Why will this year be different from all other years? In this episode, I sit down once again with Rabbi Mendel Zirkind for a thoughtful conversation about teshuvah—what it means to return, to change, and to believe that we are capable of becoming more than we have been. We explore why we so often fall into the same patterns, and how our recurring struggles may be pointing us toward the very places within ourselves that need to be understood more deeply.

Our conversation turns to Rosh Hashanah as the day Yosef was released from prison to interpret a dream—and the invitation it offers each of us to step beyond the identities, limitations, and self-perceptions that keep us confined. Before we can change, we have to allow ourselves to dream: Who could I become? What might my life look like if it were more fully aligned with my values, my purpose, and my relationship with Hashem? And then, how do I begin translating that dream into reality? Sometimes through a bold commitment, and sometimes through one small but consequential change.

Ultimately, teshuvah may begin with something very simple: the recognition that I still care. Our brokenness is not meant to become a place in which we remain stuck; it is meaningful only when surrounded by longing, hope, and the knowledge that there is more within us. Hashem is not waiting for perfection. He is waiting for us to care—and to take that first step back toward Him.