Dear Everyone,
Here is a summary of today’s shiur on תשובה from the חובות הלבבות.
We learned today that רבנו בחיי writes that תשובה is the outcome of a process which requires seven steps. The repentant sinner needs to recognize and acknowledge that his behavior was simply wrong. Only this realization can lead to honest regret and confession. The repentant sinner must also acknowledge that God does not ignore or “forget about” our misdeeds. God is aware of everything and punishes all misdeeds. And if Divine retribution does not happen immediately we believe that God punishes at the time that He sees fit to do so. Penitents also need to believe that God accepts and yearns for the sinner to repent. Finally penitents need to acquire the trait of self-control in order to make the necessary changes inhis behavior.[1]
When a penitent has undergone this transformation then Hashem will accept his penance.
The process of teshuvah described by Rabbeinu Bachya is a long one. It is not easy for a person who has behaved in a certain way his entire life to admit that his behavior was wrong. It would take a long time to develop the self-control necessary to deny oneself a particular pleasure in which he indulged for many years. It seems that Rabbeinu Bachya does not believe that תשובה based on bursts of inspiration have any validity. It may be that Rabbeinu Bachya sees precedents for his doubt in the תנ”ך. When our ancestors left Egypt they received the תורה at הר סיני with great enthusiasm but a mere 40 days later they made the Golden Calf. אליהו הנביא attempted to cure the people of idolatry by arranging a public duel with the prophets of Ba’al on Mt. Carmel.[2] אליהו defeated the prophets of Ba’al and the people proclaimed ה’ הוא הא-להים but their תשובה was short-lived and as we all know the Jews went back to their old ways and were finally exiled because of their sins. We learned last week that unlike Rav Sadiah Gaon, Rabbeinu Bachya holds that if a penitent relapses his penance is incomplete. It is only when a person completely and absolutely abandons his former way of life that Hashem forgives his sins. If this sort of total transformation is demanded of a בעל תשובה it really is not a surprise that Rabbeinu Bachya sees teshuvah as the culmination of a long process of self-examination.
The Gemara however tells the story of a lightning-like transformation of a sinner. There was a man named אלעזר בן דודרדיא. The Gemara says that there was not a single brothel in the world that אלעזר בן דודרדיא did not patronize. Once he heard of a brothel on an island where the fee was a sackful of coins. Elazar got the money together and travelled to this brothel. When he arrived and met the woman for their assignation, the woman burped. She then remarked that just as a burp does not return, so too Elazar ben Durdaya cannot return as a penitent.
Amazingly, Elazar ben Durdaya took the woman’s words to heart. He cried out to the mountains, the Earth and the stars to pray for him but they all refused. He then realized that his penitence depends on his own efforts. He knelt down and cried. He died in the midst of his tears. At that moment a voice came from the heavens and announced that Rabbi Elazar ben Durdaya has a place in the World to Come. When the great Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi heard of this he cried as well. He said that while some people toil their entire lives to earn a place in the World to Come, others acquire their place in an hour. Furthermore, penitents are not only forgiven for their sins, they are even granted the title of “Rabbi.”
Rabbi Elazar ben Durdaya’s penance was the result of a sudden insight,[3] nevertheless his תשובה was accepted. It may be that in the space of an hour he achieved all of the insights demanded by Rabbeinu Bachya. It may be that the fact that he literally cried himself to death is the proof of his sincere regret for a wasted life.
There is another way to look at Rabbeinu Bachya and the story of רבי אלעזר בן דורדיא. Rav Kook wrote a small work called אורות התשובה. In this extended essay[4] Rav Kook distinguishes between two types of תשובה: “sudden teshuvah”[5] and “gradual teshuvah.”[6] “Sudden teshuvah” is brought about by a sudden realization or insight of the penitent. “Gradual teshuvah” is a process (not unlike the process of Rabbeinu Bachya) in which the penitent learns how to live a life of holiness. Despite the suddenness of Rabbi Elazar’s transformation I do not know if it fits the criteria of Rav Kook’s “sudden teshuvah.” Rav Kook writes:
הפתאומית באה מתוך איזה ברק רוחני הנכנס בנשמה, בפעם אחת מכיר הוא את הרע ואת הכעור של החטא ונהפך לאיש אחר, וכבר מרגיש הוא בקרבו השתנות גמורה לטובה…..
רבי אלעזר בן דורדיא repented when he suddenly realized that he was cut off from God with no way back. תשובה means to return, and he heard from the woman that even if he would try to return, he would not be received. The woman’s pronouncement did not cause Rabbi Elazar to despair of ever finding his way back to God.[7] On the contrary, Rabbi Elazar cried out to God until he died and then he was received into the World to Come. One could say that Rabbi Elazar achieved his goal. But I am not certain that he realized all the potential that can be found in תשובה. Rav Kook writes that the “sudden penitent” will discover within himself “a complete change for the better.” It seems to me (and I may be totally wrong) that even if the “sudden penitent” begins his תשובה by crying out to Hashem, once he feels the “complete change for the better” within himself he would stop crying and re-enter the world with a new attitude. Penance for Rav Kook means to discover God in the world:
נשמת כל האצילית מצטירת לפנינו בהודה וקדושתה כמה שהלב יכול לספוג…..
It seems to me ( and I may be totally wrong) that had רבי אלעזר בן דורדיא achieved the teshuvah described by Rav Kook, his life would not have ended as it did.
Thanks to everyone who attended today’s shiur. A happy Shavuot to all, and may our friend חיים יואל בן חנה הניא, Joel Nowicki have a רפואה שלמה. Bye, Stuart Fischman
[1] This is a summary of the seven traits that the penitent needs to adopt.
[2] מלכים א’ פרק יח
[3] It is amazing that the prostitute said what she said and it is more amazing that he took the words of that prostitute so seriously.
[4] פרק ב’
[5] תשובה פתאומית
[6] תשובה הדרגית
[7] And in this he differed from Elisha ben Avuyah/אחר as we learned.