תשובה
What does it mean to repent, and how do we understand forgiveness?
On Saturday night this week after הבדלה we will commence the recitation of סליחות, prayers of repentance. We began the process of making תשובה/repentance at the beginning of the month of אלול/Elul, with the recitation of a special Psalm and the sounding of the שופר/Shofar. Now we crank it up a notch each morning with these additional special prayers. This week we will explore the traditional sources of personal reflection, repentance, and forgiveness. While reflecting on these sources please think of how we can work on these concepts together and put them into our own lives.
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Prayer does half--repentance does all.
- Midrash: Vayikra Rabbah - 10.5
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As long as the candle burns--I can still do some mending.
- Rabbi Salanter, Israel
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“Then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make restitution for his trespass in full, and add to it its fifth part, and give it to him against whom he has trespassed.” (במדבר ה:ז)
The beginning and the middle of this verse which speaks of verbal repentance for sin are written in the plural והתודו/Then they shall confess, but the end which speaks of returning the object which was stolen is written in the singular והשיב/and he shall make restitution, which teaches us that when it comes to mere verbal confession of sin, multitudes rush to do so; but when repentance requires some measure of actual sacrifice or discomfort only a few are prepared to this manner of repentance.
- Merotz Hatzvi ,Chapter 3
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This shall be the law (lit. "the Torah") of the leper on the day of his cleaning... (Leviticus 14:2)
The sacred studies in which the leper engages will be accepted only on the day of his cleansing. Only if the leper will repent and cleanse himself from his sin will his studies be accepted and credited to him as good deeds. As long as he has not done so, all his studies will be to no avail."
- Kametz HaMincha
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האומר אחטא ואשוב, אחטא ואשוב ־ אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה, אחטא ויום הכפורים מכפר ־ אין יום הכפורים מכפר. עבירות שבין אדם למקום ־ יום הכפורים מכפר עבירות שבין אדם לחבירו ־ אין יום הכפורים מכפר, עד שירצה את חבירו. דרש רבי אלעזר בן עזריה: (ויקרא טז) מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה׳ תטהרו עבירות שבין אדם למקום ־ יום הכפורים מכפר, עבירות שבין אדם לחבירו ־ אין יום הכפורים מכפר, עד שירצה את חבירו.
תלמוד בבלי מסכת יומא פה.ב
He who says, I will sin and repent -- will not be given an opportunity to repent. He who says, I will sin and Yom Kippur will forgive -- will not be forgiven on Yom Kippur. Transgressions against a fellow-man are not forgiven on Yom Kippur unless the offended person is first reconciled. This is what Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: It is written, Of all your sins before Hashem you will be cleansed." (Leviticus 16:30) Yom-Kippur forgives only sins against Hashem, while sins against a fellow-man are not forgiven until forgiveness is obtained from the person offended.
- Talmud: Yoma 85b
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No sin is so light that it may be overlooked; no sin is so heavy that it may not be repented of.
- Ibn Ezra, Moses - Shirat Yisrael
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תנו רבנן: יש מהן אומרים אשרי ילדותנו שלא ביישה את זקנותנו ־ אלו חסידים ואנשי מעשה, ויש מהן אומרים אשרי זקנותנו שכפרה את ילדותנו ־ אלו בעלי תשובה. אלו ואלו אומרים אשרי מי שלא חטא, ומי שחטא ישוב וימחול לו.
תלמוד בבלי מסכת סוכה נג.א
(During the Celebration of Succot), there were those who said: (men whose entire lives had been spent in righteous living) “Happy for our youth that has not disgraced our old age." These were the righteous. The penitents among them would say, however, "Happy our old age which has atoned for our youth." Both would say, "Happy is the person who has not sinned, but let him who has sinned return to Hashem and He will pardon him."
- Talmud: Succah 53a
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When Rabbi Barukh had burned the leaven on the eve of Passover and scattered the ashes, he said the words prescribed for this and expounded them. "'Any kind of leaven which remains in my possession'--all that boils (very strong); 'which I have or have not seen'--even though I believe I have looked into myself thoroughly, I have probably not looked thoroughly at all; 'which I have burned or not burned'--the Evil Urge within me tries to convince me that I have burned everything, but not until now do I see that I have not burned it, and so I beg of you, God, 'it shall be null and accounted as the dust of the earth'"
- Hasidic Tale
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(ויאמר יהוה אל משה מה תצעק אלי דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו (שמות יד:טו
And God said to Moses, why do you cry out to me (Exodus 14:15)
R. Menahem Mendl of Kotzk said: "I dearly love R. Shlomo Leib of Lentashna, but why does he cry out the whole day to the Holy One, Blessed be He, to send the Messiah? It would be better for him to cry out to the Jews to repent, and then the Messiah will come on his own. That is what God told Moses: "Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the Children of Israel and let them go forward!"
- Rabbi Menahem Hacohen, Passover Haggadah
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וישבו איש מדרכו הרעה ומן החמס אשר בכפיהם. (יונה ג:ח) מאי ומן החמס אשר בכפיהם? אמר שמואל: אפילו גזל מריש ובנאו בבירה ־ מקעקע כל הבירה כולה ומחזיר מריש לבעליו. אמר רב אדא בר אהבה: אדם שיש בידו עבירה, ומתודה ואינו חוזר בה למה הוא דומה ־ לאדם שתופס שרץ בידו, שאפילו טובל בכל מימות שבעולם ־ לא עלתה לו טבילה. זרקו מידו, כיון שטבל בארבעים סאה ־ מיד עלתה לו טבילה, שנאמר ומודה ועזב ירחם(משלי כח:יג), ואומר נשא לבבנו אל כפים אל אל בשמים. (איכה ג:מא)
תלמוד בבלי מסכת טענית טז.א
Let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in their hands. What is the meaning of, ‘From the violence that is in their hands’? — Samuel said: Even if one had stolen a beam and built it into his castle he should raze the entire castle to the ground and return the beam to its owner. R. Adda b. Ahaba said: One who has sinned and confesses his sin but does not repent may be compared to a man holding a dead reptile in his hand, for although he may immerse himself in all the waters of the world his immersion is of no avail unto him; but if he throws it away from his hand then as soon as he immerses himself in forty se'ahs of water, immediately his immersion becomes effective, as it is said, But he, who confesses and renounces them, shall obtain mercy. And it is further said, Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
- Talmud Bavli Taanit 16a
Questions to Ponder?
- What is the Jewish concept of Teshuvah? How can a person go about making up for past wrong doings?
- Is there one way to absolve all transgressions?
- Are all transgressions equal?
- What does Prayer do for repentance?
- Why do we use the Hebrew word that comes from the word “to return” for repentance?
- When is a good time to repent?
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