Returning to Imperfection: "Going Nowhere, Going Nowhere"
Series: Zen and the Jewish High Holidays (Part 1 of 3)
May I tell you a secret? I’m a very imperfect person. I’m very fallible. And so is God.
If you don't know, I can be a fairly Type A person. I always aim to do my best, be my best, but I sometimes—even often—miss the mark.
Preparing for the High Holiday season can be at times rough for me. I want things to be perfect. I want them to be perfect for me, and perfect for you.
But perfection is a myth. We are all imperfect. We are all broken.
A "Perfect" World
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is the "birthday" of the world. It is the day human beings were created in the Divine image.
The Jewish New Year—and this entire precious life—is about intimacy. It is about intimacy with ourselves, loved ones, family, strangers, and even our opponents or enemies. And even, especially with God!
The Jewish New Year marks the 10 day period of teshuvah. This is the Hebrew word for repentance. It also sounds like the word Sabbath, Shabbat, in the original Hebrew. It also means to sit and to return.
What else are we doing in spiritual practice, right?! We are always returning to our life, moment after moment. We have no choice but to do teshuvah.
Many of the themes of the Jewish New Year relate to standing before God as a ruler and king who judges us. It is as if we are standing before Heaven’s Gate, facing the sentence of life or death.
As scary as this is, what I most appreciate about the God of the Hebrew Bible is that the Divine is very much human. She is just like us. He is always messing up, and moving toward us at the same time… always.
When the Bible teaches that we are made in God’s image, we assume it means that we are good like God. What if this were true of everyone? Each and every human being? Taken from this perspective, we can say that to know God is to know ourself.
Our Greatest Curse, Our Greatest Blessing
If I may share honestly… It can feel like a constant struggle between feeling too much and not enough for me… both within myself and with others.
There is a constant dialectic between insecurity and a type of pride. This is our life after all, isn’t it?
There is a Chasidic teaching I absolutely love (attributed to Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Przysucha):
Everyone must have two pockets. In the right pocket are to be the words: 'For my sake was the world created' (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). And in the left: 'I am but dust and ashes' (Genesis 18:27).
It reminds me of the verse from Deuteronomy (30:19): "I call on heaven and earth as a witness this day. I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, so that you may live."
“Choose life!” This is our practice. We choose life. This very aliveness is nothing other than our greatest perfection… and our greatest imperfection. This very aliveness is nothing other than the Divine itself—a magnificent endowment and one continuous heartbreak.
Interestingly enough, this line about being nothing but dust and ash is spoken by Abraham when he argues with God to protect Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction.
"Here! Please! I have dared to speak to my God, and I am [only] dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27).
Abraham begs God for compassion to spare these cities, if even only ten righteous men or women live there.
This is the spirit in which we approach repentance at the Jewish New Year. It is for the sake of others! With wisdom and compassion—Din and Rachamim, Prajna and Karuna. For the sake of others.
Three Core Lessons
I feel a great deal of pressure to distill all that I have learned and so-called known to you today. Like so many Jewish New Year, Christmas, and other messages written by rabbis and priests alike, I want to be of greatest assistance and support. Here is my best attempt:
Everything matters! Everyone matters!
It is not always about me… or who I think I am.
How may I help you? There is no greater human question. Or response!
If your heart and schedule permit, please feel welcome and encouraged to join me on September 5, 2026, for an online daylong interfaith Zen retreat held in honor of the fall season and the Jewish High Holidays.
Together, we will gather to celebrate creation anew and hear the call to awaken to the voice and vision of the Sacred everywhere and in everyone. You can find exact scheduling info and link to RSVP directly on the Fall 2026 Online Interfaith Zazenkai Event Page.
P.S.
May we all go nowhere together!
(Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series on Zen and the Jewish High Holidays. Stay tuned for Part 2: "The 'Thing' Beneath the Patch Robe".)
(Lyric "Going nowhere, Going nowhere" from "Mad World" performed by Gary Jules, written by Roland Orzabal © 2001 Chrysalis Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing.)
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