Day Twenty-Six
(יא) שלא תאמר שהתשובה טובה לחלק הקדשה שבאדם אלא גם לחלק הרע שבו מתמתק כעין המידה הזאת.
(11) Thus, you should not say that Teshuvah (Repentance) is beneficial [only] to man’s sacred side; rather, it is also beneficial to his evil side, in accord with this Attribute.
Teshuvah Rectifies All Aspects
How tragic – and easy – it is to pass through life oblivious to the full scope of Teshuvah (Repentance)! For it might be assumed that Teshuvah only rectifies the “positive” aspects of Man’s nature, i.e., the “sacred side” we generally associate with all that is intrinsically good and holy about a person. But perhaps the “negative” traits with which we are saddled are irredeemable.
Consider, for example, a person possessed of a generous spirit on the one hand and a quick temper on the other. In the course of his life, he freely expresses both these aspects of his personality: an easy touch for lending or donating respectable sums, and quick to go out of his way to help people in need of a ride. On the other side, he has no tolerance for life’s little inconveniences and little patience for fools. Not that his quick temper doesn’t bother him; and not that he doesn’t do plenty of Teshuvah (Repentance) for his indiscretions. Rather, he performs Teshuvah for his actions and deeds. However, he just feels like he can’t do anything about his nature and doesn’t bother trying.
As the years pass by, his family grows, and expenses mount concurrently. With rationalization mode in full gear, his charitable contributions eventually dry up to a trickle. Aided and abetted by his high-strung nature, the new norm for offering rides becomes, “Who has time, for Heaven’s sake, I’ve got to get to work so I can pay the bills!”
At one point, however, a crisis occurs, and feelings of Teshuvah stir within him. Now, it would be a mistake for him to think that he can only do Teshuvah for the laxity he displayed in his inherently good traits, and that the best he can manage is a return to his previously generous behavior – because only that which is intrinsically good can be redeemed. As for his quick temper, it still doesn’t occur to him to do Teshuvah, for how can an inherently negative trait be transformed to goodness?!
The Ramak corrects this false notion, as he states: “rather, it is also beneficial to his evil side”! There can be no trace of doubt that the entirety of Man’s purest essence, the holy root of his soul, is immutably good. The negative trait that has reigned over his behavior until now is really only a “temporary” phase, like an (admittedly) grievous wound that will nevertheless surely heal with time. Just as the External Forces are ultimately rooted in the holiness of Binah (Divine Enlightenment), so is Man’s soul eternally rooted in and sanctified by Binah (Divine Enlightenment). Therefore, the Ramak encourages us with the knowledge that Teshuvah rectifies even Man’s base traits.
Classic Examples of Transformation
In truth, we needn’t search hard for examples of this wondrous phenomenon. The Tanach relates the lofty elevation of Ruth, the Moabitess princess. She ascended from the depths of impurity to the heights of Holiness. She was drawn after Naomi’s pure spirit and followed her to Eretz Yisrael. Remarkably, she married Boaz, the most eminent man of his generation. And Ruth merited to be the Matriarch of King David (Rus 4:17), and they called his name Obed, he is the father of a Jesse, the father of David.
The Talmud (Bava Metzia 84a) relates the famous incident of how Reish Lakish was induced to repent after an encounter with Rabbi Yochanon. Reish Lakish, a notorious thief, dramatically transformed his personality from one extreme to the other. Elevating himself from the depths of wickedness, he ultimately emerged as one of the holiest Talmudic Sages. There are countless other examples of such astonishing reversals throughout the long and varied history of Klal Yisrael.
Rather than be resigned to accept our negative traits, we are inspired by HaShem’s unbounded Kindness in granting us the privilege to transform ourselves from darkness to light!
