Shabbos Shuva - 5776
Shabbos Shuva - 5776
Rabbi Hal Miller
recommended reading: Redemption Unfolding, R'Alexander Aryeh Mandelbaum,
Feldheim Publishers, 2005
I gave this shiur over Shabbos, to the English-speakers in Katzrin. It's really just
notes, but in case anybody is interested.....
THE "RE" SHABBOS
PART I What is "Shuva"
- What does the word mean?
We recognize this word from our more-commonly-used form, teshuva. In our daily
parlance, it can mean any of the "re" words: return, repentance, renewal, or restart. It
implies acceptance will be forthcoming if we do this correctly. In short, it means that we
stop doing wrong things, and start replacing them with right things, meaning to return to
observance of Torah laws, or return to a closeness to G-d.
- Why is this important?
We humans are not the greatest beings. We were created by One far greater. It was not
our choice to be created, nor to be created in our present form. Our mission in this world
is nothing more than to do the will of our Creator. That should be enough reason for us to
consider it important to get ourselves back on track with His intentions. But if, for some
reason, it isn't sufficient for each individual to accept, G-d provided a stick to go along
with that carrot: punishment.
Punishment can come in many forms, depending on what G-d knows to be most effective
in each given situation. What those are is not relevant here, other than to point out the
most critical one, separation from His Presence in the World to Come.
- When are we supposed to do this returning?
Our Sages have told us that one must repent and return on the day before death, during
the special days of repentance that we are now in, specifically leading up to, and on Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and also "all the time". We are told that in order to return on
the day before death, since we do not know what day we might die, we must do teshuva
every day. Although G-d may be listening more closely on the special days He set aside,
we know that He is listening all the time.
- How do we do teshuva?
Rather than give a long discussion here, since it is well-covered elsewhere, we can
limit ourselves to the ideas of giving up bad ways and returning to Torah ways.
OK, we all know all this. None of this is new to us. How does it apply to us here today?
First, ...
PART II What is the real goal here?
- In a word, redemption.
Since the beginning of the nation, Jews have believed that the day will come when G-d
will bring us back out from our travails to be near Him. He took us from Egypt, brought
us through many steps into His chosen land, gave us the Torah and other tools to
enable us to be His partner in Creation. Through our own mistakes, both in ancient
times and through until today, we have separated ourselves from Him and the mission
He assigned us. Redemption is the process of working our way back, and of His
bringing us back to the completion of His goals.
- We pray for this all the time. What's the tie to where we are now?
Throughout the various writings we see the idea that redemption is dependent upon
teshuva. We see that G-d will do for us once we show that we have truly accepted
Him as our Creator, and showed that we are willing to follow His laws. Rambam tells
us, "Israel will do teshuva at the end of the exile, and they will immediately be
redeemed." The Gemora Sanhedrin says, "Rav Eliezer says, if Israel repents, they will
be redeemed, and if not, they will not be redeemed." Rav Yehoshua challenged the
second part, saying, "rather G-d will subjugate them to a king whose decrees will be
as harsh as Haman's." In Redemption Unfolding, Rav Mandelbaum explains this to
mean that if we have not done teshuva by the time the redemption is due, G-d will
force us to do so.
So, now we know what teshuva is, and what it's goal is.
PART III Why are we stuck where we are?
- Why are we having such difficulty in accomplishing this?
Not just those of us right here, but throughout history, all the Jews have had a very
difficult time with this. What is stopping us?
- Are we awake?
Hindsight is 20/20. Monday-morning quarterbacks always know how to have won
the Sunday game. When outside a situation, it's easy to see what's really happening.
When in it, we have trouble recognizing the seriousness of events. People fail to
prevent auto collisions because they can't believe it might actually occur, even when
staring them in the face. Leaders fail to stop problems when they can, leading to
wars that could have been avoided. First step is to wake up and recognize that there
is a problem, what the problem is, and that it's important to take action. This is not a
common human trait, and has to be cultivated.
- Are we serious?
We are full of excuses: I'm too busy, technological advancements have put us in a
new position, "in this modern day and age..." or similar.
Modern-day life is, to quote Rav Mandelbaum, in a constant state of motion. We are
constantly moving, constantly doing things, constantly trying to get to the next thing
on our lists. This completely blocks us from reflecting on what is actually going on
around us. We even go to great lengths to fill what little time we might have with
distractions. The result is that we no longer have purpose for any of those things on
our lists, and are doing them by rote.
We have new tools and toys every few weeks. In the past, a new tool allowed us to
complete the work we had to do in an improved fashion, enabling us to do more, and
also to spend more time with family. Now, each new toy seems to absorb even more
of our time and other resources, rather than give us back some. This is, simply,
counterproductive. Things that do not help us, tend to hurt.
If our goal is, as the saying goes, "He who dies with the most toys, wins", then we
are headed down the right path. If instead, our goal is to be near G-d, we're going
the wrong direction.
- Whose job is it?
If the entire Jewish people needs to be redeemed, if the entire Jewish people needs to
do teshuva, is it my job? Or maybe I, one individual in the huge nation, am not important
enough to be worrying about this? Someone else will take care of it, and I can go on
my way doing whatever I feel like.
This is the Satan talking. Remember, he's the one who will be the prosecuting angel,
trying to convince G-d to be strict with us in His judgment. If we are to defend ourselves
against Satan's attack, we need to have our evidence in order.
Judgment is both for the nation as a whole, and for each of us as individuals. The
evidence will be the things each one of us has done, both individually and collectively.
Each one of us, no exceptions, is responsible. One stanza from a poem called "The
Laws of the Navy" (RAdm R.A. Hopwood, Royal Navy) seems apropos:
On the strength of one link in the cable
dependeth the might of the chain.
Who knows when thou mayest be tested
so live that thou bearest the strain.
The chain, meaning the success of the Jewish nation, depends on each and every
Jew doing his part. The job is yours, it's mine, it's everybody's, no exceptions.
All right, we know what teshuva is, and what it's goal is, we know why we've been
stuck in place without getting the job done.
PART IV What do we do differently now to make this happen?
- Rav Mandelbaum
Rav Mandelbaum gives us a long list of items we might consider. I will only present
a few here.
= cry out. We are about to go into Yom Kippur. In our davening, we have plenty of
opportunities, pointed out in our machzor, where we might do this. Listening to the
shofar this last month is another form. Does it mean we have to literally cry? Not
necessarily. It means we have to face up to our individual shortcomings. This is not
a national item, but a personal one. If I recognize that I have been thoughtlessly doing
something wrong, I will sincerely regret it. If it is serious, I may be overcome with grief.
My reaction, at any level of seriousness of the transgression, will be to cry out in some
form.
= open our eyes. Our national exodus from Egypt happened a long time ago, and
we tend to put it out of our minds most of the day. The 9/11/01 attacks were 14 years
ago!, and most of us don't think about them more than once every few months, if that.
There are huge happenings in Syria, in Iran, in Iraq, in Europe, in the US. These things are
very serious, but it doesn't seem to make a difference when they are "over there" and
we are "over here" (wherever 'here' might be). Isolationism, whether in time or space, has
proven a failure every time in history that it's been tried. Ask Woodrow Wilson, or Neville
Chamberlain--Hitler didn't stop when the European powers agreed to his demands, and
we ended up with a world war catastrophe. We must recognize what is going on around us.
= don't be blind. This is more than the previous point. This is a matter of intent. If
we see something, recognize what it is, yet still fail to act, we are blinded by our own
lack of will.
= realign priorities. "Eat, drink and be merry" is a nice motto. There is even a place
for it. Every holiday we have a mitzvah to rejoice, which is sometimes defined in terms
similar to these. The problem arises when people insist on doing this at other times.
We all like the idea of wealth, but the drive to obtain it derails us. Redefine what wealth
is. Instead of gold and jewelry, make it health, family and happiness.
= kindness. There is a type of kindness which is not good. If we do something for
someone else for the return it gives to us, we are spitting in G-d's face, so to speak.
Kindness is not something you do for yourself. It's not something you do to receive reward
for. It's something you do strictly because it's right.
= faith. Our job is to believe in G-d. We are to put our trust in Him. That doesn't mean
sit back and expect. It means work hard to accomplish what He gave us to do, and
trust that in the end He will cover for whatever we were unable to finish.
= stop wasting resources. If something isn't of value to our goals, get rid of it. This
applies to more than just physical resources: if you have thoughts that are not of
value toward your true goals, toss them too.
If we step up, if we return to what G-d asked us to do, we will succeed in our mission
here in This World, and will then be invited to be near Him in the World to Come.