Isn’t being a human being great?  I mean, think about it – we’ve got opposable thumbs, which are really good for answering the phone; we’re bipeds, so we only have to buy one pair of shoes; and our cerebral cortex comes in really handy for figuring out restaurant tips.

Furthermore, as Mark Twain once quipped, “Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.”

I wish Mark Twain had kept on quipping.  Yes, only we humans can feel shame, but we’re also the only ones who could ever be justified in feeling proud of ourselves, for only we can make moral choices.

That’s what makes us different from animals.  Fat dogs never willingly go on diets; grizzly bears don’t try to find humane ways to decimate their prey; and my cat, Clara, has never – not even once – done so much as bring me a glass of water, even after the I’ve had the most difficult of days.

Now, pet-owners, don’t start screaming out the virtues of your Fido or Fifi – I’m sure your pets are sweet.  My point is this – our ability to do things such as delay gratification, be kind to others, and behave with courage – our ability to make moral choices – lies at the heart of what it means to be human.

Moreover, when we are not moral – when we are greedy, cruel, or cowardly – when we fail in any way to live up to our human potential, we can improve.  We humans, you see, can fix ourselves.  We can learn from our failures and our shortcomings, getting better and better each moment, if we’d like.  To me, that human ability beats opposable thumbs, any day.

The process of refashioning our selves is called repentance or atonement in religion-talk, and for Jews it is an important mandate, particularly at this time of year.  The Jewish year 5764 began Friday, September 26th night with the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, our New Year celebration.  Rosh Hashanah kicks off a period on our calendar known as the Ten Days of Repentance, which ends with Yom Kippur, our Day of Atonement.  During this time, we make an extra-special effort to atone for our wrongdoings, to improve our faults, to transform our human failings into human triumphs.

In Judaism, atonement is much more than saying I’m sorry.  Instead, it’s an often gut-wrenching process that involves taking a good hard look at ourselves, owning up to everything – everything – we’ve been doing wrong, changing our behavior, only then apologizing, compensating those we’ve wronged, and then maintaining our changes over the long-haul.  To say the very least, atonement is pretty tough work.

The Hebrew word for atonement is teshuvah, which literally means return.  Atoning for our failings helps us return to our better selves, return to our full human potential and, yes, Judaism teaches that it helps us return to God, too.

We’re supposed to do it all the time, Judaism teaches, for the gates of repentance are always open.  But these days, they’re open really, really wide, and God wants us to walk on through. 

It’s as if God is beckoning us – “Hey you – yeah you over trying to gorge your troubles away with food; and you there, the guy saying all those nasty things about other people; and, yeah, even you who fudged those figures on your taxes last year – come on back over here.  Yes, I know, getting here is hard work – Twinkies, gossip, and a few extra bucks in your pocket can be tempting – but I’d really love for you to be over here with me.”

In Judaism, you see, you don’t have to die to be with God, you just need to do a really good job of living. And our ability to live our lives right is one of the great perks that comes with being born a human being.