Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Our hearts are open. From the amphitheatre in Caesarea to the Western Wall, selichot events, singing of niggunim (Chasidic melodies), and other preparations for Yom Kippur are in full gear. Yedidya and I were privileged last night to speak with the residents of Yakir. The gathering was hosted by Yakir's rabbi, Rav Aharon Cohen.
Someone provided me with a metaphor for the flow of people engaged in selichot during the The Days of Repentance. She compared what happens this time of year to our response to the button on our computer screen that asks us to press it if we want to upgrade the computer's capacity. We are asked if we want to do that now, tomorrow, or be reminded of it again in two weeks. We then press the two week option, if only to get rid of the distraction and go about our business.
But now, with the approach of Yom Kippur, we dispense with the upgrade delay options. We feel that the time is now. The gates of heaven are open, and this is the time to upgrade the software: to change, to improve, to make resolutions and to keep them. To do everything that we know is right, but have not done up till now. This is the gift of Yom Kippur: to stop continually pressing the nice button that postpones everything for us. The time for action has arrived.