Teshuva: Six People We Can Learn From
From Rabbi Aryeh Citron
Whenever the Torah portion of Vayelech is read as a separate Torah portion, it coincides with Shabbat Teshuvah, the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
In fact, this Torah portion has no Haftorah of its own, for when it is joined with the portion of Nitzavim, we read the Haftorah of Nitzavim, and when it is read separately, we read the Haftorah of Shabbat Teshuvah.
In honor of Shabbos Shuvah (so called because of the first words of the Haftorah and the need to focus on Teshuvah during this Shabbat), this article will focus on various levels of Teshuvah.
Vayelech and Teshuvah
The connection between Vayelech and Teshuvah is in the name of the Torah portion Vayelech, which means “to go.” One of the differences between a Tzadik (righteous person) and a Baal Teshuvah (penitent) is that the Tzadik serves G-d in a more gradual way, like one who walks, whereas the Ba’al Teshuvah’s service to G-d is more intense and can be compared to one who leaps (Torat Menachem 5742 vol. 1 page 32).
Six Who Did Teshuvah
In the Slichot for Tzom Gedalya that begins with the words “הורית דרך תשובה You have shown a path for Teshuvah,” we read about six people (or groups of people) who did Teshuvah. They are Adam, Kayin, Reuven, Yehudah, Achav, and the people of Ninveh (in the time of the prophet Yonah). This article will focus on what we can learn from the teshuvah of each of these people.
