When’s the last time someone took you to Beis Din or to court?
Even if the answer is “Never” many of us are still on trial all the time…
The vitamins and exercise classes we were supposed to make time for…
The chesed we really meant to do…
The tefillahs that never left the world of our good intentions…
The weight we’re supposed to lose…
The aching gap between who we are and who we think we need to become…
Sometimes our goals are as noble as our intentions, yet other times we are wildly off course. How do we know when our self-accusations are on the mark or when they are igniting personal destruction?
Former IDF Corporal turned lawyer Yoel Stein blames himself for surviving while Benny Tal, the courageous medic who saved him, did not. Yoel is culpable for Benny’s death – for making Benny’s wife a widow and his son Avner an orphan. The guilt eats at him constantly and Yoel is desperate to somehow pay back the debt. When wily Avner Tal offers Yoel the opportunity to do just that, will Yoel take him up on it? And will it be an act of redress and justice, or an injustice if he does?
Helpful, talented teen Michal Bergman is also desperate. No one will leave her alone. So what if she skipped dinner? So what if lunch was an apple and breakfast was a few glasses of water? It’s healthy to cut down on calories and to take long walks. A good long walk in the rain can help her earn a whole bowl of soup. What is all this talk of Anorexia about? Anyone with a brain in their head can see that a husky girl like Michal still has to lose more weight.
Two things are likely to happen when you read Guilty as Charged by popular author Ruth Arieli Rapaport: You’ll be happy your own accusing voices are quieter than those of Yoel and Michal. You’ll enjoy a powerful book that leads the reader into the murky waters of self distortion and ultimately emerges with piercing clarity.
Hopefully our own journeys will bring us to clarity and well-being in a faster, easier way. Tehillim and aerobics anyone?
Guest Blogger
Sara Miriam Gross
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