NITSAVIM_DEUTERONOMY XXIX,9 – XXX
The reading of our chapters coincides with the annual period of the Yamim Nora’im, the spiritually solemn days, Rosh HaShanah, and Yom Kippur. These days should be dedicated to Teshuvah, the return to our roots (which includes repentance for the failures committed), and the pursuit of the Kaparah, Divine forgiveness. Our text refers to this theme by stating Veshavta ad HaShem Elohecha veshamata bekolo, which means, and you will return (until) to Him, and you will listen (abide by) His voice.
Harav Soloveitchik differentiates between the two words Kaparah, atonement or absolution, and Taharah, purification. Thus reads the text in Sefer Vayikra, Ki vayom hazeh yechaper alechem letaher etchem, mikol chatotechem, lifnei HaShem titeharu, which means “on that day (the Kohen Gadol) will make atonement for you, to purify you of all your sins before the Eternal”. Citing our tradition, Soloveitchik points out that the very day of Yom Kippur grants Kaparah, absolution. However, Taharah, purification (spiritual cleansing) must be achieved by everyone.
Judaism considers that every fault or sin produces punishment. In other words, sin and punishment constitute a pair, a pair. Sin invariably leads to dire outcomes. According to a Mishnah, Sechar averah, averah, means that the punishment for sin is having to live with the emotional guilt of having made the mistake. In another Mishnah, on the other hand, we read Sechar mitsvah behai alma leka, which means that in this world one does not receive the reward (or punishment) for actions. But, at some point and somewhere, the consequences of our actions produce their effects.
The day of Yom Kippur is the time of Divine absolution for mistakes made. Just as the earthly rulers have the prerogative to grant forgiveness, so too does the Creator forgive us annually for our mistakes. Our Chachamim, with the probable intent of preventing the abuse of Divine generosity, warn us that one should not lead a joyful and carefree life, without controls, thinking that the day of Yom Kippur will absolve us totally. We should consider that Yom Kippur gives us a new chance in life. Conceptually we affirm, let’s make a clean slate. Once the punishment is meted (and on Yom Kippur forgiven by God) the sin is erased and nullified.
We must therefore ask ourselves, will this person sin again? Once divine forgiveness is obtained, what prevents the person from repeating the same mistakes, from committing faults again? It is here that we introduce the concept of Taharah, which as we said means purification. With Kaparah we obtain forgiveness, but the notion of Taharah suggests a radical change in the personality of the human being so that he does not repeat the mistakes of the past. Absolution can come from outside, but the transformation of personality must come from within, from our deepest inner self.
There are those who criticize our prison systems because they punish, but do not transform the criminal. On some occasions, they become instead postgraduate courses for petty wrongdoers whom they harden and strengthen in their criminal path.
Adin Steinsaltz quotes a fable in which the animals of the jungle decided to do Teshuvah because they concluded that their sins were the cause of their evils. The tiger and wolf admitted they stalk and kill other animals and were forgiven for their crime. After all, it is part of the nature of these animals to harass and devour creatures that are weaker. Thus, each of the animals confessed aloud and was forgiven for their faults. Finally, the sheep said that on one occasion he ate the straw that served as a lining for his master’s boots. All other animals immediately concluded that this was the cause of all their ills. They proceeded to sacrifice the sheep and considered that with this act of execution they had obtained the needed forgiveness for all.
The obvious moral that the world is willing to forgive the strong, but that it is relentless with the weak, is probably a superficial interpretation of the fable. For Steinzaltz the teaching of the fable lies in our personal disposition to face only peccadilloes. In this way, we escape from the inescapable need for a deep examination of our spirit, our inner self. We avoid the painful confrontation with our serious faults, and that allows us to initiate the process of Taharah, purification, and which can occur only when a radical personality change occurs.
Teshuvah is the return to the ideal prototype of the Jew. This return requires going back to the past and rewriting the events as if it were possible to relive what happened. Regret for what happened is not enough. It is necessary to move in a temporal axis to the past, face the same situation that led to the error, and act, this time, (from the point of view of metaphysics) decisively firmly, morally, and responsibly. If our present and future depend to a large extent on our past actions, it is obvious that we must relive what happened differently, so that the influence of that past is also different in our future behavior.
To begin a sincere process of Teshuvah it is necessary to come to conclude, in the words of the prophet Hoshea, Ki chashalta ba’avonecha,“because you stumbled in your iniquity.” When we feel the emptiness in our lives, the lack of direction and meaning in our existence, we are affirming Ki chashalta ba’avonecha and thereby allow the beginning of the process of Teshuvah. On the other hand, Teshuvah has no end.
Teshuvah is a never-ending process of approaching the roots. So says the aforementioned Hoshea, Shuvah Israel ad HaShem Elohecha, which means return Israel, ad, “until” (getting closer and closer, but obviously unable to reach divinity) the Lord, your God. The verse of our weekly text we quoted initially also mentions the return ad, the approach, because it is impossible to reach the Being that is infinite, with human footprints that are finite.
Teshuvah requires that the behavior that led to the error be discarded, and that new behavioral structures be assumed. From a certain point of view, it is a question of channeling impulses in a new direction, which in the past led us to sin. Our Chachamim say, were it not for the Yetser, the inclination towards evil, man would not marry, nor would he build a home. The Yetser is only a predisposition that can be modified to point towards a different direction from the previous one. Teshuvah means to impose a different and positive orientation both on our lives and on our way of being.
