“Repentance” means regret and contrition for sins or omissions of good deeds; and the resolve to start afresh. Many phrases in English literature [and in the literature of other languages] sound this theme of repentance: “to turn over a new leaf”; “to become a new man.”
“Teshuvah” means something very different. It emphasizes not the idea of “newness,” but of return. A Jew is intrinsically good and wants to do good; sin is completely antithetical to his nature. If he does transgress, the transgression does not impugn his essential self but is a foreign thing that has adhered to him.
Teshuvah, then, is the return to that essential, real self of a Jew. While a person is a composite of body and soul, in a Jew the soul is primary and the body secondary; and that soul is no less than “a part of G-d above.” Teshuvah is therefore the reforging of the essential union between the soul and its source, a union which was temporarily in abeyance through sin. In other words, a Jew, through teshuvah, reveals his true self and reasserts the soul’s mastery over the body.
This is why teshuvah is relevant to all Jews, even the completely righteous. Teshuvah is not just “repentance,” the desire to atone for wrongdoing and start afresh, which would not apply to the completely righteous who do no wrong. Instead, the Alter Rebbe writes, teshuvah is the concept of, “the spirit shall return to G-d who gave it”; the soul continually strives to come closer to G-d, its source. And just as G-d is infinite, even the completely righteous Jew can rise ever higher in his apprehension of G-dliness. He, too, is always doing teshuvah — returning to his source.
Teshuvah is relevant also to the completely wicked. No matter how low he has fallen, hope is never lost. He can always do teshuvah for he need not perform any revolutionary act, create a new existence. He need merely return to his inner self.
Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe; adapted from Days of Destiny, reprinted with permission from Sichos in English
The Joy of Reunion
At the beginning of the Alter Rebbe’s leadership, he discontinued the practice of his chassidim to feel atzvut (sadness) over their wrongdoings. The chassidim thought they were also to do away with merirut (bitterness over sins) and were therefore constantly in a state of joy. Later, the Alter Rebbe wrote in Tanya that there is a benefit to be gained from feelings of bitterness over sins, for in fact it serves as a necessary prerequisite for joy. The chassidim then understood that it was only sadness and melancholy that the Alter Rebbe had negated.
The Rebbe once said that in our times we no longer have the emotional strength to do teshuva with bitterness; we must do teshuva with joy. The Rebbe explained that teshuva itself is a great reason for joy, for there can be no greater joy than finding oneself and being reunited with our Father, like a wandering prince who finally comes home, after a long separation, to his father, the king.
Holding On
The Mezritcher Maggid said, “before Moshiach comes, there will be a repeat of the confrontation between Eliyahu HaNavi and the prophets of the Baal on Mount Carmel. However, unlike that match, when a fire miraculously descended from Above on to the altar of the prophets of Hashem, this time the fire will descend on the other side. And that will be the greatest test of all.”
The Chozeh of Lublin once said, “before Moshiach arrives, it will be difficult for a Jew to hold on to his emuna. He will have to struggle to remain an upstanding Jew. It will be like climbing up a straight wall, grasping it with no more than pliers.”
Moshiach Now! & Halacha Corner reprinted from The Weekly Farbrengen by Merkaz Anash, on-line at TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com
