Teshuvah

Teshuvah is a mitzvah incumbent upon one who has transgressed, requiring them to abandon their sin and return to the correct path. Additionally, they must confess and seek forgiveness from Hashem for their sin. Beyond the basic obligation, teshuvah is a path in avodas Hashem and includes many tikkunim and actions that the repentant must do to achieve atonement and return to being beloved before Hashem as before the sin. One who has done teshuvah is called a baal teshuvah, and their level is higher than that of a tzaddik who never sinned.

According to Chassidus, teshuvah is not only about sins and transgressions, but primarily a movement of the nefesh Elokis returning to its true place, as it was before descending to this world, to be connected to the Kadosh Baruch Hu.

Generally, teshuvah is divided into two levels: teshuvah tataah (lower teshuvah) which is repentance for transgressions, and teshuvah ilaah (higher teshuvah) which is the return of the nefesh Elokis to its root.

The Chabad Rebbeim attributed great significance to the avodah of teshuvah, as it is told that the Alter Rebbe defined his work as making baalei teshuvah. There is extensive discussion of this topic in Chassidus. Several chassidic seforim were especially dedicated to explaining the mitzvah of teshuvah in both nigleh and Chassidus, beginning with Igeres HaTeshuvah - the third section of the foundational text of Chabad Chassidus, the Tanya, as well as the seforim of the Mitteler Rebbe: Shaarei Teshuvah, Derech Chaim, and Pokeach Ivrim.

Teshuvah in Nigleh

The Order of Teshuvah

• Teshuvah - Abandoning Sin: The minimum necessary requirement for teshuvah from the Torah is abandoning the sin - meaning, deciding to leave the evil path and no longer rebel against Hashem by transgressing His mitzvos, both positive and negative commandments. This is expressed in halacha regarding a rasha who is invalid for testimony, that when examined and found to have abandoned his previous evil deeds, he becomes valid for testimony. Similarly in the laws of kiddushin, if one betroths a woman on condition that he is a complete tzaddik, even though he was previously completely wicked - the kiddushin is valid out of doubt, as perhaps he had thoughts of teshuvah. From here we see that one thought is sufficient to be considered a tzaddik.

Despite the fact that the thought of abandoning sin is only the minimum requirement, it actually has an advantage over the other aspects needed for complete teshuvah - because through this thought occurs the innovation of transforming from rasha to complete tzaddik, and is therefore considered the "birth" of the baal teshuvah which is the point and root of his entire existence.

• Complete Teshuvah - Viduy: In addition to the thought, the Torah establishes that one who does teshuvah must confess their sin and seek forgiveness from Hashem, as commanded: "And they shall confess their sin that they committed." Although even without verbal confession and only through thought one becomes a complete tzaddik as mentioned above, their teshuvah is not complete unless they confess.
• Purpose of Teshuvah - Kapparah: Beyond the teshuvah that a person must do - abandoning sin and confession - there is also the Jew's work to effect Hashem's atonement for their sin. For this purpose, the Alter Rebbe brings at the beginning of Igeres HaTeshuvah the words of the Tannaim about different forms of atonement for transgressions, to emphasize that although a Jew is only required to do their work in teshuvah, nevertheless their goal should be to do what they can so that Hashem will grant them atonement.

As part of this work, one must fast in order to effect Hashem's atonement.

• After Teshuvah - Ritzuy: Even after achieving atonement for the sin, one must work to return to being desired and beloved before Hashem as before the sin, and this is accomplished through a korban olah or in our times - through fasts

The Levels of Teshuvah

Teshuvah from Love and Teshuvah from Fear

There are varying levels in teshuvah:

• Teshuvah from love (teshuvah me'ahavah): This is when one returns to Hashem out of love, not from fear of punishment. This higher form of teshuvah transforms intentional sins into merits.
• Teshuvah from fear (teshuvah mi'yirah): When one returns to Hashem out of fear of punishment. This transforms intentional sins into unintentional ones.

Lower and Higher Teshuvah

• Teshuvah Tataah (Lower Teshuvah): The initial level focused on rectifying specific sins and returning to proper observance of mitzvos.
• Teshuvah Ilaah (Higher Teshuvah): The elevated level where one's entire being yearns to return and cleave to Hashem, transcending individual sins.

The Advantage of Baalei Teshuvah Over Tzaddikim

Baalei teshuvah possess certain advantages over tzaddikim who never sinned:

1. They serve Hashem with greater intensity and yearning due to their previous distance
2. They transform darkness into light by converting their past sins into merits
3. They reach higher spiritual levels through their struggle to return

Teshuvah as an Obligation on Both Person and Object

Teshuvah affects both:

• The gavra (person) - changing their spiritual status
• The cheftza (object) - elevating and rectifying the physical items used in sin

Teshuvah with Joy

While teshuvah involves regret over past actions, it should ultimately be done with simcha (joy), recognizing:

• The opportunity to return to Hashem
• The transformation of sins into merits
• The elevated status achieved through teshuvah

Contemporary Avodas HaTeshuvah

Today's focus in teshuvah emphasizes:

• Daily spiritual accounting and refinement
• Transforming mundane activities into holy ones
• Preparing the world for the complete geulah through teshuvah

Methods of Teshuvah Rectification

In mussar seforim starting from the Rishonim, like the Rokeach and Sefer Chassidim, there are many guidelines for how a baal teshuvah should conduct themselves to fully repent from their sin. Among these guidelines are many fasts and self-afflictions.

The Rokeach divides the types of teshuvah rectifications into four categories:

1. Teshuvat HaBaah - When one has the opportunity to sin again in the same way but succeeds in overcoming it.
2. Teshuvat HaGeder - Creating fences and distancing oneself with additional safeguards to avoid transgressing again.
3. Teshuvat HaMishkal - Self-afflictions aimed at preventing oneself from pleasure, corresponding to the pleasure derived from the sin.
4. Teshuvat HaKatuv - Self-afflictions aimed at preventing oneself from pleasure, corresponding to the suffering due as punishment for that sin (for example, as a substitute for karet).

The fasts mentioned among teshuvah rectifications are not part of the teshuvah itself, which is solely abandoning the sin, but come after and in addition to teshuvah. These fasts have two purposes:

1. For atonement: Since there are severe transgressions, like those punishable by karet and death by beis din, that require suffering in addition to teshuvah for atonement - one takes on fasts, thereby drawing closer to Hashem, appeasing Him and requesting forgiveness before He brings suffering.
2. To become beloved before Hashem: Even after sin atonement, one is not as pleasing and beloved before Hashem as before, and to appease Him one had to bring a korban olah, which the Gemara compares to a gift given by a servant to a king after being forgiven for his sin. Today, when we don't have korbanos, fasts take their place to please Hashem.

In recent generations, as bodies have weakened, the Alter Rebbe rules that one should not fast teshuvah fasts to avoid weakening the body and harming avodas Hashem. For this reason, one should redeem the fasts with tzedakah. The Rebbe repeatedly emphasizes this ruling of the Alter Rebbe, and in his Igros Kodesh writes to many people to avoid teshuvah fasts. However, sometimes he instructs to fast half-day fasts for teshuvah, but not the high number of fasts established by the Arizal.

Teshuvah in Pnimiyus HaTorah

The main concept of teshuvah is - as mentioned "and the spirit shall return to Elokim." Even a Jew who never transgressed, the very fact that their neshamah - "a part of Hashem from above" descended to this world, is an immense distance. The role of teshuvah is to return the Jew to their source and root, and reveal how here and now a Jew can be connected to Elokus.

In teshuvah there are endless levels, but generally they are divided into two levels - teshuvah from fear and teshuvah from love, corresponding to the two levels of teshuvah explained in Pnimiyus HaTorah - teshuvah tata'ah and teshuvah ila'ah.

Within each there are many levels (and generally, two levels in each - corresponding to the language of the verse "turn from evil, and do good, seek peace, and pursue it": "turn from evil" and "do good" are levels in teshuvah tata'ah, and "seek peace" and "pursue it" are levels in teshuvah ila'ah).

Let me translate this text about Teshuvah (repentance) while maintaining the Judaic terms.

Teshuvah from Love and Teshuvah from Fear

The Chazal taught that there is a difference between doing Teshuvah from fear - due to fear of punishment or for reward - which turns intentional sins only into unintentional ones, and Teshuvah from love - stemming from the desire to return to Hashem - which turns intentional sins into merits.

The reason is that Teshuvah from fear only works from that point forward, therefore it weakens the impression of the sins but they remain; while Teshuvah from love works retroactively - turning the sins into merits.

The Rebbe introduces that generally, even in Teshuvah from fear the intentional sins become merits, but the main concept is in Teshuvah from great love. Similarly, in every Teshuvah, even from fear, there exists internally the motivation of love and desire to return to Hashem, and therefore ultimately the one who returns will certainly reach Teshuvah from love.

Teshuvah Tata'ah and Teshuvah Ila'ah

Teshuvah Tata'ah is repentance for sin and transgression. The purpose of this Teshuvah is to repair the damage caused by the sin in lowering the Sefirah of Malchut, the lower Hei to the Klipot, and is therefore called "Teshuvah Tata'ah." Performing Teshuvah Tata'ah involves abandoning the sin and accepting the yoke of Heaven. Additionally, strengthening the decision to abandon sin through awakening mercy on the divine soul, and crushing and humbling the pride of the Klipah.

After Teshuvah Tata'ah, one can reach Teshuvah Ila'ah - which is not about sins, but rather returning the soul to cleave to Hashem as it was before descending into the body. This Teshuvah is the awakening to cleave to Hashem completely, and includes contemplation of His greatness (the aspect of Sefirat Binah - the upper Hei, after which it is called "Teshuvah Ila'ah"), which gives birth to feelings of love and fear of Hashem, and connection with Him in thought, speech and action, and attachment through Torah study and acts of kindness, as well as prayer.

While Teshuvah Tata'ah is done with bitterness over what was damaged through sins, Teshuvah Ila'ah is done with joy.

The Rebbe explained several times that in our time, the service should be in Teshuvah Ila'ah.

The Advantages of the Service of Teshuvah Over the Service of Tzaddikim

The Gemara explains that "in the place where Baalei Teshuvah stand, complete Tzaddikim cannot stand." At first glance, this statement seems puzzling: how can someone who never sinned be on a lower level than a Baal Teshuvah who sinned and returned?

The Rebbe explains that there are three main details in which a Baal Teshuvah is higher than a Tzaddik:

1. Unlike Tzaddikim, the service of a Baal Teshuvah is characterized by tremendous thirst and great desire.
2. When a Jew was far from Hashem, acted against His will, and still decided to do Teshuvah - the divine joy from his actions (and his own joy) is much greater than from an initial Tzaddik. It's like a prince who was captive in a distant place, when he is freed and returns to his father, the joy of both is greatest.
3. The main divine pleasure is from innovation. Something strange. The analogy is to a parrot. A regular person speaks much better than a parrot, but nevertheless the broken and disorganized speech of the parrot creates greater pleasure. So too in the analogue: The nature with which the world was created is that its purpose and will is to serve the Creator. When a Jew indeed does this, there is no innovation here. But when a Jew (acted against his nature) and was in a distant place, and still returns in Teshuvah - something unusual happens here, the Jew creates within himself complete renewal, and therefore the divine pleasure from him is greatest.

(The great advantage in renewal is that this is the inner will of the Creator: The world was created so that a Jew would fix it, elevate it more than how it is naturally, even if by its nature the world was created perfect).

Two Aspects of Teshuvah

A) Obligation from the perspective of the Gavra (person). When a person commits an aveirah, they are obligated to do basic teshuvah (meaning - to abandon the sin and confess). Once they have done teshuvah, even though there is still a possibility to do teshuvah as "my sin is before me always," nevertheless there is no further obligation to do teshuvah. This obligation is constant, meaning that whenever a person commits an aveirah, the obligation to do teshuvah is immediately placed upon them.

B) Obligation from the perspective of the Cheftza (object). The obligation of teshuvah is not because the person sinned, but rather an obligation placed upon everyone to do teshuvah (even though the actual teshuvah is for a sin). This obligation has no limit, and even if one has already done teshuvah, the obligation to do teshuvah again remains, since the cause of the teshuvah obligation is not the sin but rather the mitzvah of teshuvah itself. This obligation exists only on Yom Kippur.

Through Joy

The Alter Rebbe says that the avodah of teshuvah needs to be done with joy. Not only because it is a mitzvah from the Torah, but also because the purpose of teshuvah is the dwelling of the Shechinah, and the Shechinah only dwells in joy. This is understood according to the Chassidic explanation of what teshuvah is - its purpose is not (so much) to emphasize how far a person is from Elokut, but rather how much they are drawing closer to the Creator more and more through teshuvah.

The Avodah of Teshuvah Today

The Gemara states that all the predicted times for Moshiach have passed, and the matter depends only on teshuvah.

Today, the Rebbe explains that what the Gemara said about "the matter depends only on teshuvah" - not only have all the predicted times passed since the time of the Gemara, but the matter of teshuvah has also been accomplished, as stated by the Frierdiker Rebbe, and also in the name of the Rogatchover Gaon, that a sigh of a Jew is teshuvah ila'ah, and if so, this is already the time for the coming of Moshiach.

In this context, the Rebbe often mentions the Gemara in Tractate Kiddushin which states that if someone betroths a woman on the condition that he is a complete tzaddik, even if he is actually completely wicked, she is betrothed, as perhaps he had thoughts of teshuvah in his heart. The Rebbe explained that since every Jew has had thoughts of teshuvah more than once in their life, we must say that the Jewish people have already completed the avodah of teshuvah necessary for bringing the Geulah.

Further Reading

• Igeret HaTeshuvah by the Alter Rebbe
• Teshuvah Through Joy, in the Chayei Rebbi section, Kfar Chabad weekly magazine issue 1873 page 30
• Rabbi Israel Alfenbein, Ways of Teshuvah, a collection of stories about different paths of teshuvah that the Rebbe gave, Kfar Chabad weekly magazine 1925 page 18