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I will never forget what happened that night. After going to hundreds of lectures, and giving quite a few myself, I thought I’d seen it all. But I had never seen anything quite like this. To give you a little background, there are protocols for the introductory process of a speech. At major events, like the one taking place that night, there are always two microphones. The first is for the person who gets up to introduce the main speaker. After finishing his introduction, he walks off with his microphone, and the second microphone is waiting on stage for the main speaker.

As we begin the new Torah cycle, let’s take a moment to contemplate the deeper purpose of Torah. Some may refer to the Torah as a history book; others may think of it as a book of law or a source of Jewish wisdom. While these are all true, they only scratch the surface of the Torah’s true nature. Torah is not simply a guide to living a life of truth within this world; it is the blueprint and DNA of the world itself. Our physical world is a projection and emanation of the deep spiritual reality described in the Torah. This is the meaning behind the famous midrash, “Istakel b’Oraisa u’bara alma – [Hashem] looked into the Torah and used it to create the world” (B’reishis Rabbah 1:1). Torah is the spiritual root of existence; the physical world is its expression.

A father set out one day to teach his young daughter a powerful lesson. When she woke up in the morning, he took her in front of a mirror and asked her, “What do you see?”

A speaker once started his seminar by holding up a $100 bill. “Who would like this $100 bill?” he asked.

Every hand in the room went up.

The speaker looked around, and then crumpled the bill in his hand.

The birth of a new year is a time of reflection and resolution, when hope and inspiration fill the air. We dream about what this upcoming year holds in store for us, how we can make the rest of our life the best of our life. We all have ideas, ambitions, and aspirations that we yearn to bring to fruition, and the new year gives us “permission” to revisit these goals and breathe new life into them. For a brief moment, everything is crystal clear, we see our purpose and our path with vivid clarity. However, there is an underlying frustration that accompanies this time period, as well. If we reflect honestly, we often realize that our new year’s resolutions are awfully similar to those of last year, and the year before, and the year before…

“T’shuvah” is a word that’s often associated with this time of year. Yet, when we hear it, we often want to run away. Can I really make such massive changes in my life? How am I supposed to break the negative habits that are so deeply ingrained in me? Yom Kippur is right around the corner and my Torah learning, my t’filah, and my interpersonal relationships are nowhere near what they should be. This seems too daunting a task.