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Share(א) אֵי זוֹ הִיא תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה. זֶה שֶׁבָּא לְיָדוֹ דָּבָר שֶׁעָבַר בּוֹ וְאֶפְשָׁר בְּיָדוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ וּפֵרַשׁ וְלֹא עָשָׂה מִפְּנֵי הַתְּשׁוּבָה. לֹא מִיִּרְאָה וְלֹא מִכִּשְׁלוֹן כֹּחַ. כֵּיצַד. הֲרֵי שֶׁבָּא עַל אִשָּׁה בַּעֲבֵרָה וּלְאַחַר זְמַן נִתְיַחֵד עִמָּהּ וְהוּא עוֹמֵד בְּאַהֲבָתוֹ בָּהּ וּבְכֹחַ גּוּפוֹ וּבַמְּדִינָה שֶׁעָבַר בָּהּ וּפָרַשׁ וְלֹא עָבַר זֶהוּ בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה. הוּא שֶׁשְּׁלֹמֹה אָמַר (קהלת יב א) "וּזְכֹר אֶת בּוֹרְאֶיךָ בִּימֵי בְּחוּרֹתֶיךָ". וְאִם לֹא שָׁב אֶלָּא בִּימֵי זִקְנוּתוֹ וּבְעֵת שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת מַה שֶּׁהָיָה עוֹשֶׂה אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינָהּ תְּשׁוּבָה מְעֻלָּה מוֹעֶלֶת הִיא לוֹ וּבַעַל תְּשׁוּבָה הוּא. אֲפִלּוּ עָבַר כָּל יָמָיו וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה בְּיוֹם מִיתָתוֹ וּמֵת בִּתְשׁוּבָתוֹ כָּל עֲוֹנוֹתָיו נִמְחָלִין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (קהלת יב ב) "עַד אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֶחְשַׁךְ הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהָאוֹר וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְהַכּוֹכָבִים וְשָׁבוּ הֶעָבִים אַחַר הַגֶּשֶׁם" שֶׁהוּא יוֹם הַמִּיתָה. מִכְּלָל שֶׁאִם זָכַר בּוֹרְאוֹ וְשָׁב קֹדֶם שֶׁיָּמוּת נִסְלַח לוֹ:
(1) What is complete repentance? He who once more had in it in his power to repeat a violation, but separated himself therefrom, and did not do it because of repentance, not out of fear or lack of strength. For example? One who knew a woman sinfully, and after a process of time he met her again privately, and he still loving her as theretofore, and he being in a state of potency, and the meeting is in the same land where the sin was first committed, if he parted without sinning, he has attained complete repentance. Of such Solomon said: "Remember then thy Creator in the days of thy youth" (Ecc. 12.1). Even if he made no reparation save in his old age, at a time when it was already impossible for him to repeat his misdeeds, although it is not the best repentance, it still is of help to him and he is considered a penitent. Moreover, though he continued a life of sin but did repent on his dying day, and did die a penitent, all of his sins are forgiven, even as it is said: "While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain" (Ibid. 12.2), yea, that is the day of death. Deduct herefrom that if he remembered his Creator and did repent ere he died, he was forgiven.
(א) (מיכה ו ו): "במה אקדם ה'... הירצה ה' באלפי אלים... הגיד לך..."
כי אמנם יש בכאן ענין צריך ביאור שהרי אמרו בסוף יומא היכי דמי בטל תשובה אמר רבי יהודה כגון שבאתה דבר עבירה בידו פעם ראשונה ושנית ושלישית וניצל ממנה, מחוי רב יהודה באותה אשה ובאותו פרק ובאותו מקום ולפ"ז יקשה מי שאינו בימי עלומיו איך יעשה תשובה שלמה, שמא תאמר כן הוא שאין תשובתו שלמה, זה אינו שהרי אמר בסוף פרק קמא דקדושין (דף מ') ואפי' רשע גמור כל ימיו ועשה תשובה באחרונה אין מזכירין לו שום רשע שנאמר ורשעת הרשע לא יכשל בה ביום שובו מרשעו, והרי אינו באחרונה באותו פרק, ואמרו ז"ל תשב אנוש עד דכא עד דכדוכה של נפש. אלא פירוש הענין כך הוא:
(כז) התשובה יש לה שני תועלות עצומים, אחד כפרת החטאים הקודמים, והשני תוספת הזכות יותר, שאם לא עשה העבירות ושב מהן, כי מלבד שהתשובה מכפרת העונות הקודמים, היא מצות עשה מן התורה, והוא מן המצות שהודיעונו רז"ל שהם בתכלית השכר, ובזה החלק השני דברו שם ביומא גדולה תשובה שזדונותיו נעשו כזכיות שנאמר ובשוב רשע מרשעתו ועשה משפט וצדקה עליהם חיה יחיה, ועוד אמר שם גדולה תשובה שבשביל יחיד שעשה תשובה מוחלין לכל העולם, הנה שזאת התשובה שדברו עליה ביומא אינה מועלת בכפרת עונות לבד אבל היא תוספת זכות גדול. ועל זה אמר שם היכי דמי בעל תשובה וכו'. שכחה גדול כל כך שלא די שהיא מכפרת העונות הקודמים אבל נותנת זכות כל כך כגון שבאתה דבר עבירה לידו וכו':
(כח) והתשובה שאיננה מעולה כ"כ, אמנם תספיק לכפר העונות הראשונים אבל לא תוסיף זכות, ואמנם צריך בתשובה הזאת ג"כ שתהא גמורה, לא שיאמר האדם אבל חטאנו אשמנו בפיו ובשפתיו ולא יפשפש במעשיו תמיד, אלא צריך לכל אדם לפשפש במעשיו תמיד, הן בעבירות שבין אדם מקום הן בעבירות שבין אדם לחבירו
(1) "WITH WHAT SHALL I COME BEFORE THE L-RD AND BOW MYSELF BEFORE THE HIGH G-D? SHALL I COME BEFORE HIM WITH BURNT OFFERINGS, WITH CALVES OF A YEAR OLD? ? HE HAS TOLD YOU, O MAN, WHAT IS GOOD: AND WHAT DOES THE L-RD REQUIRE OF YOU, BUT TO DO JUSTICE AND LOVE LOVINGKINDNESS AND WALK HUMBLY WITH YOUR G-D?" (MICAH 6:6-8)
"Indeed, there is somethinG-demanding explanation here, for our sages stated (Yoma 86b): "Who is regarded as a penitent? R. Yehudah answered: 'One who was confronted with the transgression once, twice, and three times, and desisted from it.' R. Yehudah qualified the statement: 'With the same woman, at the same age period, and in the same place.'" If this be so, how can one who has passed the days of his youth ever perform a complete repentance? And if you would say that this is, indeed, the case, that his repentance can never be perfect and complete, this is not so. For it is stated by our sages (Kiddushin 40b): "Even if one was completely wicked all of his days and he repents at the end, no [former] wickedness is to be held up to him, as it is written (Ezekiel 33:12): 'And the wickedness of the wicked one will not be a stumbling block to him in the day that he repents of his evil.'" Now "at the end" he is not in the same age period! And, similarly, our sages have said (Yerushalmi Chagigah 2:1): "'You return a man until dust' (Psalms 90:3) — [You return him with repentance] until his life is crumbling into the dust [at death]." The matter, however, is to be understood as follows:
(27) Repentance provides two great benefits, the atonement of past sins and an increase in merit. For if one ceased from his transgressions and repented of them, then aside from being granted atonement for his previous sins, he is credited with having fulfilled a positive commandment, one which our sages have informed us confers the ultimate in reward. It is this second aspect of repentance to which the Gemara in Yoma is referring; for it is stated there (Ibid): "Great is repentance, for it causes willful sins to be regarded as merits, as it is written (Ezekiel 33:19): 'And when the evildoer turns away from his evil and does what is lawful and right, upon them [(even his transgressions)] he shall live!" It is further stated there: "Great is repentance, for through one man's repentance the entire world is forgiven." It is seen, then, that the repentance referred to in Yoma serves not only to atone past sins but even to add great merit. And it is in respect to this type of repentance that the question is asked: "Who is regarded as a penitent?" That is, who is regarded as having performed such a great repentance that it not only atones his previous sins but even increases his merits. And the answer is given: "One who was confronted with the transgression…"
(28) The answer to our question, then, [as to how one can repent if he cannot fulfill the requirement of "the same age period"] is that his repentance, indeed, does not increase his merits, but it suffices to atone his previous transgressions. However, this repentance must also be complete. It is not enough that one say "But we have sinned and been guilty" with his mouth and lips and not constantly search out his deeds. But all men must always examine their ways, both in respect to the transgressions between man and G-d and those between man and his neighbor, and their transgressions must be constantly before their eyes.
Jonah and the Varieties of Religious Motivation
By David Bashevkin (published in The Lerhaus)
The journey towards more fervent religious life so often begins with personal turmoil. Some people turn to religion because they are lonely, some are looking to cope with feelings of mortality, while others may turn to religion in the hopes that it will serve as a respite from a broken family. As a religious educator, it is hard to ignore the gnawing feeling that the object of these people’s search is not authentic spirituality, but a very, almost secular driven, emotional catharsis from the everyday pain of life. Of course, as an educator, there is a duty to remain egalitarian as to the religious motivations of those who seek counsel; but can I be faulted for noticing that so many people who are seeking religious commitment would seem to be better suited in finding simple healthy social interactions? Does the teenager looking to make sense of her or his parents’ impending divorce really need theological purpose or would she or he be better suited with the guidance of a mental health professional and a friend?
I don’t think I am the first educator to develop fatigue from watching many who began with intense motivation and then slowly watch said motivation (d)evolve into either disappointment or disuse. The prime suspect, in my eyes, of such abortive entrances into religious life was often the nature and substance of the motivation that brought them there in the first place. Perhaps, I wondered, if people came to religion for the “right reasons,” if such can even be said to exist, the resulting religious experience would be more fruitful.
I don’t know if I ever found a definitive answer to my difficulties, but my frustrations were assuaged, somehow. In December of 2014 I was invited to deliver a series of classes at a weekend program for teenagers. Many of the participants would have the personal backgrounds that typically irked me in my endeavors at religious education. But, those classes changed my view on the varieties of religious motivation and experience. My classes focused on a personality, who I learned, dealt with a set of frustrations and difficulties similar to the ones with which I had been grappling. His name was Jonah.
II.
Jonah was approached by God to convince the people of Nineveh to repent and return to Him. Instead of listening, Jonah chose to run. Why did Jonah, a prophet, decide to run?
Like many biblical characters Jonah’s underlying religious ethos was alluded to in his name. He was Jonah the son of Amittai, which derives from the Hebrew word emet – meaning truth. Jonah was a man of truth. He was not interested in religious comfort or convenience. He was not concerned with escaping the terror of death and finitude. Jonah was motivated by truth. Jonah’s religiosity was founded on theological fact and doctrinal integrity.
After fleeing, Jonah found himself on a boat in a tempestuous storm. His fellow sailors began to panic. “And the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god.” Throughout the story the operative description of the sailors is fear. The religious motivation of the seamen was based on the impending crisis of their own mortality. Jonah, however, took a nap. He was not interested in being a prophet on this boat. The task of reminding them of repentance so as to escape death’s grasp is the very job he absconded by running away from Nineveh. Jonah understood that the people on that boat were not seeking religious truth, but rather religious comfort.
After being thrown overboard in the midst of the storm, Jonah is saved from drowning by miraculously being swallowed by a fish. Inside the fish, Jonah prays and recommits himself to God, who in return ensures he is safely returned to dry land. Jonah, now seemingly reformed, agreed to return to Nineveh – which he did. The Nineveh community, hearing Jonah’s exhortations to repent, promptly responded with a communal commitment to return from evil, which God just as promptly accepted.
Jonah, however, is still in pain. His outreach work still leaves him unfulfilled. He finally discloses to God why he ran:
וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל אֶל ה’ וַיֹּאמַר, אָנָּה ה’ הֲלוֹא זֶה דְבָרִי עַד הֱיוֹתִי עַל אַדְמָתִי—עַל כֵּן קִדַּמְתִּי, לִבְרֹחַ תַּרְשִׁישָׁה: כִּי יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי אַתָּה אֵל חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם, אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד, וְנִחָם עַל הָרָעָה.
He prayed to God and said: Please, God, was this not my contention when I was still on my own soil? Because of this I fled towards Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and who relents of evil.
While Jonah clearly intends to offer an explanation as to why he ran, his justification at first glance still remains unclear. A close reader, however, will notice that Jonah invokes the opening of the familiar refrain of Moses (or God, depending on who you ask), known as the Thirteen Attributes, that are repeated throughout the High Holiday season – albeit, with one exception. The standard sequence of God’s attributes that most readers are surely familiar with ends not with the term “niham al ha–ra’ah,” but rather with the term“emet”—truth. The word niham derives from the word nehamah, comfort. Jonah in his aggravated description of God substitutes comfort for truth. Jonah the son of Amittai finally discloses his frustration with outreach to God. “You want to know why I ran away? Because for most people God, religion, spirituality—it’s not about truth—it’s about comfort.”
The story of Jonah can be read as the narrative of a frustrated outreach professional. As a prophet, Jonah has proclaimed God’s impending wrath to wayward communities and time and again he sees them repent out of fear. Man, when confronted with his own mortality, finds comfort in the community and eternal promises offered by religion. Jonah, however, grew tired of serving as the temporal haven for man’s fear of crisis and transience. If religion is only a blanket to provide warmth from the cold, harsh realities of life, did concerns of theological truth and creed even matter?
III.
What was God’s response to Jonah’s religious torment? The story of Jonah ends abruptly. God provides a tree for the ailing Jonah to find shade. After momentarily providing Jonah comfort, God summarily destroys the tree. Jonah is crestfallen. With the sun beating down on Jonah, he pleads for death. God, in the closing statement of the story, rebukes Jonah for becoming so attached to the comfort of the tree, while still failing to develop any empathy for the religious struggle of the people of Nineveh.
Comfort, God reminds Jonah, is a need inherent in the human condition. The comfort provided by a tree no more obscures the role of God, than the comfort that religion provides. The means through which we find solace need not obscure the ultimate source from which all comfort derives.
Aish Kodesh, Rav Kolynomous Kalman Shapira,
from a sermon he gave in the Kovno Ghetto in 1941.
(Just appreciate the fact that he is sharing this message with his followers as Nazis are patrolling the streets, as people are dying of starvation. Like so many before us, his mind was focused on his inner world and was able to shut out the many distractions around him.) He is explaining the connection between the New Year, the anniversary of the creation of the world, and repentance. He writes:
“The time for teshuva is Rosh Hashana, the anniversary of the creation of the world. This is because teshuvah... is also a kind of creativity. The Hebrew word teshuvah means repentance and return. However, as a creative act, teshuvah is not a simple return. We return to what we are meant to be but have not yet become. We return to growth and possibility that has lain dormant within us and not yet flourished, much as a sculpture lies hidden within a brute block of stone.”
-We are here today, and frankly, we are here every day of our lives, not to pine for the days of old, of what was, of who we once were. That is lifeless. We are here to create something new. The new reality looks nothing like those memories of old because our new growth is a creative response to who we are today.
It may not feel as great as our feelings of the past – and that’s okay. That’s a function of our age, we need stability and form to our lives. But that does not in any way, preclude us from changing, from injecting new and fresh meaning into our lives.
1. Longing for past spiritual experiences.
2. Adapting to changes throughout the lifetime.
3. Reassessing spiritual trajectory by optimizing current state, challenges and opportunities by asking: What is lchatchila for me now?
(א) הנה ענין הזהירות הוא שיהיה האדם נזהר במעשיו ובעניניו, כלומר, מתבונן ומפקח על מעשיו ודרכיו, הטובים הם אם לא, לבלתי עזוב נפשו לסכנת האבדון חס וחלילה ולא ילך במהלך הרגלו כעור באפלה.(
(ז) והיינו, שהיו רודפים והולכים במרוצת הרגלם ודרכיהם מבלי שיניחו זמן לעצמם לדקדק על המעשים והדרכים, ונמצא שהם נופלים ברעה בלי ראות אותה.
(ח) ואולם הנה זאת באמת אחת מתחבולות היצר הרע וערמתו להכביד עבודתו בתמידות על לבות בני האדם עד שלא ישאר להם ריוח להתבונן ולהסתכל באיזה דרך הם הולכים.
(ט) כי יודע הוא שאלולי היו שמים לבם כמעט קט על דרכיהם, ודאי שמיד היו מתחילים להנחם ממעשיהם, והיתה החרטה הולכת ומתגברת בהם עד שהיו עוזבים החטא לגמרי.
(י) והרי זו מעין עצת פרעה הרשע שאמר (שמות ה): תכבד העבודה על האנשים וגו', שהיה מתכוין שלא להניח להם ריוח כלל לבלתי יתנו לב או ישימו עצה נגדו, אלא היה משתדל להפריע לבם מכל התבוננות בכח התמדת העבודה הבלתי מפסקת.
(1) The idea of watchfulness is for one to be cautious of his deeds and matters, namely, contemplating and watching over his deeds and ways whether they are good or evil; not abandoning his soul to the danger of destruction, G-d forbid, and not walking through the course of habit like a blind man in darkness.
(7) The explanation is that they would pursue and go by the momentum of habit and conduct, without leaving themselves time to consider their deeds and ways. Thus they fell into evil without even seeing it.
(8) In truth, this is one of the cunning strategies of the evil inclination, to relentlessly burden people's hearts with his service so as to leave them no room to reflect and consider which road they are taking.
(9) For he knows that if they were to put their ways to heart even the slightest bit, certainly they would immediately begin to feel regret for their deeds. The remorse would go and intensify within them until they would abandon the sin completely.
(10) This is similar to the wicked Pharaoh's advice saying "intensify the men's labor..." (Ex. 5:9). His intention was to leave them no time whatsoever to oppose him or plot against him. He strove to confound their hearts of all reflection by means of the constant, incessant labor.
(יב) והנני רואה צורך לאדם שיהיה מדקדק ושוקל דרכיו דבר יום ביומו כסוחרים הגדולים אשר יפלסו תמיד כל עסקיהם למען לא יתקלקלו, ויקבע עתים ושעות לזה שלא יהיה משקלו עראי, אלא בקביעות גדול, כי רב התולדה הוא.
(12) I see a need for a man to be meticulous and weigh his ways each and every day like the great merchants who continuously evaluate all of their business matters in order that they not degenerate. He should fix definite times and hours for this weighing so that it not be haphazard but rather with the greatest regularity for it yields great results.