Whenever I visit
a new doctor at his office for the very first time I have to fill out the
patient information collection form. It
lists all possible ailments, diseases, and disorders. Usually I have to check off just a couple of
them like I’m lactose intolerant and I suffer from acid reflex. When I turn back the forms, I ask the person behind
the desk, “Has anybody ever scored 100%?”
Of course, nobody can be that sick.
The same is
true with the confessional, Al Chet. The
traditional Al Chets lists so many sins ranging from gossip to sexual
immorality to rushing to do evil. Nobody
can be that bad. And that is the good
news. We all have our faults, things that we’re embarrassed about, and
transgressions we need to own up to, but nobody is that bad.
My bike
taught me what we need to do just in time for Yom Kippur. After my crash in Israel this past May, convincing
myself that I needed a new bike wasn’t that hard. Besides upgrading to a better and newer model,
I could fix up my old bike and give it to my son who will need it as a main
mode of transportation in his new home.
It was a win-win situation.
My only
problem with my new bike was my knees. They began to hurt a half an hour into
the ride. The pain was almost
unbearable. My local bike shop owners
tried their best to solve my problem. Even though the pain lessened, riding was
no longer enjoyable. Finally I decided I
needed to return to the professionals who fitted my old bike to me and solved
my problems five years ago. This past
Thursday, I went to Signature Bicycles in the city for help. I went to the right place. Almost immediate my
personal fitter saw what the problems were.
First of the angle of my seat was a bit too steep. The angle was just over five degrees when it
should have been only just a bit over four degrees. I was slipping down the seat, putting more
pressure on my knees than was good for them.
Once the seat was in the right position, my clips on my bike shoes could
go back to the neutral position following the natural position of my feet and
legs. To alieve the numbness in my
hands, he changed the position of my handlebars a bit. He also noticed that my shoes were worn and
too wide for my feet and recommended a different shoe which will direct the
power of my stroke so that I would get the maximum benefit from my
peddling. Last of all, he reminded me of
the proper position when I actually
ride my bike. What a difference all those little tweaks made. My ride Friday morning was a delight because
all my problems disappeared.
The same is
true when we prepare for Yom Kippur.
Nobody I know is all bad. Most of
us just need a few tweaks and we can turn our lives around. That’s the message of the New Year. In the New Machzor, there is a wonderful responsive
reading entitled To begin again by
Abraham Karp. “The old year is gone.
The ledger is closed. Our Book of Life
is now open to a new page. No sins blot it, no indiscretions blemish it…On (the
New Year) we receive the gift of beginning again. We now know what we did not know then. What
will we do with the knowledge? How will we use the gift?” The choice is in your
hands. Small changes can make big
differences.
Shana Tova
