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Discover a joyful and uplifting path to Repentance!
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The Joy of Repentance\Guilt-Free
Based on Tomer Devorah by the Holy Ramak
Authored and Published by the Salant Foundation
Distributed by Feldheim
Returning Everything to Its Source
Returning Everything to Its Source
The Ramak designates the Sefira (One of the Ten Divine Lights) of Binah (Divine Enlightenment) as “Teshuvah” (Repentance), which means “return,” because its primary function is to “return” everything to its root. The “sweetening of the Judgment” referred to by the Ramak is the return of the Divine Wrath back to its sweet source in Binah. So too, when man engages in Teshuvah Elyonah (Exalted Repentance), “he merges with Binah” and ascends to the root of his holy soul.
Powerful
With the above in mind, let’s turn for a moment to the first chapter of Tomer Devorah, where the Ramak discusses the Sefira of Keter (Crown) and the Thirteen Attributes of Exalted Compassion (Michah 7:18-20). One of these Attributes is He Will Again Show Us Compassion, which teaches that the Holy One, Blessed Be He reveals even greater dimensions of love for a person after he repents than before he transgressed! The Teshuvah under discussion there is not Teshuvah Elyonah, but “conventional” Teshuvah, which is a qualitatively different nature – not having direct access to Binah. We can thus understand that if “conventional” Teshuvah results in a greater revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) than before, then Teshuvah Elyonah, which traces back to the Upper-tier of the Sefirot (System of Divine Lights), surely causes Binah to cast its radiance upon a person with a far greater magnitude than previously.
The Advantages of Teshuvah Elyonah Over Conventional Teshuvah
Indeed, the virtue of Teshuvah Elyonah is far more sublimely encompassing and holy than that of “conventional” Teshuvah. This is so despite the fact that the latter emulates the attributes of Keter, the most exalted and transcendent of the Sefirot, higher even than Binah! There are three factors that account for this anomaly.
First, conventional Teshuvah is very specific and restricted in nature, focusing on the rectification of individual misdeeds. In His boundless compassion, the Creator forgives the penitent, cleanses the blemish under consideration, and causes the Shechinah’s radiance to shine upon him with an even greater intensity than it did previously. On the other hand, with Teshuvah Elyonah a person ascends to the root of his soul, which resides eternally within Binah. This engenders a basic transformation of his entire essence wherein he emerges as an entity of goodness, purified from the impurity of all his previous transgressions.
Second, “conventional” Teshuvah doesn’t involve establishing a connection with the Sefirot. Even though in Chapter One the Ramak addresses the emulation of the attributes of Keter, the most eminent of the Sefirot, the emulation does not facilitate a direct connection to the Sefirot. On the other hand, the essence of Teshuvah Elyonah is to merge with the Sefirot; with intention to awaken and to emulate them, particularly Binah. Through man’s engagement in Teshuvah Elyonah, the Holy One causes the Exalted Light of Binah to shine upon the entire world. This lofty level of Sanctity enables a person to free himself from the shackles of physical desire. Ascending to his holy root, he emerges created anew, purer than the loftiest Angel. With the coarseness of the body mastered by the refinement of the soul, his entire being becomes aglow with Divine light.
Third, when a person intends to ascend to his source in Binah, the Creator causes the other two Upper-tier Sefirot of Keter (Crown) and Chochmah (Wisdom) to complement Binah’s function. Thus, the unbounded compassion characterized by Keter and the life-giving grace characterized by Chochmah supplement Binah and facilitate the unprecedented wonder that is Teshuvah Elyonah.
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