Last weekend, I travelled to Oxford, England for a friend’s 60th birthday who lives there. Interestingly, the famous university is actually comprised of several independent colleges each of which has a chapel – gorgeous spaces that are architecturally stunning, spiritually inspiring, and still regularly-used.  So on Sunday evening, I attended a candle-light service in one.  The choir, accompanied by an organist and comprised of students in the respective college, sang with a passion that echoed throughout the medieval building and arrested attention, regardless of one’s personal faith.  Then the minister delivered a brief sermon; she talked about Lent, which just began – a period in which Christians engage in honest self-reflection and repentance, as they strive to improve ethically.

It’s a custom virtually identical to the Jewish practice of teshuva, which takes place during the fall high holidays.  Lent is also a time of personal denial, in which many adherents refrain from things they otherwise desire.  Here too, this is a practice found in Judaism – both during Yom Kippur, as well as during Passover.  And it’s an idea the Rabbis addressed more generally.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)