Parshat Nitzavim Schedule

Weekly Words of Torah

Teshuva

Insights into Parshat Nitzavim of Mr. David Freilich of Yeshivat Sha’alvim, by Rav Re’uven Ungar of Yeshivat Sha’alvim.

With Rosh Hashana right around the corner and the Yamim Nora’im about to start, it is prudent to discuss Teshuva, which has specific emphasis this time of the year. Particularly with the start of selichot, one is forced to realize that The Day is coming up. We are supposed to work on ourselves, to change ourselves so as to come closer to Hashem, but that is a very daunting task. However, there is a famous Mishna at the end of Yoma that can give us a practical fashion to truly accomplish this goal of “change”.

The משנה says, “Rabbi Akiva says, Fortunate is Israel – before whom are you purified and who purifies you? Your Heavenly Father.” Rabbi Akiva explains that we are to be praised, for Hashem purifies us. Rabbi Akiva then quotes two verses which prove that Hashem purifies us – “And I will sprinkle upon you purifying water and purify you”, and “Hashem is the mikvah of Israel”. The first one describes how Hashem sprinkles us with purifying water, an allusion to the Parah Adumah through which someone became ritually pure from the impurity of a dead person, while the other verse describes Hashem as being a mikvah for us, something we all know has the power to purify.

Rav Pam ZT”L, in Atarah LaMelech, asks a simple question – why does Rabbi Akiva quote two verses? Why is he quoting this idea, that Hashem purifies us, from two different verses? Why not just use one?

He explains that the methods of purification described in the two verses differ significantly – for by a mikvah, every part of one’s body must be within the mikvah. If, however, even his pinky or a strand of hair is not immersed within the mikvah, the purification doesn’t happen. However, the Parah Adumah works in a completely different fashion – for if the water of Parah Adumah is sprinkled upon one piece of the body, no matter what part or how big the part of the body is, the person is entirely pure.

Rav Pam explains, beautifully, that Rabbi Akiva was teaching us that there are two paths to teshuva, two forms of teshuva. One is comparable to a mikvah, where one scrutinizes himself, finds every fault within himself, and throws himself into the mikvah of purification, promising to change entirely. This, however, is a very hard style of teshuva – it takes tremendous strength to entirely change oneself, to make oneself into someone else, a person purer in all aspects. However, there is a different form of teshuva, of change, symbolized by the Parah Adumah. If one takes one specific area within him to change and works on that – then Hashem sees his teshuva, his desire to be a Ba’al Teshuva, and pours upon him the purifying waters. True, it isn’t the overarching and comprehensive purification process espoused and contained within the idea of “Hashem is Israel’s mikvah”, but it’s, at the very least, a start! This doesn’t have to necessarily be something wrong that one is doing, a prohibition that he is determined to fix – rather, it can even be a mitzvah or positive trait one has already that he wants to purify and perfect.

Rav Aryeh Cohen, Mashgiach and Rebbe at DRS, connected this to a famous midrash concerning Tishrei. The midrash, when commenting on the words “תקעו בחדש שופר, בכסה ליום חגנו (תהילים פא:ד)”, explains that “בחדש הזה תחדשו מעשיכם, ובחודש הזה תשפרו מעשיכם;” in this month (Tishrei) we make new our actions and we beautify our actions. Rav Cohen explained that some people can be מחדש their מעשיכם, make new their deeds and do full, mikvah-style purification on themselves, who have the ability to fully change. On the other hand, even for those who aren’t able to commit to such a comprehensive change, at the very least one has to תשפרו מעשיכם, to take one specific behavior and change that, whether to make a bad action into a good action, or to take a good action and transform it into a great action.

If we aren’t ready to be in the level of “Hashem is Israel’s mikvah”, of completely diving into the waters of purity and changing our entire being to one more connected to Hashem, at the very least we must try to connect one aspect to him, to take one specific action and better it however we can!

Rav Yitzchak Arama, author of the Akedat Yitzchak, points out that if you look at the parsha, there are 3 separate times when the Torah describes Bnei Yisrael as having done teshuva and returning to Hashem, which are: “And you will return to your heart…”, “And you will return to Hashem, your G-d, and listen to His voice”, and “And you will return and listen to the voice of Hashem”. What, he asks, is the point of having all of these verses? Why did Hashem need to reiterate again and again, in different forms, that we would return to Him?

Rav Arama explains that these references all point to the fact that teshuva isn’t an all-or-nothing endeavor; one isn’t forced to either jump into the mikvah or stop trying to progress. Rather, he explains, תשובה can be performed in many different ways, levels, and forms – for what, he asks, is teshuva? Teshuva is a step in the right direction, a progression on the path of service of Hashem. Even the smallest push forward, the smallest acceptance that one takes upon himself to bring himself closer to our Heavenly Father is considered teshuva.

This, he explains, is why the Torah describes this process of teshuva in this fashion. In the first step of the process described in the Torah here, Bnei Yisrael do teshuva while they are amidst all of the nations that seek to destroy us. Despite the fact that Bnei Yisrael are suffering under the yoke of the Nations, they take the first step to teshuva, a small step in the right direction. This step, this initial struggle to do the original act of teshuva in a small way, intensifies and allows them to return “with all your heart and all your soul”. This small change that they accepted upon themselves (or series of small changes) fired them up to return in a big way, with all of their strength. Through this, the verses explain, one will reach the level of “And you will return and listen to the voice of Hashem”, returning entirely to Hashem.

The Torah is encouraging us, telling us that a small step in the right direction might actually be the one that changes everything. To throw yourself into the mikvah of teshuva is a hard step to take, something very difficult to adjust to; it is significantly easier, and oftentimes more practical, however, to take small steps in the right direction. This level of “And I will pour upon you purifying waters” is a process that may prove to be the more reasonable and helpful approach.

And above all, don’t despair – for, as the Kuzhinitzer Maggid, says in Avodat Yisrael on Parshat Shoftim, as long as one has the yiddishe neshama, Jewish soul, inside him, he can be assured that Hashem will accept his teshuva, no matter what he’s done. Hashem is always there, waiting for us to return – we just must decide on the proper route for us to get there!