Dear fellow Yidden,
Today, 28 Cheshvan, is the Yahrtzeit of Rabeinu Yonah (*See short biography below), the great Rishon, author of Shaarei Teshuva, Yesod Hateshuva etc.
I don't know about all of you, but for me personally the aforementioned seforim are the ones that helped me get to where I am today, in my battle against the Yetzer Hara.
There are so many good Seforim out there, and each one in their own right addresses us differently, and penetrates our heart in their own unique way. yet, for me, when it comes to Teshuva, Shaarei Teshuva and Yesod Hateshuva is what penetrated my heart and help me change! I suspect many of you feel the same way.
Let us stop for a moment or two today, his yahrtzeit, and learn a page, chapter, or even one line in one of his holy Seforim.
There is no question in my mind that if we do so it will serve as a Nachas to his exalted Neshama, and in turn we will merit having this great Rishon as a Meilitz Yosher for us all.
May we all merit to experience Teshuva Shelaima!
Tehei Nafsho Tzerura B'Tzror HaChaim
* Rabbeinu Yonah (ben Avraham) of Gerondi, France (1200 [1180]-1263). The Ramban's mother and Rabbeinu Yonah’s father were siblings. Many years later, the Ramban’s son, Rav Shlomo, married the daughter of Rabbeinu Yonah. Thus, the two great rishonim were mechutanim as well as first cousins. He was a student of Rav Shlomo ben Avraham Min Ha'Har. When King Louis XIV of France, "Saint" Louis,” burnt all the copies of the Talmud in Paris in the Square of the Louvre, Rabbeinu Yonah, one of the Rambam’s main detractors, felt that the events in Paris were a sign that he and the other opponents of the Rambam were seriously wrong. He then composed his work Shaarei Teshuvah, in which he outlined the methods of doing Teshuvah, and he traveled from place to place preaching about the need to back away from matters which cause division among the Jewish People. Among his talmidim are the Rashba and Ra’ah.