Life Lessons for the Yamim Nora'im

Why reenact Siserah's mother's wails by blowing shofar 100 times?If everything is decreed on Rosh haShanah, what's the point of praying the rest of the year?According to the Torah, what makes someone a super-hero?Why do we fast on Gedaliah's yahrtzeit, more than all other departed tzaddikim?Even if nuts have the same gematria as sin, we're not eating sins - we're eating nuts!Someone apologized in a way I found insulting; how can I forgive him?If I'm not careful about pas yisroel all year, isn't it hypocrisy to be careful around Rosh haShanah?Why are synthetic shoes allowed on Yom Kippur, if they're more comfortable than leather ones?Why does Koheles say everything is worthless, if Torah and mitzvos have infinite worth?Why reenact the conquest of Yericho with seven circles on Hoshana Rabbah?What should be our state of mind as Rosh haShanah approaches, arrives, and passes? What concepts should we consider, what feelings foster, what philosophies should be foremost in our minds? As I acquired students and learned from them, I was ignited by their passion to understand the "why," the harmonious habits, beliefs, and feelings that mitzvos impart to their observers. Informed by the "why," mitzvos were performed with such energy and fervor as to excite jealousy in the onlooker. The world of Jewish practice is a world replete with symbols; one can hardly walk four amos without encountering reminders of Hashem, His love for us, and our joys and duties to Him. Yet the tasks of everyday life, both the dreary and exciting, conspire to conceal this world of wealth from our consciousness. It is the curse of Adam. For, when we walk with Hashem, every place on Earth is a veritable Eden. The only antidote is study. If in moments of tranquility we train the eyes of our spirit to perceive in a Torah lifestyle the vistas of eternity, then some shadow of that blessed landscape is bound to remain when the tempest takes hold of us again. And, with fresh research and repeated study, the shadow takes on greater solidity, more vibrant hues. It is my sincere hope that this book, for you, like me, will enrich your religious experience, and in doing so, perhaps, pave the path of the banished to the garden where it all began.