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Ki Savo 5749Volume 14 · Issue 2
Unfettered Transformation
The Rambam famously states (Hilchos Teshuvah 3:4), “Although the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is a Biblical decree, it contains an allusion, as if to say, “Awake from your sleep, you who sleep, and arise from your slumber, you who slumber. Search your
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Bo 5756Volume 17 · Issue 17
Tormented & Transcended
Rabbeinu Yonah provides the solution—he even states it as law regarding the third of the four divisions of atonement (Yoma 86a; Gates of Repentance 4:11).
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Devarim 5761Volume 21 · Issue 37
Gates of Tears
Let us see the words of the Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 4:1-5), citing the Riff (Yoma 6a), and try to understand. He enumerates twenty-four practices that prevent repentance, among which five lock the pathways of repentance.
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Ki Savo 5762Volume 23 · Issue 3
Sinless Makeover
This teaches us that the rectification of repentance works in two ways. In one way, we are as if we were made into new creations, and in the other way, we are as if we never sinned in our lives.
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Nitzavim 5765Volume 2 · Issue 4
Rosh Hashanah: The Decision of Being
Of all these Days of Judgments, the Code of Jewish Law only mentions Rosh Hashanah as a Day of Judgment (Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 3:3). The Code of Jewish Law only brings Talmudic teachings that have practical applications, and, from the wording of the Rambam, it appears that only the judgment of Rosh Hashanah results in actual obligations. What precisely are these obligations
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Shoftim 5767Volume 4 · Issue 1
Shofar of Consolation
fear, as it says, “Shall a shofar be sounded in a city, and the people not tremble (Amos 3:6)?” It awakens us from the stupor of routine and stirs us from the mindlessness of habit (cf. Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 3:4).
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Bo 5768Volume 4 · Issue 18
Focus on the Future
Conversely, if we presume correctly that all parts of the Torah truly contain commandments and an obligation is derivable from its every single word (cf. Sha’arei Teshuvah 2:19), the Book of Bereshis is also filled with such commandments. Consequently, the first commandment in which Israel was commanded is stated in Bereshis itself.
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Naso 5758Volume 58 · Issue 1
Mishlei: Vehicle of Perception
…his, it says, “Hovered over the face of the waters,” meaning in merit of repentance, which is compared to water, as it says (Eichah 2:19), “Pour out your heart like water, facing the Presence of God.””(והארץ…
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Tetzaveh-Zachor 5769Volume 5 · Issue 20
Love of the Miracle
…three days, by night and by day (Esther 4:16),” and the intent of fasting is repentance—in this case, repentance for regretting the Acceptance of the Torah (cf. Sanhedrin 105a). Rashi, however, clearly states that the miracle…
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Behaaloscha 5771Volume 7 · Issue 32
Bound for Eternity
that we may live here and extract from it Eternal Life. For this reason, the world of Eternal Life is called the World to Come as opposed to This World: it comes after, and through, this (cf. Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 8:8).
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Vayishlach 5765Volume 10 · Issue 10
Head Over Heel
Additionally, the Talmud states (Yoma 86b), “Great is repentance that for an individual who enacted repentance the entire world is forgiven.” Where is the justice? Why should he and the entire world be forgiven due to his repentance? The explanation is that he reveals this power. By repenting, he overpowers
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Lech Lecha 5765Volume 10 · Issue 5
Rain of the Heavens
We pray for intellect, repentance, forgiveness. All of these things descend from on high. None of them exists in the realm of This World. Here, there is no intellect, nor repentance, nor forgiveness. One must pray, request, and plead, and bring them down from on high
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Nitzavim-Vayelech 5774Volume 11 · Issue 4
New Year New Life
The Rambam writes (Hilchos Chanukah 3:6), “There is no Hallel on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, for they are days of repentance, fear, and trepidation, not days of excessive happiness.” Song is recited out of excessive happiness, and these are not days of excessive happiness.
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Nitzavim 5775Volume 12 · Issue 4
Wondrous Gift
communal status. That which the community achieves whenever they call to Him for He is always near to them, the indvidiual achieves only during special times when He is near. And the time is the Ten Days of Repentance. Then, each individual has communal status.
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Shoftim 5747Volume 13 · Issue 1
Roaring in Repose
The children of Leah do not have this quality. They are not flawless from the onset. They are not in the category of the absolute righteous. Their concept is primarily repentance. Reuven was the first to introduce repentance (Bereshis Rabbah 84:19), and Yehudah was thus called because he conceded, hodah (Sotah 7b), and from him came King David who established the yoke of repentance (Avodah Zarah 5a).
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Nitzavim-Vayelech 5749Volume 14 · Issue 3
Monumental Occasion
favor? It is when the community prays” (Berachos 8a). In other words, even if a special time of favor is necessary, the community always facilitates it. But the individual requires special times, which are the Ten Days of Repentance. Then even the individual has communal status, as we will see later at length.
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Vayishlach 5752Volume 15 · Issue 12
Implemented Truth
Let us cite two points of the Talmud concerning the greatness of repentance (Yoma 86b). “Great is repentance that it brings the redemption, as it says (Yeshayahu 59:20), “And a redeemer shall come to Zion and to the repentant of transgression among Yaakov.” And, “Great is repentance that for the individual who repents
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Shemini-Parah 5752Volume 15 · Issue 27
Realigning the Mind
This is perfectly illustrated by the story of Rabbi Eliezer ben Durdaya (Avodah Zarah 17a). He had been steeped in immorality and exceedingly attached to it to the point where repentance was unfeasible. Sin had become one with his mindset and they were inseparable. He pleaded with all of creation to help him but in the end realized it was entirely up to him. He sat among the mountains and placed
