As we all know the theme of Rosh Hashonah and the 10 Days of Penitance culminating in Yom Kippur is Tshuva-Repentance.
Many people compare it(wrongly) to the secular period of New Years, when people make resolutions to lose wight, be a better person etc.
For Jews the process is more complicated involving self-examination,understanding where we went astray,begging forgiveness,and when confronted with the same set of circumstances, avoiding the sin.
Many things we do ,we quickly realize was wrong,others perhaps because of lack of training we do not possesss such a recognition.Only education will help correct that for the future.
There is one sin that throughout Jewish history has brought us great destruction, and that is idol worship.In the days of the Tanach,going back to Abraham, it was a tree or an actual idol that caught the fancy of the masses.
Since the days of monotheism,the Jewish people have lost any desire for such idol worship.We do suffer from a very different and prevalent type of Avoda Zarah-idol worship.That is we are slaves to materialism .We are slaves to the culture of our society-the MTV culture.
The Reform Movement starting in Germany and here in the US, based their theology on the dilution of Jewish law,so that it has no relationship to halacha.To be like citizens of the world,and use that as your motto of Tikkun Olam, is a form of avodah zarah.
Most American Jews fall into a category of Tinok Shenishbah-a child that was kidnapped from its parents at an early age and never taught JEWISH LAW.
The challenge for Jewish leadership, is to help prevent the assimilation and intermarriage that destroys us no less than the Holcaust.
Bibi of course disappoints once again.Abbas is not willing to ever recognize Israel as a Jewish State-why go forward with talks and concessions?
Obama doublecrossed Israel when the US signed on to the IAEA resolution targeting Israel and agreed to hold a 2012 Conference trying to force Israel to ACCEDE TO THE NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION TREATY.In essence Israel has never publicly agreed to the fact that Israel has nuclear weapons.Every President until now protected Israel.The only chance Israel has of keeping the pressure off is by announcing they will not attend the 2012 conference.
When it comes to these nulear issues the American Jewish community is slow to react.However, it is another attempt to isolate Israel absent any pressure on Israel's niighbors to renounce war against Israel.
Bibi should rrealize that in 2 months,Obama will be a lame duck President, who will be more dependent on Republican conservatives for support.The Republican Party is much more dedvoted to Israel than the liberal left.
