Machshava:

Rav Kook,  Teshuva,  Yom Kippur 

Holidays:

Aseret Y'mei Teshuvah 

Collections: R' Shvat The Thought of Rav Kook

Description

Our sages say that God "counts" good intentions, but doesn't "count" bad intentions. On the other hand, the Talmud Yerushalmi adds that this is only for Jews, not gentiles, where the opposite is true. And the obvious question is: why? If intentions are serious, they should always "count", and if not, they should never be considered! Rav Kook explains that Teshuva is the easiest of all mitzvot, where even a thought is enough to erase decades of mistakes! On the other hand, it's also difficult, and we must analyze the differences.