Parashat Nitzavim-Vayeileh 5770
The Profound Word
Howard S. Joseph
Turning, Returning and Repentance
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
-Leonard Cohen in The Future
Our parashah begins most dramatically:
You are all standing this day before the Lord, your God….[29:9]
This opening is fitting for it comes annually just before the first of the Fall holy days, Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, which itself commences a ten day period of Repentance culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
However, as the text unfolds, we again see Moses appealing for covenantal loyalty and worried about the dire consequences of disloyalty. He seems to have no doubt that there will be difficult moments ahead, moments of destruction and exile.
However, a later generation will come to its senses:
It will be, when all these things come upon you the blessing and the curse which I have set before you that you will consider in your heart, among all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you, and you will return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you this day you and your children, then, the Lord, your God, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you from all the nations, where the Lord, your God, had dispersed you. [30:1-3]
Even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens, the Lord, your God, will gather you from there, and He will take you from there. And the Lord, your God, will bring you to the land which your forefathers possessed, and you [too] will take possession of it, and He will do good to you, and He will make you more numerous than your forefathers. And the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, [so that you may] love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, for the sake of your life. [4-6]
Turning and returning will lead to reconciliation. This will be a joint effort that begins in the hearts of the nation and will lead to God’s efforts to bring them back to their land and remove from them whatever insensitivities could mislead them once again to violation of the covenant.
You will return and listen to the voice of the Lord, and fulfill all His commandments, which I command you this day. The Lord, your God, will make you abundant for good in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will once again rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your forefathers, when you obey the Lord, your God, to observe the commandments and statutes written in this Torah scroll, when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.[8-10]
This passage together with a few others, has generated over the centuries a great literature on teshuvah, repentance. It is a dominant issue during this holiday period. While this passage is largely focused on the national picture of historical movements of exile and return, teshuvah is of utmost personal concern at this season.
Neziv picks up the theme of worship from love or fear of punishment in verse 10:when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.
With all you heart and all your soul means repentance out of love. One who returns out of love remains that way permanently and never strays as does one who worships out of fear of punishment. Therefore, [for one who returns out of love] there is no suspicion to stray again.
Neziv elaborates in Harhev Davar, citing and interpreting various Biblical and Talmudic texts.
He begins with a quote from the Prophet Jeremiah [4:1-4]:
If you return, O Israel, says the Lord, to Me, you shall return, and if you remove your detestable things from My Presence, you shall not wander.
And you will swear, “As the Lord lives,” in truth and in justice and in righteousness, nations will bless themselves with him and boast about him.
For so said the Lord to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: Plow for yourself a furrow, and do not sow upon thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, O people of Judah and dwellers of Jerusalem, lest My anger go forth and burn with none to quench it because of the evil of your deeds.
The meaning of this statement is that Jeremiah is warning the generation that if they wish to return it should be only to Me, which means out of love for God and not fear of punishment.
Also, he says, and if you remove your detestable things from My Presence, you shall not wander. In other words, this act of removal will insure that once teshuvah is accomplished it will not be subject to subsequent drifting away; it will be out of love and therefore permanent.
Jeremiah further explains the power of repentance until: And you will swear, “As the Lord lives,” in truth and in justice and in righteousness, nations will bless themselves with him and boast about him…. Here the prophet explains the reason for his exhortation [that teshuvah should be done from love] even though this is not an essential rule for teshuvah is accepted even it derives from fear. This is indicated by the Prophet Hosea who was prior to Jeremiah who said: Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. [14:2]
The Talmud in Yoma [86b] explains that this suggest teshuva out of fear [that is your failures cause you to repent out of fear of failure hsj]
Because Jeremiah is advocating teshuva out of love he must explain why he so insists.
The explanation is that Jeremiah uttered this message about two years before the destruction of the First Temple.
The Talmud {Gittin 88a] explains that: The truth is that God did a kindness [zedakah] with Israel in anticipating by two years [the numerical value of] ve-noshantem [and you grow old] the destruction of the Temple.
Neziv here quotes a text that the Talmud questions. What kind of kindness is it that God brought the destruction two years earlier? The alleged date of the destruction was to be 852 years after Moses exhortation in Deut. 4:25: When you beget children and children’s children, and you will be long established in the land….
The Hebrew phrase for you will be long established is venoshantem, from a world that means old. So, here it means you will grow old in the land, be established. The numerical value of counting the Hebrew letters is 852. This was taken to mean that the dark days predicted by Moses were 852 years later. God’s kindness therefore consisted in not letting the full term run out which would lead to dire consequences described in chapter 4. There were two years less of evil and therefore less punishment to come. Just before this two year earlier exile, Jeremiah addressed his words to the people. [A Sage participating in the discussion remarked that he was happy to learn that for God the word 'soon' meant 852 years for God had said there that the destruction would come soon.]
Here is Rashi on 4:25:
He hinted to them that they would be exiled from it at the end of 852 years, the gematria, numerical value, of the word וְנוֹשַׁנְתֶּם, but He exiled them earlier, at the end of 850 years. He did this two years earlier than the numerical value of venoshantem in order that the prophecy about them should not be fulfilled ‘that you shall utterly perish.’(verse 26) This is the meaning of what is said: And the Lord ‘hastened’ with the evil and brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is charitable [zaddik] (Dan. 9:14). He was charitable with us for He hastened to bring it [the exile] two years before its time (San. 38a; Gittin 88a)
So, if the residence in the land had continued for two more years the subsequent destruction would have been even more calamitous resulting in the total disappearance of the nation!
Neziv continues:
In Yoma [cited above] we learn that: Great is repentance with good deeds for it becomes like a shutter in the face of tragedy. This too refers to repentance from fear. [I have not been able to locate this statement, hsj.] For if out of love the image of a shutter would be inappropriate for in this case [the Talmud there says that]: For Resh Lakish said that repentance is so great that premeditated sins are accounted as though they were merits, as it is said: And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Thus, in the case of love, there should be no mention of tragedy. And even when done from fear there should also be no tragedy. But, if there is, it cannot come during the teshuva process itself.
From this we know well understand Jeremiah’s warning to his contemporaries in the name of God: Plow for yourself a furrow, and do not sow upon thorns…. I want you to plow your hearts only in a manner that does not breed thorns. He explains how to avoid growing thorns so that: lest My anger go forth and burn with none to quench it because of the evil of your deeds. This form of repentance will be like a shutter preventing the destruction of the Temple during the period of repentance. Afterward, after the 852 year period, the repentance will stray, and then there will be no possibility of survival and rebirth, God forbid. The furrow will be filled with thorns. Therefore, if you repent, do it only to Me, out of love, and then you will never stray.
This is what God is saying here too [30:10]: when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.
Again Neziv has established the priority of repentance out of love as he has done for worship out of love. Repentance, return reversion can begin out of fear of punishment, fear of the natural dire consequences of foolish behavior but it can move beyond this to a genuine love of God, love of Torah and love of the world created by God.
Neziv’s citation of Resh Lakish’s statement is very intriguing. The Talmudic Sages often speak glowingly of this power of teshuva and the reverioner, the Baal Teshuva. For example:
In the place wherein the reversioner stands even the purely righteous cannot stand.
In this view the reversioner has reached such an exalted place through the heroic efforts made in the process that even the ordinary righteous persons do not reach this level of piety. Through determination and discipline, resolve and reconstruction the Baal Teshuva has reached a plane that is special. Such is the power of return.
We can also understand this statement as bearing on the special perspective which the returnee gains through the process. The Baal Teshuva is uniquely situated; has been ‘there’ and back, knows the dangers and pitfalls in the world and the seductive pull of the secular world. There is a special kind of wisdom that comes from this experience that even the always righteous cannot have.
The Resh Lakish statement is part of a lengthy discussion in Yoma 86b. This great Talmudic Sage was himself a Baal Teshuva more than once. His career as a highway bandit and circus performer in Roman amphitheaters came to an end when he met Rabbi Yohanan. Resh Lakish is quoted in the Talmud as having said:
Great is Teshuva for through it deliberate sins are turned into errors.
Upon hearing this quotation other Rabbis remarked that they had heard a different comment in the name of Resh Lakish:
Great is Teshuva for through it deliberate sins become virtues,[ or, merits.]
What then did Resh Lakish really say? The Talmudic discussion concludes that he really said both. However, each statement referred to a different spiritual state of the person. The first statement refers to one who did Teshuva through ‘yirah’- fear; the second refers to one who did Teshuva through ‘ahavah’- love. And because ‘fear’ and ‘love’ are considered to be two stages in the religious life, I believe Resh Lakish is speaking here about two stages of Teshuva that he himself as well as others may experience.
As a Baal Teshuva Resh Lakish is uniquely situated to relate to us the dynamics of the process. He is in the ‘place’- he has the perspective not easily available to others. He realizes that from the new perspective of the returnee his past even most deliberate sins are really errors. If he had really known what was good for him he would not have done those things. At the time they seemed necessary and important; now they appear as foolish errors. They are carried forward as such into the new path.
There is more. Upon reaching the determination to change directions in life the reversioner embarks on an unknown and often fearful path, somewhat like a child learning to walk, somewhat like a reformed alcoholic returning to society. Reversioners walk in fear and trembling, overwhelmed by the possibility of backsliding, overawed by ignorance of the road taken: its roadsigns and speed limits, its soft-shoulders, its curves, mountains and valleys.
The Baal Teshuva is cautious and suspicious seeing danger everywhere, especially in the contacts and associations which predate the reversion. Sometimes the insecurity leads to a complete break with the past upsetting family and friends. The returnee may even reject the entire previous existence as empty and vain. Magnificent career accomplishments seem worthless. An attempt is made to deny or erase one’s previous self. The reversioner is plagued by guilt and hollowness. Can I ever remove the stain of my previous life? Will the old baggage I am carrying from my previous way of life always drag me down and prevent me from walking securely on the new path before God and to God? This is the way of fear.
A great challenge to reversioners comes from the second stage mentioned by Resh Lakish: making past sins into merits or virtues. Do not reject your past as valueless for it is that past that brought you in some mysterious way to this present day unexpected commitment. You have acquired experience, skills and insights that can be brought to your new commitments and elevated into the spirit of holiness. One cannot reject and deny oneself and the world about us. The way of Judaism has always been loving interaction with the world through integration and consecration. One must build the future upon the foundations of the past. Tearing down the foundations will only make for a weaker future. Resh Lakish is challenging us to realize that all that we were before Teshuva can now be considered virtues because they can now be elevated. They enable the reversioner to enter the new path with a full self unashamed and unafraid. The sinfulness of the past that was sinful is gone, forgiven; but the past itself remains. It is now seen from today’s perspective as part of the process leading to today. If Teshuva is done through love even deliberate sins are transformed into virtues. The very alienation and disinterest in tradition are now considered virtues because in retrospect- the new perspective from where the reversioner now looks- they have now led to engagement and return. They were part of the process for this particular person. If they had been different the reversioner might still be on the old path moving further away from that which today seems most precious.
All Baaley Teshuva are wonderful but the most wonderful are those who come with love. Their sincerity and openness are constantly refreshing. Their joy at each new Torah insight is inspiring. Their amazement at the wealth of treasures they discover in our tradition is a constant challenge to those who would guide them. Through love they grow to be more engaged in Torah and the blessings it brings to their lives. Involved with the community and not isolating themselves others learn from them and begin to awaken to the miraculous power of Teshuva and endless wonder of being a Jew.
Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah
Hayyim Shemuel Yosef
Elul 25 5770
September 4, 2010
A weekly parashah essay based on the writings of Rabbi Naphtali Zvi Yehudah Berlin, the Neziv, in Ha’amek Davar [HD] and Harhev Davar [HRD]. Please feel free to distribute this material for educational purposes. All rights reserved.
