What does “Holiness” mean to me? When the Rabbi asked me to think about this question, I realized that I had never thought about what “holiness” actually is before. Is the definition of “Holiness” something that can be found in a dictionary? I asked myself. Is there a singular definition of “Holiness?” Upon reflection, I realized that the answer to both of those questions is “no.”

It is said that nobody is perfect, even though our Cantor and Rabbi come pretty close. It is also said that we are all created in G-d’s own image. If these ideas are true, I thought to myself, mustn't G-d be imperfect as well? It occurred to me that by creating the people of Planet Earth, the L-rd also identified His own flaws. Because we are all created in His image, these imperfections that G-d has were passed onto us. With all of these flaws amongst us, mistakes are inevitable in our lives. However, from the ashes of failure comes the birth of success.

To me, Yom Kippur is a time when G-d not only grants me the opportunity, but also expects me to be holy by rethinking the past year and the mistakes that I have made. Today, it is my responsibility as well as the responsibility of all Jews to repent for our sins, but also to acknowledge our shortcomings, and most importantly, to learn from them. In the spirit of Yom Kippur, I interpret holiness to be the ability to recognize our blunders and our subsequent ability to develop based on these mistakes. There is a story that many of us may have heard of that, to me, embodies this definition of “holiness.” This is the story of Thomas Edison and the first incandescent light bulb.

Thomas Edison spent a great deal of time attempting to harness the power of electricity and convert it into light energy. In his endeavors, Edison made thousands of unsuccessful efforts before he finally succeeded in developing this light bulb. When asked if he was frustrated by all of his failed attempts, he responded by saying that they were not failed at all. He said, “We now know a thousand ways not to build a light bulb.” To me, this is holiness: the courage to understand that our mistakes are the basis for our success, so as to achieve greatness from our flaws. And when better of a time to understand such a concept than on Yom Kippur.

To close, I would like to thank Rabbi Mosbacher and Cantor Perper for giving me the honor of participating in today’s service. It has been my privilege being here this afternoon. Shana tova, everyone, and may we all find holiness within ourselves.