Today’s learning is dedicated to the refuah sheleima of Simcha Nosson ben Zissel.

Attribute # 7 – After Repentance, He Will Have Mercy on Us – ישוב ירחמנו

HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s ways are not like those of mankind. When a person is angry at his friend, even after they make peace, their friendship will not return to its former state. However, when a person sins against Hashem and then does teshuva, he reaches an even greater level of closeness than before. Thus, our Sages say, “In the place where ba’alei teshuva [literally, “the owners of repentance”] stand, perfect tzaddikim cannot stand” (Berachos 34b)…

[The Hebrew word תשובה (repentance) can be divided into תשוב ה׳, meaning “return ה.”] When a person repents, he restores the ה [i.e. Hashem] back to the proper place. Hashem’s Shechinah (Divine Presence returns to rest upon him, not like the original love, but much more intense. This is “After repentance, He will have mercy on us” – He adds greater mercy for the Jewish People, rectifies them and draws them even closer.

That is how a person should act towards his fellow. He should not maintain hatred from his previous anger. When he sees that the other desires his love, he should show much greater compassion and love than before. He should say, “To me, this person is like a ba’al teshuvah, beside whom even perfect tzaddikim cannot stand.” He should draw that person close, even more than he would “perfect tzaddikim” who have never sinned against him.   —   Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, Tomer Devorah

This attribute teaches us that Hashem’s mercy extends beyond forgiving and forgetting. After repentance, our bond with Hashem becomes closer and stronger than ever before.

An example of this Attribute can be found after the sin of the golden calf. The Jewish nation had fallen to an all-time low. Moshe ascended Har Sinai for forty days to beg for forgiveness on our behalf. Not only did Hashem accept Moshe’s pleas, but He revealed the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy and established the forty days between Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur as days of mercy and forgiveness for all of time. As Rabbi Riachi writes, “Due to the sin of the golden calf and their subsequent teshuvah, they merited Hashem’s assurance of forgiveness on Yom Kippur.” And as the Mishna states, “There were no days as good for the Jewish People as Tu B’Av and Yom Kippur.” (Coincidentally, today is Tu B’Av!)

This is also when Hashem instructed the people to construct the Mishkan, which served as a public display of His love and compassion towards our nation. With this newfound affection and attachment, we were closer to Hashem than ever before.

This can be compared to a piece of metal that was broken; welding the pieces together again creates an even stronger, more durable bond than before. And as Rebbe Nachman famously taught, “If you believe it is possible to destroy, believe it is possible to repair.”

The Talmud states, “In the place where ba’alei teshuva stand, perfect tzaddikim cannot stand.” We would think that someone who has spent a life free of sin would be held on the loftiest level of all, but from here we see otherwise.

This is an incredible concept. A person can be stooped in sin their entire life, but when they return to Hashem in true repentance, they reach heights unattainable to those who have never sinned.

The Rambam explains, “He has great reward for he has tasted sin and yet, separated himself from it, conquering his evil inclination…the level of the ba’alei teshuva transcend the level of those who never sinned at all, for they overcome their evil inclination.”

As Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider elaborates, “The ba’al teshuva is rewarded for his dedicated efforts and personal sacrifice. It does not always come easy for him. The elevated level he has achieved required heroic strength and ardent conviction. Concomitantly, maintaining his spiritual achievements require constant vigilance and effort. In this way he stands significantly above the personality whose commitment is second nature and organic.”

After a person falls to sin, he must exert tremendous effort to extricate himself from these luring desires. He must work harder and push stronger than someone who has never fallen before. As Rebbe Nachman teaches, “When a person wants to return to Hashem and change his life accordingly… a new evil inclination rises up against him far stronger than the one he had before. The more a person is devoted to Hashem, the stronger the onslaughts of the evil inclination. It is a constant battle to control it.”

Although this process is challenging, every bit of energy and emotion invested in the path to repentance is precious to Hashem. As Rebbe Nachman teaches, “The greatest revelation of Hashem’s greatness comes when those who were very far from Him draw closer. His Blessed Name is then glorified and exalted in the worlds above and below. What this implies is that no one should ever despair of coming closer to Hashem even if he feels very far from Him because of his sins. It may be that he has committed great wrongs. But if so, then it is precisely through his returning to Hashem that Hashem’s glory will be exalted and magnified.”

In the following post, we will offer a few more explanations as to why the ba’al teshuva is held on such a lofty level. We will also discuss how a person will often fall from their current level, only to rise to an even more exalted ranking; the concept known as a “descent for the sake of an ascent.”

In closing, to be considered a “ba’al teshuvah” is an honor that we must all strive towards. And as Rebbe Nachman teaches, “Teshuva never stops. It is a continuing process.” But the seventh Attribute of Mercy teaches us that with this prestigious title comes increased love and mercy from Above.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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