, the Ten Days of Turning or Returning from Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur, I am reminded of two pop songs, one from the seventies and the other from the eighties (I know, I am dating myself!) The first song from the 70\u2019s was by Elton John. Elton John\u2019s \u201cSorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word\u201d rings true for any of us who have knowingly wronged another, either by our words or by our actions, and we had to ask the person or persons we offended for forgiveness. Despite the fact that we may know that we have wronged another, we often don\u2019t have the wherewithal or even the ability to say three simple words, \u201cI am sorry.\u201d Sorry truly seems to be the hardest word, even when at times it is the most important word.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other song is by Don Henley of Eagles fame. Henley sings in his song, \u201cThe Heart of the Matter,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been tryin’ to get down,<\/span><\/p>\n

To the heart of the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

But my will gets weak,<\/span><\/p>\n

And my thoughts seem to scatter.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I think it’s about forgiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forgiveness,<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Both songs capture the difficulty and importance of the <\/span>Middah<\/span><\/i> of forgiveness. For Elton John, sorry is the hardest word.\u00a0 For Don Henley, forgiveness is the heart of the matter, that important yet difficult step each of us must take in order to reach reconciliation and ultimately redemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forgiveness means to extend understanding towards those who have wronged or hurt us. It requires us to let go. In many cases this is the letting go of some or all of the frustration, disappointment, resentment, or other painful feelings associated with an offense. Forgiveness, and the related quality of mercy, involves accepting the shortcomings, flaws, and imperfections of others and gives them a second (or third) chance. As the expression goes, it is letting bygones be bygones, rather than being vengeful. It is a process of humanizing those who have led us to feel dehumanized.<\/span><\/p>\n

True forgiveness can contribute to strong interpersonal relationships, thriving teamwork, personal job satisfaction, improved morale, innovative problem-solving, a sense of flexibility when facing changes, and productivity.\u00a0 True forgiveness is one of the 24 character strengths that Positive Psychology suggests leads to happiness and well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we approach Yom Kippur and the book closes on the year that was, and as we approach a new year, let us ask for forgiveness from our loved ones and our neighbors.\u00a0 In addition, let us allow ourselves to forgive those who may have wronged us, and who are truly involved in <\/span>Teshuvah – <\/span><\/i>turning and trying to change. Let us get beyond sorry being the hardest word, so that we can get down to the heart of the matter, which is forgiveness.<\/span><\/p>\n

G’mar Hatimah Tovah!<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 May you and your loved ones be inscribed in the book of life for a year of good health, happiness, blessings and peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreh Alan<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Middat HaShavuah this week is, \u201cBe \u201cwomb-full\u201d and generous, take deep breaths; be kind & honest,\u201d and it is not taken from the weekly Torah portion, but rather from …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[180],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMessage from Moreh Alan - The Toronto Heschel School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Message from Moreh Alan - The Toronto Heschel School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our Middat HaShavuah this week is, \u201cBe \u201cwomb-full\u201d and generous, take deep breaths; be kind & honest,\u201d and it is not taken from the weekly Torah portion, but rather from ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Toronto Heschel School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-29T13:39:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-03T17:07:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/alan.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jaimie Carson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jaimie Carson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jaimie Carson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d7f8942f4c7cf509114b2103562b838b\"},\"headline\":\"Message from Moreh Alan\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-29T13:39:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-03T17:07:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Alan's Dvar\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Dvar Torah\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.torontoheschel.org\/news-views\/blog\/message-from-moreh-alan\",\"name\":\"Message from Moreh Alan - 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