Acrobat Pro Learns About Teshuva Midair

By COLlive reporter

Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim in Morristown, New Jersey, the leading Yeshiva for beginners under the auspices of the Rabbinical College of America, hosted this past weekend an “Elul Shabbaton.”

Held during the last Jewish month of the year, the purpose was to introduce college students to the High Holidays with in-depth study and in a Yeshiva environment away from mundane distractions.

Participating in the Shabbaton were 20 students who arrived from far and near, including from England, Finland, Toronto, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. The program included davening, learning, farbrengens and one-on-one learning.

“I’ve tried out so many careers in my life, but when it comes to exploring my own heritage, I truly feel at home,” Bradley from Pittsburgh, PA, commented.

During their visit, participants were inspired to share personal reflections on what they learned and their own stories connected to Teshuva.

Ari from Lakewood shared how he was recently driving and slammed on the brakes, just barely missing the car in front of him. He said it reminded him of the call of the Shofar during Elul “which warns us to ‘watch out!'”

Vadim from Helsinki told: “When I was hanging on a single rope 30 meters over the concrete doing an acrobatic feat in front of 25,000 people in Finland, I was encouraged by my friend to ‘go for it’ and overcome my fears…”

He turned to his fellow visitors and said, “I would like to encourage all of you to also face your fears as well.”

He then went on to comment that despite the impressive recent acrobatic feat, he is “happy that I finally taught my mother to light the Shabbat candles and brought this tradition back to my home.”