| Align Your Heart and Find Your Path Most cultures link the heart with emotion. Biologically, the brain regulates feelings while the heart pumps blood—yet we feel the heart race when we’re moved. That gap between perception and reality matters because in the Torah the heart (lev) isn’t just emotion, it’s your inner compass—the place where convictions, will, and values live. This week’s Parsha is very short—just 40 verses—and heart (lev) is mentioned 11 times. As we will see, the word heart is not limited to feelings. In one instance it can drive bad choices (“…his heart turns away…”). In another case, it describes sincerity (“with all your heart and soul”). Finally, it can even be an obstacle to loving G-d—hence the promise that “Hashem will circumcise your heart,” meaning He’ll remove the blockages that keep your inner compass from aligning with Him. So, what is a good heart in Torah terms? The Chazon Ish (1878-1953) explains a Mishnah in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers 2:9). Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai asked five of his students what would be the best path for a person to choose in life? Each gave a different answer. (1) Ayin tovah — a generous eye (be generous) (2) Chaver tov — be a good friend. (3) Shachen tov — be a good neighbor. (4) Ro’eh et hanolad — foresee future consequences of your actions. (5) Lev tov — a good heart. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai concluded, “I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach, who said ‘a good heart,’ because his words include all of yours.” We often treat middot (character traits) one at a time, fix anger, fix laziness, etc. The Chazon Ish says there’s a global root, either you build an ethical discipline that governs your impulses ((i.e. lev tov, a good heart) or you let impulses run your life. Different people stumble in different places because the yetzer hara (the inner pull to go off-track) pushes where we’re weakest, but the root work is the same; I need to align my heart with what’s right. Four students offered practical approaches for a life path (be generous, be a good friend/neighbor, think ahead). Those are good, but Elazar ben Arach offered the global approach. When you cultivate a good heart, —an inner compass that consistently chooses your highest values over passing urges, you have made the correct choice. The reason ‘heart’ (lev) keeps showing up in this Parsha is to give the message that when your heart aligns with truth, you find truth, and in the process, you also find G-d “with all your heart and soul,” and He helps us remove the inner blocks (“circumcise your heart”). Rosh Hashanah opens the Ten Days of Renewal and Reset (Aseret Yemei Teshuvah), yet we don’t say any Selichot (penitential prayers) or Vidui (confession) in the main services. Maimonides (Laws of Teshuvah 3:4) says the shofar is a wake-up call: Wake up, sleepers… examine your deeds, return to G-d. Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik explained that Rosh Hashanah is the stage of the decision to come back (hirhur teshuvah). Before we list wrongs and make amends, we need to choose the correct road. In other words: we commit to a lev tov (good heart)—an inner “Yes” to the life G-d wants for us—then we do the detailed work in the days that follow. Your heart is meant to be your inner compass, not just the source of emotions. When you try to have a good heart, you will find that your will be aligned with moral truth and with G-d—and that is the global path that includes all the “local fixes.” The Shofar of Rosh Hashanah plants the seed for the road you will travel this year. Teshuvah (return/renewal/reset) then becomes the process of bringing your heart into sync with your highest values—and allowing G-d to remove the blocks. Here’s an appropriate prayer for this time of year: May we merit these Days of Awe to reach the idea in the verse “May G-d remove the barriers of our hearts” so that our inner compass points us in the direction of truth, and we can walk it with joy. Ketivah v’chatimah tovah—may you be written and sealed for a happy, healthy, and good year. |
