Genesis, Chapter 2
Rashi commentary:

What is Teshuva/Repentance in Kaballah?
Hebrew Word: תשובה
Root: שֵׁ֥ב

יִשּׁוּב הַדַּעַת, “a settled mind”

There is no word repentance in Jewish tradition. It is a terrible misrepresentation of the Hebrew word "Teshuva." Teshuva means "To Return." Our work during the High Holiday season is not to repent, it is to return. To what? The simplest answer is "To God." But Kaballah teaches that the language of an outer God can be a stand in for the real work of recognizing our inner God. Teshuva is the courageous act of noticing when we lose contact with the most divine part of ourselves, usually in the mistaken pursuit of our survival, and returning to our fullest, truest self. This self is both animal and divine, as taught in the biblical story of creation when God says to the animal kingdom: "Let US make man." We contain the biology of a mammal, focused on self preservation, but also have a higher capacity to think of others, to reign in our ego. Teshuva is the process of pausing and allowing our bodies to return to a regulated state in which we can access this divinity and override our reptile brain. The process of practicing Teshuva allows us to respond to triggers with our whole selves and to eventually be able to "Sit" in our own values, without as much reactivity.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

On what other occasions was the Shofar used? What is the connection between Rosh Hashanah and these instances?
1. When we coronated a new King (God is coronated on Rosh Hashanah, see below)
2. When we were in battle (In Jericho, the shofar sounded and the walls came down)
3. Right before revelation on Mt. Sinai.

“There are three special occasions on which an individual is forgiven for all of their sins committed prior to that day: The bridegroom on the day of his wedding, the elder on the day of his ordination, and the king on the day of his coronation.”

The Sounds of the Shofar as a Spiritual Meditation:
Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz: Kabalist & author; 1555-1630, also known as "The Shelah."

Tekiah: Long Sound: We start from a place of perceived wholeness, but our job is to see this as a self protective measure and acknowledge that this is our ego trying to protect us. Notice that our attempts to self justify in order to feel safe are no longer needed.

Shevarim: 3 broken sounds: These are the fault lines we always knew were just below the surface. As we move through teshuvah we allow the brokenness to reveal itself. Consider the ways in which our brokenness is showing up.

Tekiah Gedolah: The long sustained sound: If we can stay the course—if we continue to move through the process—we find that below the shattered layer of teru’ah is another teki’ah, another kind of wholeness. A great foundational wholeness, a teki’ah gedolah.

Halachic Man, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, p. 110
“Repentance, according to the halakhic view, is an act of creation-- self-creation. The severing of one's psychic identity with one's previous "I," and the creation of a new "I," possessor of a new consciousness, a new heart and spirit, different desires, longings, goals."

Tefilla, Hebrew for Prayer, literally means "Connection."
Wow, Please, Thank you
The 3 Parts of Prayer: A Spiritual View
1. שבח: Praise: Praising God feels awkward until you think of it as awe. Acknowledging beauty in the world is the first step towards connection.
2. בַּקָשָׁה: Request: A relationship in which you can't ask for anything is not a relationship. Vulnerability is the key to all relationships. Asking for what we need and trusting that the universe will respond is the basis of trust needed for connection.
3. תודה: Acknowledgement of the good in our lives. It allows us to shift from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. Gratitude opens our heart for connection.
Prayer is not about asking for our needs, it's an attempt to connect to what is important. Prayer is the practice of verbalizing pathways of connection so that we can use them to impact our relationship with others and impact the world around us.