Yom Kippur....Easy Fast Everyone.....

Time is Relative By Simcha Levenberg

The human perspective of time is straightforward and linear. What happened in the past is behind us in the rearview mirror. The future looms ahead, just beyond the horizon. The now is upon us - right now. After this moment, time and life will march forward. If that was a good moment, it will be stored in the annals of the brain for future reference. If it was a tough time, it may be difficult to purge it from the archives of the mind. This is our memory. Some cherish their memories: a virtual scrapbook available for perusal at random intervals throughout the day. Fuzzy cats, rainbows, childhood friends, and homeruns during kickball games uplift them when the future looks grim. Others are haunted by the past. Shaken with the knowledge of their personal history and plagued by painful recollections of life's tribulations; they feel weighed down. Mourning the past, fearful about the future, unsure of their next step, for some memory can be a chronic illness.                  Granted, from the human perspective it's all history. Memory is just the highway mile marker of life's progression. At times, some memory maintenance may be in order. One might resign oneself to dedicated sessions with their psychologist to address particular failures and shortcomings. Alternatively, one could find solace in a few more milligrams of Zoloft to ease the stress and smooth the rough edges of the psyche. Let's thank G‑d, because He at least has a refreshing and positive spin on history and memory. G‑d's vantage is a 180-degree turn from the straight and narrow human perspective. He functions in the infinite pocket of the now, that includes both the past and future. A sandwich of time where all events have occurred, are occurring, and will occur-simultaneously. That sounds lovely for Him, but should we care? For it is here and now that we travel, stuck within the boundaries of time, plodding forward with fuzzy kittens or tragic thoughts following close behind. Can G‑d's transcendent mastery of time help us? Yes it can. Our missteps have not only been recorded on G‑d's funniest home videos but are actually taking place right now. Don't be crestfallen; He won't make fun of you for vomiting at the Junior Prom. Rise high, for the way of the Jewish spiritual warrior is transcendent. We have the latent power within us to go beyond the confines of the time space continuum and mend our wrongdoings. Teshuvah, repentance, is the ability to travel back to that moment and fix the issue. Since, from G‑d's vantage point – it's all going down right now, it is never too late.