I realize the path of repentance is far from me. How do I know this? Well two things. One is everything in my life fell apart at a certain point, and we know from the Torah that, "There are no problems without sin." [Even though the book of Job infers differently, still this seems to be the basic approach of the Torah.]
The way that Reb Shmuel Berenbaum [the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in NY] dealt with almost any problem was this, "Learn Torah." That was his cure all for every type of difficulty that anyone brought before him. [That went along with his emphasis on not speaking Lashon Hara(slander). See the book, Chafetz Chaim for details. A very important book I might add.]
What seems right about this idea of "Learning Torah"is that, in fact, I think that repentance involves finding a basic set of rules of conduct and sticking with them. Certainly anything that I am doing wrong or have done wrong is mentioned somewhere in Oral and Written Law. In any case, I certainly have not found out what I am doing wrong.
Note: The subject of "No problems without sin" is an argument in the Talmud. But the conclusion is "There is death without sin, but never problems without sin." This comes up in Tractate Shabat.
[Even though I realize I must be far off the mark there are still a number of basic principles I have tried to stick with. Even though I realize they do not really count as true repentance for whatever I have done wrong, still they are I think good ad hoc measures, [i.e. good for the needs of the hour..]
(1) Speak the truth at all cost (2) Learn Torah , the Written and Oral Law (3) Ten Commandments, (4) the Golden Rule [Do unto other as you would have others do unto you.]..
[Some might think religious fanaticism is the answer. What religious fanatic does not think he has the absolute truth? However I never saw any good come from religious fanaticism-never. It just takes people away from the more important aspects of Torah like obligations between man and his fellow man.]
The way that Reb Shmuel Berenbaum [the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir yeshiva in NY] dealt with almost any problem was this, "Learn Torah." That was his cure all for every type of difficulty that anyone brought before him. [That went along with his emphasis on not speaking Lashon Hara(slander). See the book, Chafetz Chaim for details. A very important book I might add.]
What seems right about this idea of "Learning Torah"is that, in fact, I think that repentance involves finding a basic set of rules of conduct and sticking with them. Certainly anything that I am doing wrong or have done wrong is mentioned somewhere in Oral and Written Law. In any case, I certainly have not found out what I am doing wrong.
Note: The subject of "No problems without sin" is an argument in the Talmud. But the conclusion is "There is death without sin, but never problems without sin." This comes up in Tractate Shabat.
[Even though I realize I must be far off the mark there are still a number of basic principles I have tried to stick with. Even though I realize they do not really count as true repentance for whatever I have done wrong, still they are I think good ad hoc measures, [i.e. good for the needs of the hour..]
(1) Speak the truth at all cost (2) Learn Torah , the Written and Oral Law (3) Ten Commandments, (4) the Golden Rule [Do unto other as you would have others do unto you.]..
[Some might think religious fanaticism is the answer. What religious fanatic does not think he has the absolute truth? However I never saw any good come from religious fanaticism-never. It just takes people away from the more important aspects of Torah like obligations between man and his fellow man.]
