By: Rabbi Chaim Yeshaya Freeman
Teshuva: Returning to Our Source
This week is the last Shabbos of the year. As we approach Rosh Hashana, we need to think about teshuva. It is not a coincidence that the mitzvah of teshuva appears in this week’s parsha. The pasuk states: כי המצוה הזאת אשר אנכי מצוך היום לא נפלאת היא ממך ולא רחוקה היא... כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד בפיך ובלבבך לעשותו “For this mitzvah that I command you today is not hidden from you, nor is it far away... Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” (Devarim 30:11-14)
The Ramban explains that “this mitzvah” refers to teshuva, which was mentioned earlier in the parsha. But is teshuva really so easy? Is it easy to change deeply ingrained habits and middos? If someone has struggled with anger for forty years, can he simply decide to do teshuva and change? The Vilna Gaon famously said that it is easier to complete the entire Torah than to change one middah.
Perhaps the answer can be found at the beginning of the parsha. Moshe Rabbeinu gathers Klal Yisroel and says: לעברך בברית ה' אלקיך ובאלתו “To enter into the covenant of Hashem your God.” (Devarim 29:11) Why was this necessary? We were already warned in last week’s parsha to follow the Torah and were told of the terrible consequences of failing to do so. The difference is that this week we are not simply accepting the Torah. We are entering into a bris with Hashem. A bris is more than an agreement. It creates a deep and lasting connection. The Zohar expresses this relationship with the words: ישראל וקודשא בריך הוא חד הוא “Klal Yisroel and Hashem are one.”
The Nefesh HaChaim (1:19) explains that although sin can affect a person’s nefesh and ruach, it cannot damage or separate the neshama from its source. Our neshama remains connected to Hashem. This gives us a deeper understanding of teshuva. Teshuva does not mean creating a new connection to Hashem. It means returning to the connection that already exists.
This is why the Torah says: כי קרוב אליך הדבר מאד “It is very close to you.” Our deepest essence is already connected to Hashem. The challenge is to remove the things that distance us from that connection.
Rav Nosson Wachtfogel explains that many people misunderstand the main focus of teshuva. They think teshuva is primarily סור מרע, removing the bad. He explains that the greater focus is עשה טוב, strengthening the good and connecting ourselves to Hashem.
As we approach Rosh Hashana, we should remember that teshuva is about returning to who we truly are and reconnecting with the neshama that is always connected to Hashem. May we strengthen that connection and be zocheh to a kesiva v’chasima tovah on Rosh Hashana.
Taken from the Kollel Avreichim Hollywood
