Nitzavim

Jackie Vanek, 5764

If I were to yell at my mother, should I be forgiven? If I was to be caught cheating on a test, should I be forgiven? All those people who were involved in the terrorist attacks three years ago today, should they be forgiven? Good morning, my dvar-torah is on parashah Nitzavim, about forgiveness. This parashah takes place just before the Israelites enter the promised land. I will tell you about the promises God makes to the Jews, reminding them that God will not forsake them. God reminds them that, although they must always follow the Torah’s commandments, if they make a mistake, and they are truly sorry and return to Adonai, Adonai will forgive them. I’ll explain to you God’s covenant with the Jews “If they disobey the commandments, God will send plagues on them.” And in exchange, if they remain loyal to Adonai, they will be blessed. I will question the meaning of teshuvah. Does it mean that you can deliberately hurt or wrong others, say a few prayers, and be forgiven? I will give my opinion and the opinion of knowledgeable Rabbis, on how far this promise of forgiveness goes. Can a Jew always make teshuvah, always return to God? And how many times may a person sin and repent before repenting is not enough? I will try my best to answer all these questions.

I will start off by repeating and elaborating on some thoughts and ideas different interpreters have mentioned when talking about the theme of forgiveness. First of all, there is Rabbi Samuel ben Nachman. He states that “The gates of repentance are always open.” For him, no matter how dirty a deed you commit, God will give you another chance. Nachman’s view is in harmony with that of philosopher Joseph Albo. Albo agrees that you can always receive forgiveness from God, but goes on to explain that teshuvah requires a “painstaking process of correcting thought, speech and behavior.” By correcting thought, Albo means that you must sincerely feel regret for your sins. By correcting speech he means that you must confess your wrongs. By correcting behavior he means that a person must promise never to repeat the wrong again and do anything possible to try and fix it. For Albo, repentance is not just deep regret but it is a way to move a person toward a change of heart, mind and behavior.

Moses Maimonides gives an interesting opinion about teshuvah. He stresses the difficulty in achieving true repentance. Maimonides points out at least 24 things which could hinder people from dealing with their mistakes. Among these are “refusing to hear criticism, acting out of anger and keeping company with those who might influence you to evil ways.” But Maimonides insures that the above “hinders” and do not “prevent” people from obtaining true repentance. If a person can recognize and confront their evil traits and work to be rid of them, then they can still acquire true and complete repentance.

Another rabbi who comments on this subject is Rabbi Joseph B. Soleveichik. Soleveichik’s main point is that teshuvah can help a human become a better person. Our mistakes and selfish behavior act as building blocks for human growth. He thinks that the memory of our wrongdoings has the potential of turning us into a more kind, generous and loving person. I bet anyone here can relate to this. Say, for instance, you are not going to study for your upcoming test and watch tv instead. But then you remember last time you did that, failed the test and then got grounded for a week. And then you think to yourself “are these old reruns that important?”. And, of course, the answer is no so you decide to study and then receive an A on your test. Soleveichik concludes that teshuvah is re-creation on a higher level and it motivates us to mature and develop our positive aspects.

I agree and disagree with these rabbis on different points. I believe that teshuvah may help a sinful person become more respectable but I also think that there is most definitely an extreme of how many times or how sinful a crime a person can commit before repentance is not enough. In my opinion, if the misdeed in question does not permanently affect anyone’s life, and can be fixed (for example stealing), then the wrongdoer may be forgiven. But if the crime causes permanent damage (like murder), the criminal should not be forgiven.

Something I found interesting, and a little disappointing about my parashah was that even though Moses was a great and extremely respected leader to whom people idolized and looked up to, he was still banned from entering the promised land. From what I have read, the only reasoning for this was that when God asked Moses to tap the rock and it would give him water, he became impatient and decided to strike the rock. Also maybe it was because of when Moses killed the Egyptian who was whipping a Jew. These sins may be cause for a small punishment but I’m sure that they are not reason enough to ban a good person from reaching his goal. Does this mean that even small mishaps may sometimes not be forgiven? The one explanation which made a little sense to me was that maybe when great leaders sin it is worse than when your average person sins. Since everyone is watching them and following them, it is very important for them not to make a mistake. Therefore when they do they are forgiven less easily. I still believe Moses should have been forgiven and that all the good he did outweighed those few sins by more than enough.

Coming up to the holiday of Yom Kippur, many Jew’s minds are focused on forgiveness. Besides thinking about repenting though, many thoughts are of how they themselves can forgive others. Personally, I feel that I am pretty fair about who I forgive. But becoming a Jewish adult, I realize that people do make mistakes and many times do deserve forgiveness. Therefore I strive to look at all sides of a persons argument, think of how I would have acted in their place, recognize the circumstances and all-together become a more forgiving person.

In conclusion, I think there are no rules for forgiveness and it is mostly a matter of circumstances. In answer to my questions at the beginning of my speech, if I sincerely apologize for yelling at my mother then I should be forgiven. If I truly apologize and regret cheating on a test, I should be given a second chance to write the test. But three years ago today, when many people made a decision to end thousands of people’s lives for no reason at all, I do not think that any amount of repenting can earn them forgiveness. But for less terrible sins than the terrorist attacks, I must say (and I quote Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish) “Great is repentance, for it turns sins into incentives for right conduct.”