Returning means to stop going the way you are now, turning around and going the other way.

If the way you are going now was the right way, then you would already be getting close.

You would not need to return, but only confirm your commitment to stay on your path.

Many of us walk a path with commitment, yet we very rarely ask ourselves if indeed it is the right path.

It is easy to proclaim oneself religious, to look religious and to act religious, yet is this all there is to religion, to look like it and to act like it?

Real religion is not what one does, it is what one is. Herein lies a great secret of the Masters.

The Holy One, blessed be He, Torah and Israel are all one. This means that one is in the others and the others are in the one.

Our Masters taught us that in the beginning the Holy One gazed into the Torah and created the world.

This means that all of existence existed in the Torah; therefore by deduction we must conclude that Torah exists in everything in existence.

The human soul is attached to Torah. Torah exists in all things. Therefore the human soul can recognize its source in Torah everywhere and in everything. This is the meaning of the cry of the angels who proclaimed, "the whole earth is full of His glory."

To be religious means one must bond with Torah and mitzvot. Yet, one cannot just do this on the surface and expect it to be done.

That which does not penetrate to the essence has no true connection and thus no true power.

Torah is inside us, within the very particles that make up every part of us. It is not in the Heavens or beyond the sea. Torah is within us. We cannot escape it. We cannot lose it.

We can however lose ourselves and forget our integral connection to the Torah within us.

Looking religious and acting religious does not make one religious. Only being religious makes one religious. Being religious is a matter of the heart. It can never be anything else.

During these days of return it is wise for us to consider these simple truths...

What path must I walk to find my inner Torah? How do I awaken my sleeping soul and arouse it to again experience the radiance of truth?

These questions are truths, for what greater truths can there be than the ones known in the heart.

Life is full of noise and distractions. Take time out of your daily schedule and take time to put into contemplating your own heart.

The Voice of Heaven is speaking at this very moment. It can be heard deep within your heart. Hush! Listen for it and you might hear its whisper.

"Come back to me, come back to me." The Voice is calling. "Come back to me and I shall come back to you." This is the Voice of the inner Torah, the very echo of the Voice of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Become Torah. Do not just study it as a book. Do not just make it a part of your life. Torah is far more than a part. It is all parts, each individually and all together. Inside everything, within every pursuit and behind every interest Torah is there.

Torah is alive. It is watching you from within the very recesses of your soul. Unleash it and allow the power of the Living Word to flow through you and to become you.

When you restore the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and yourself, then the return is complete.

Take the time now to contemplate. Ask Heaven for guidance how to open your heart and unleash the great power therein. Seek out the Holy One. He has been looking for you much longer than you have been looking for Him.

Now you know the secret of return. It is not so much a matter of how you do it; it is simply a matter of getting it done.

Simplicity here is the key. You need no further instruction. All you need is sincerity and the will to succeed. The Holy One is already with you; as is His Torah.

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Shalom, Ariel Bar Tzadok