EXPOSING THE ROOTS

“Lest there be among you Shoresh a root Poreh Rosh VeLa’anah bearing poisonous and bitter fruit” (Deut.29.17)



The initial letters of the Hebrew Shoresh Poreh Rosh VeLa’anah may be combined to read Shofar – ram’s horn. This teaches us that the sound of the Shofar has the power to stir the heart to do repentance in order to uproot the weeds that bear poisonous and bitter fruit. (Shemena Lahmah)



We do Teshuvah – penitence, for the deeds that cause harm both to others and to ourselves. Since every act is motivated by a thought, true Teshuvah demands that we eradicate the root causes of our negative thoughts that lead to wrongdoing.



Roots are underground, hidden from sight and unnoticeable on the surface. Teshuvah requires that we dig deep into the recesses of our mind to expose the causes of our dis-ease lying buried and forgotten in our heart.