"The Two Minute Drill"

Anyone ever say to you "Hey I'll be there in two minutes" or "this will only take two minutes"? Rare is the time that in literally one hundred twenty seconds you finish, because it's really not that much time. This reminds me of another two-minute scenario.

As we approach football season we start to think about different aspects of the game. One of the most dramatic finishes is when the team that is losing makes an amazing comeback in the last two minutes of the game. The adrenaline is pumping and the excitement is flowing that there is a feeling that they cannot be denied a victory as time is running out. What a fantastic ending if your rooting for that team and they pull it off in those last two minutes, but sometimes they don't. We become so disappointed that they couldn't do it in the last two minutes, but do we ever think how and why they got into that position in the first place? The team didn't lose because they couldn't catch up in the last two minutes rather because they didn't play well enough the rest of the game.

The season of Teshuva - Repentance is now upon us. From Rosh Chodesh Elul until the final Shofar blast at the conclusion of Yom Kippur is the time designated for a person to repent. We are all familiar with the fervor and adrenalin we have during Neilah, the very last prayer service of Yom Kippur and the closing out of the teshuva season. Neilah an be viewed as "two minute warning" where everyone comes out to try to spare themselves from a bad judgment and to secure and seal a good upcoming year. In fact the Rabbis teach us that we should have confidence that our prayers were answered. Yom Kippur is viewed as a holiday, not as a day of mourning, and we therefore are confident that the past season as it draws to its conclusion will be one of victory. This attitude and philosophy is necessary in order to get us through this time, because who can really stand the judgment of the Almighty. If we didn't think optimistically then we would just throw in the towel way to early. We therefore think in the affirmative, but can we really wait until the last chance?

Everyone plays the game of life differently, some take more risk others take a more conservative approach. That may be acceptable for monetary investments but when one's life is at stake we must do whatever it takes to win this game. The earlier we start to really to Teshuva and change the easier and less stressful it will be at the end. Let us rack up the Mitzvos on our side, convert those iniquities to merits and we will assure ourselves and our families a Kesiva VaChasima Tova. A year that we and our families will be inscribed in the book of life without the last minute panic. Wishing you and your family a good and happy healthy new year.

Sincerely, Rabbi Avram Bogopulsky