TEHILIM 15: How do we measure integrity?

נשבע להרע ולא ימיר
This psalm of King David is very short, containing just five pesuquim (Biblical verses). But is very rich in meaning.
The text begins with a question:
PASUQ 1: “Who deserves to live in Your tent,  who deserves to dwell in Your Sanctuary?”.
The words “live in His tent”, “dwell in His sanctuary” refers to achieving a very high spiritual state. “Living in God’s vicinity means feeling very close to Him, continuously. This depends, first, on the person’s desire to get closer to Him. And also on HaShem’s will, in considering this individual deserving His special attention [hashgacha peratit]. The question then is: What are the virtues that a man or a woman should cultivate to deserve living close to God, and, as Maimonides explains, to deserve HaShem’s attention?
PASUQ 2: “He who conducts himself with integrity, acts with righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”
This pasuq lists the virtues that one must have to become this “ideal human being” who deserves to live in His presence. It is worth noticing that all the qualities mentioned here have to do with integrity and honesty. It does not mean that other aspects of the Tora, religious rituals and ceremonies, are less important. It is only that this Psalm focuses specifically on morality. This pasuq speaks of three ethical principles that guide the deeds of a “good person”: integrity, justice and truthfulness. The next verse, as we will see now, will mention three wrongdoing that a “good person” should avoid.
PASUQ 3: “He does not slander with his tongue, nor he does evil to his fellow man, nor he offends his neighbor.”
Again, we see that this Psalm emphasizes the moral actions (ben adam lahabero) rather than the ceremonials (ben adam lamaqom). The first offense mentioned here is leshon hara: speaking ill of another person, behind his or her back, in words that, even if true, may cause harm to that person. Then, the pasuq refers to avoiding causing material damages, like stealing or assaulting someone physically. And finally, King David mentions not to offend others and avoiding causing emotional harm, i.e., damages that are caused mostly by words: insulting, offending or verbally abusing someone, etc.
PASUQ 4: ” He despises men who do evil; but would honor God fearing people. If he swears [he will fulfill his promise and] will not change, although [by keeping his word] he will loss”. 
This pasuq relates to the conduct of this good man with himself. A decent man or woman does not envy the wicked, even if they succeed and prosper. The role model for this person are God-fearing people. That is, individuals who are conducting their lives with a permanent awareness that HaShem is watching what they do.  Finally, a good man is, above all, honest. And how do you measure integrity in Judaism? When a person has already committed himself to do a business transaction, and although he did not sign anything, he gave his word. And then he realizes, or it happens that under new circumstances, to carry out that transaction will harm him economically and he would lose a lot of money by keeping his word. In these circumstances, the decent  man will no retract himself. He will not change his words and will not deny his commitment. The man who deserves to live close to God, will honor his words. Would rather loss money than breaking his promise. This, in Judaism, is the epitome of integrity .
PASUQ 5: “He would not give his money at interest, or accept bribes to incriminate the innocent. He who does this, will never stumble” and will deserve to live in the proximity of God, in this world and in the next.
א  מִזְמוֹר, לְדָוִד:    ה’, מִי יָגוּר בְּאָהֳלֶךָ; מִי יִשְׁכֹּן, בְּהַר קָדְשֶׁךָ.
ב  הוֹלֵךְ תָּמִים, וּפֹעֵל צֶדֶק;    וְדֹבֵר אֱמֶת, בִּלְבָבוֹ.
ג  לֹא-רָגַל, עַל-לְשֹׁנוֹ לֹא-עָשָׂה לְרֵעֵהוּ רָעָה;  וְחֶרְפָּה, לֹא נָשָׂא עַל-קְרֹבוֹ.
ד נִבְזֶה, בְּעֵינָיו נִמְאָס וְאֶת-יִרְאֵי ה’ יְכַבֵּד; נִשְׁבַּע לְהָרַע,    וְלֹא יָמִר.
ה כסְפּוֹ, לֹא-נָתַן בְּנֶשֶׁךְ וְשֹׁחַד עַל-נָקִי, לֹא לָקָח: עֹשֵׂה-אֵלֶּה לֹא יִמּוֹט לְעוֹלָם.

 



Was Christopher Columbus Jewish?

The last name Colón, or Columbus, was typically a Jewish last name, originating from the Hebrew name Yona (“colomba,” which is Italian for “dove”). There was a famous Spanish Rabbi named “Rabbenu Yona” (d. 1264), as well as one of the most celebrated rabbis of that time and the most essential Italian jurist Rabbi (poseq) of all times, Rabbi Yosef Colón (Mahariq, 1420-1480). In Spain, in one of the earliest “autos de fe” (1461), Thomas Colón, along with his wife and son, were burned alive for committing the crime of “Judaizing” (performing Jewish practices, such as lighting candles or changing clothes on Friday afternoon, or standing silently while facing a wall [reciting the ‘Amida], etc.).

Of course, if Columbus was Jewish, he would have been expected to hide his identity, especially if his intention was to obtain the political support of the crown of Spain or Portugal for his expedition. At the time of the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabel (י”ש), being Jewish was not a title that granted many privileges in the Spanish court. Many Jews, probably more than 200,000, lived a double life. They, or their parents, had been forcibly converted since the start of the “pogroms” and riots in 1391. They lived outwardly as Catholics, but at home, among relatives and family (often risking their lives), they tried to live as Jews. These secret Jews were called by many different names: “marranos,” in the vernacular, converts, new Christians, or “chuetas” in southern Spain.

There is much evidence indicating the Jewishness of Columbus, such as his signature, etc. Less known facts are:

  1. In his will, Colón left 10% of his profits to the poor and the maidens who needed to be married. These gestures are two important precepts in Judaism, ma’aser kesafim, donating 10% of your income to charity, and within the Mitsva of Tsedaqa, as the Shulchan Aruch says, the most meritorious act and the noblest charity is to support young girls who need to get married and do not have sufficient means to do so (hakhnasat kala, Yore De’a 249: 15).
  2. Columbus had to leave the Port of Palos on August 2nd, 1492. That year, August 2nd was the day of Tisha BeAv, the day of national mourning for the Jewish people. Columbus, for reasons that could not be explained otherwise (in climatic terms, etc.), had his 90 men embark on August 2nd, but he left the port the next day, Friday, August 3rd, half an hour before the start of Shabbat. “Coincidentally,” August 3rd was also the last day the infamous Edict of Expulsion established for Jews to choose between converting or leaving Spain.
  3. All supporters of Columbus were Jewish or Jewish converts. Funding for the expedition of Columbus did not come, as the legend says, from the “money obtained by Queen Isabel” when she sold her personal jewelry. Columbus needed the political and legal support of the Queen to legally conquer new lands, and for this, he convinced the Queen that in the new lands (presumably, India), Spain could further spread Christianity. Among the Jews who supported Columbus were, for example, the famous Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel, one of the wealthiest men in Spain, and Rabbi Abraham Zacuto, Spain’s most famous astronomer at the time, who gave Columbus his astrolabe and its Perpetual Calendar, both new and essential tools for navigation. Columbus’s major donors were Jewish converts, among others, Luis de Santangel and Gabriel Sanchez. When Columbus returned from his first expedition, he wrote two letters thanking for the support he received: one letter to Sanchez and the other one to Santangel. He did not write to the Kings. But why would Spanish Jews and converts support Columbus’s enterprise enthusiastically? If Columbus’s intention was to promote the Christian faith, why would these persecuted Jews, who were forcibly converted to Christianity, and their relatives and friends were tortured and murdered in “autos de fe” for “resisting” practicing the Christian faith, support Columbus’s project?
  4. In his “Diary of the First Trip” of 1492, Columbus revealed his incredible master plan. There, Columbus writes that with the profits from the conquest of new lands, he wants to “free Jerusalem and build la casa sancta (the ‘holy house’).” Columbus says this repeatedly in his diaries. What moved Columbus to acquire gold and riches, in his own words, was his desire to finance a large army of over 100,000 soldiers, to liberate Jerusalem from the hands of the Moors and “build the holy house there.” For Christians, the conquest of Jerusalem was justified in order to liberate the “holy sepulcher,” the most sacred place in the world for Christians. In Christian terms, the expression “building a holy house in Jerusalem” has no sense. Obviously, as we Jews know, the building of the “Holy House in Jerusalem” can be nothing else but the Bet haMiqdash. The intention of Columbus, and the Jews who so enthusiastically supported him was that with the proceeds from a new world, Jerusalem could be conquered, and the Jews, including the 500,000-800,000 Jews who left Spain on the same day Columbus sailed from Palos, could finally return to their home, Israel, and see their “Casa Sancta” rebuilt (בבי”א), which was and still is, the highest aspiration of the Jewish people.
    All this information, as far as I know, is not very well known and, I believe, is not usually taught even at Jewish schools. 
     For what is probably the best article on this matter, where you can find all the information you need to prove the Jewish identity of Columbus, see here, Rabbi Yosef Faur: “Columbus and the discovery of America, a Jewish Perspective” .  
    In recent years (2013) a non-Jewish Hispanic businessman from Miami,  Charles Patrick Garcia, speaking to CNN, made Columbus Jewish identity better known.  Read this.  For those who want to practice their Spanish, there is also an interview to Garcia on this subject by “CNN en Español”.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHgjthCU7v



Praying for a rainy day?

As we have previously explained, our rabbis introduced two prayers for the rain in the ‘amida. One is barekh ‘alenu (the ninth berakha of the ‘amida), which is the blessing for our livelihood (parnasa). We ask God for “rain” and not for “customers” for our business or for “money” because in ancient times, when Israel was an agricultural society, everyone’s economy depended entirely on rain.  We ask HaShem to bless us with dew and rain, which should come in a way of blessing (librakha). We request HaShem to give us rain in its time and in its proper measure. As it is written in the Shema’ Israel be’ito yore umalqosh, give us “in its proper time the yore, the strong rainfall which the early precipitation and helps to soften the land we need to plow) and then the soft rain, malqosh which is needed once the vegetation starts to grow (if we would get the mild rain at the beginning of the season, it will not be enough to soften the land.  And if we get the strong rainfall when the vegetation is growing, the rain will destroy the plants).The first time rain is mentioned in the ‘amida, is during the second berakha. In that blessing, we don’t ask or request rain or anything else from God. We praise Him. We state that God is Omnipotent (=infinitely powerful) and that He uses His powers to sustain, maintain, support, cure, deliver, nurture, and revive His creatures.  This is the context in which we say “the prayer of praise for the rain “mashib haruah, umorid haGeshem, “[HaShem, You are the One] who makes the wind to blow, and the rain to fall”. In this context we are not asking for rain, we are expressing our appreciation for the fact that HaShem created rain.  We perceive rain as part of tehiyat hametim, “God’s power to revive and restore life” , because thanks to the rain the dry-land revives, the plants grow again and the living creatures of the world stay alive.

Rain is critically important for our survival.  And praising God for “rain” should be nothing short of natural and spontaneous.  In our days, however, we do not really appreciate rain. In urban areas we have lost our appreciation for it… When it rains in New York city, for example, you don’t see people excited and thankful to HaShem about it.  On the contrary, 99% of people are actually annoyed by rain.

What kind of praise then, would one say for something that feels an annoyance more than a blessing?

In the coming days, B’H we will explore some of the wonders of the mechanism of precipitation, which should help us gaining a more profound and positive outlook at the miracle of rain, and hopefully help us to better praise HaShem for one of His main blessings to mankind.



MASHIB HARUAH: Why do we pray for rain in plural?

From the first day of shemini ‘atseret (Oct. 5th 2015) we began reciting the prayer mashib haruah umorid hageshem, i.e., HaShem “makes the wind blow, and He makes the rain descend [on the earth]”.  With these words we acknowledge that God is the One Who controls the weather system which, among other things, produces rain.

In this prayer we are not “asking” God for rain. We are rather expressing our appreciation for His power to make rain.

The prayer in which we request rain barekh ‘alenu is going to be said later on.   But why aren’t we asking for rain now, at the beginning of the autumn season, when rain is expected and most needed in Israel?

The answer is simple and inspiring. In ancient Israel the Jews came walking to celebrate Sukkot in Jerusalem, from very distant places.  After shemini ‘atseret every one would come back home. The Rabbis observed that the farthest cities from where the pilgrims came from, were close to the Euphrates river . And they calculated that it would take up to two weeks to walk back to those towns.  The Rabbis did not see with good eyes that a Jew in Jerusalem would be asking God for rain, knowing that some of his brothers are still walking back home, and for them rain will not be a blessing at this time. The Rabbis established then that the prayer for rain should be said two weeks after Sukkot. To give everyone the opportunity to be back home safe and sound.

This is why in Erets Israel, even in our days,  the blessing barekh alenu is not said until the 7th of Heshvan, exactly two weeks after shemini ‘atseret.

This halakhic rule teaches us a lesson which goes beyond the specific prayer for rain. Sometimes we might be praying to God for something that would be good for us but bad for somebody else. This is one the main reason that we always pray in plural. For example: in the prayer where we ask God for our  livelihood (parnasa) we do not say: “bless me”. We always say: “bless us”.  I ask God to bless me and my next door competitor, the one that sells the same merchandise, to the same customers I sell to. Our belief is that HaShem’s blessing in infinite, and He does not need to take from someone else to give me. Praying in plural reinforces our kindness and sensitivity for others.

This idea, by the way, is very similar to the win/win mentality in modern marketing, as opposed to the old win/lose mentality.

 



Rabbi Levi Ibn Habib and the rabbinical ordination debate

Rabbi Levi ben Habib was born in Zamora, Spain, approximately in 1480. At the age of five he managed to escape to Portugal, with his father, the famous rabbi Ya’aqob ibn Habib, and his immediate family. In Portugal, when he was about seventeen years old, he was compelled to submit to a forced conversion. At the first opportunity he and his father fled to Salonica, where he could live as a Jew in safety.

In Salonica, he studied Tora from his father and from many other teachers.  In those days, Salonica was one of the most important centers of Tora, if not the most important, in the new Sephardic world. In Salonica Rabbi Levi met rabbi Yosef Caro and many other giants of Tora.  In a short time Rabbi Levi became very famous and respected, and numberless of Halakhic questions were addressed to him from many communities around the world.  Rabbi Levi was known as an exiguous Talmudist who showed preference for the use of meticulous textual reading, as opposed to casuistry (pilpul).  He admitted that he was not well versed in Qabbala, but he was proud of his knowledge of science.  Rabbi Levi was an expert in astronomy and a great mathematician. This knowledge allowed rabbi Levi to have a deep understanding of the intricacies of the Jewish calendar, as it is clear from the superb commentary he wrote on Maimonides’ Hilkhot Qiddush haHodesh. Like many other Sephardic rabbis at the time, he was also a physician.

After the passing of this father, Rabbi Levi decided to leave Salonica and settle in Erets Israel.  He was then more than 50 years old. From Salonica he arrived to Aram Tsoba (Aleppo) in Syria. He writes with admiration about the rabbis of the city: “I found there [in Aleppo] very wise men, with whom I had the opportunity to study Tora. Every day they learn Halakhot and I studied with them with fraternity and love”.  From Aleppo, rabbi Levi traveled to Israel. First he settled in Tsefat (Safed) and finally, he settled in Jerusalem, where his fame and knowledge won him the position of chief rabbi of the city.

Many Megorashim, refugees from Spain and Portugal, were still coming to Jerusalem in the 1530’s.  Many among these Megorashim were forcefully baptized and forced to practice Christianity for a while.    They believed that the ultimate atonement (kapara or tiqqun) for their forced conversion was to settle in the land of Israel, mainly in Jerusalem.

As we have mentioned before, the rabbis of Safed wanted to renew the semikha, the original rabbinical ordination to apply the punishments (malqut) that would atone for these sins, and allow the tormented souls of the former conversos to start over their Jewish life. Rabbi Levi ben Habib was a strong opponent , the strongest, to the renewal of the Semikha project initiated by rabbi Ya’aqob Berab. Rabbi ben Habib refused to accept the authority of Rabbi Berab and accused the latter of disgracing the honor of Jerusalem.

Rabbi ben Habib together with rabbi David ben Zimra, Chief rabbi of Egypt at the time, who also opposed the new Semikha, wrote a small booklet qunteres hasemikha, in which they explained the reasons for their opposition to the new semikha.   

The main objections were

1. We do not have in our days Rabbis that are ordained with the original Semikha of Moshe Rabbenu, but they are still called “rabbis” and act as rabbis of every practical purpose. The renewal of the Semikha will create an elite of rabbis, with the privilege to sentence laws which would be mandatory for all the Jewish people, and that will diminish the honor and capabilities of most rabbis in the world who are holding a rabbinical position in their communities. 

2. At the end of the famous paragraph in which Maimonides explains the ways to renew the Semikha there are three problematic words, which Maimonides does not use very frequently : והדבר צריך הכרע , which means that “this matter still needs to be settled”. From these words rabbi Levi ben Habib inferred that the matter of the renewal of the semikha necessitates more than a majority of rabbis in favor of the project. It is worth to remember that at the time, Safed had more rabbis than Yerushalayim, “most” rabbis of Israel lived in Safed.  But Rabbi ibn Habib was saying that according to Maimonides words a majority of rabbis was not enough. The renewal of the Semikha, Rabbi Levi said, requires a “consensus” of all rabbis, particularly of the rabbis of Erets Israel, the only place where the Semikha could be renewed. And that consensus did not exist.

3. The new proposed semikha will create new challenges for which there is no easy solution. For example: are we going to come back to the system of declaring the beginning of the months (qiddush hahodesh) via testimonies (‘edut) and establishing the leap years, as they did in the times of the Mishna? In light of the precision of our present calendar, it seems that the renewal of the Semikha will bring more challenges than solutions.

4. One of the reason explicitly mentioned by rabbi Berab and his students in support of renewing the Semikha related to an urgent problem which needed to be solved: there were thousands of marranos or anusim, Jewish or conversos refugees, who were forced or pressured to convert and to accept baptism in Spain and Portugal. Now, this type of apostasy is a very sever sin, and the punishment reserved for those Jews who willingly converted is  “karet” a “divine cut-off of the sinner from the people of Israel”. However, a Jewish High Court or Sanhedrin had the authority to apply a more lenient punishment (malqut) which will dispense the more sever punishment for the converso Jews. However, for rabbi Ibn Habib this was unnecessary because there was no hatra-a (legal warning) and not valid witnessing at the times these Jews were forced to convert to Christianity. Thus, the severe punishment was not technically applicable.

5. The original Semikha was discontinued in the times of Rab Ashe, 1108 years ago (counting from the time of rabbi Ibn Habib). Rabbi Levi asks: how come no other rabbi ever thought about the possibility of renewing the Semikha? For Rabbi Levi the Semikha should be renewed only in the times of the Messiah. And perhaps the Messiah himself or Eliyahu the Prophet will be the ones that will grant a new ordination to the disciples they will see fit. 

In any case, the opposition of rabbi ben Habib, together with other factors,  prevented the renewal of the Semikha from becoming a long term project. It ended after four generations.

In his youth Rabbi Habib edited his father’s book En Yaaqob (Constantinople, 1516). He also wrote: She’elot u-Teshubot, a collection of 147 responsa; Pirush Qiddush HaHodesh, a brilliant commentary on the rules governing the method of the Hebrew calendar in Maimonides code of law.   All these works were published together in Venice (1565).



What is a Prozbul and why you should sign one?

This year that is coming to an end, 5775, has been a Shemita year.  In addition to the restrictions of working the land in Israel and transacting with produce from the land of Israel,  the Tora also prescribes that each Jew shall renounce his or her right to recover a debt from any other Jew.  This means that, as soon as Rosh HaShana commences next week, if I have lent money to another Jew, I now will have the obligation to never charge this person this money.  It is a beautiful precept, and one that allowed Jews to start fresh.  It is a sort of biblical bankruptcy protection that allowed people to push the reset button at least once every seven years.
But, wait, so does this mean that cousin Jim will never need to pay back the $500 I lent him?
During the first century of the common era, before the Second Temple was destroyed, Hillel the Elder, the foremost sage of his generation and head of the Jewish Supreme Court at that time, realized that Jews were refraining from making any loans during the Shemita year.  After all, why lend money that becomes unrecoverable if not paid back before Rosh HaShana?  Actually, the Tora already foresaw this possibility, and warned us not to refrain from making loans during this year; but Hillel saw that people were still not lending.  Paradoxically, poor people were harmed by this precept because now there were no loans available.  Hillel came up with a legal device that permits lenders to recover on their loans even after the Rosh HaShana following Shemita.  The device is called “Perozbol,” (also “prozbol”, “prozbul”, or most people call it “pruzbul”) and we employ it to date.
In essence, the Biblical precept says that one needs to “let go” of the borrower (“Shamot Kol Ba’al Mashe Yado”) and refrain from demanding the repayment of the debt.  However, if a debt is recognized by a court (say, if the lender sued the borrower and the court agreed that the debt needs to be repaid), this “debt” is now in a way an obligation to the court, not to the lender.  It is a matter of justice more than a personal debt.
Hillel’s device then is to declare before a Jewish court the debt in question so that it is recognized officially by a court even before it is due.  If Jim owes me $500, I should then – after the loan but before Rosh HaShana – write a document to a Jewish court declaring before them that this money is due and that the lender intends to recover it whenever.  This declaration is called Perozbol.  By doing this, the debt survives the Shemita, and the lender is not transgressing the precept; after all, the lender will not demand the repayment of the debt – the court will – and so there will be nothing to be “let go” (“Shamot”).
A few notes:
· The Shemita debt forgiveness applies to actual loans, but not to debts that are owed due to services received, goods purchased or legal damages owed
· The Perozbol device is only permissible while the laws of Shemita are rabbinical (these laws will regain their biblical status once the majority of Jews live in Israel); otherwise, loans really need to be forgiven
· The borrower needs to have some real estate; this is so that the debt may be assigned to a court (the court can only assume a debt that can be attached to a real estate lien)
· The court to whom one delivers the Perozbol should be a court with authority to make liens and to seize property
· It is proper and appropriate to repay one’s debts next year even if the lender did not do a Perozbol; in such case, the borrower should be clear that this is not a repayment but rather a gift
· It is also proper and appropriate to forgive one’s loans, especially if the borrower could use the relief of not having to repay what is owed
by Rabbi Jacob Bittón
PRINTABLE FORMS
 
The first two forms we present here require the signature of two suitable witnesses, the lender should also do a qinyan (one form requires the ender to sign). The lender can keep the form with him. 
 
FORM FROM RABBI ELIYAHU BEN HAYIM, BADATZ QUEENS

 

PROZBOL FROM BET DIN ARAM SOBA

 

The RCA requests that the form be signed in the presence of three observant men acting as a Bet Din, or in front of two suitable witnesses and then, the form needs to be sent to the RCA Bet Din. 
 
See here: FORM FROM RCA, RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF AMERICA. 

 

Please, ask your local rabbi which form is the most appropriate for your community.    

IN OHEL DAVID USHLOMO WE WILL PROVIDE THIS SERVICE B”H THIS COMING SUNDAY MORNING, SEPT 13th AFTER TEFILAT SHAHARIT. 



The SHOFAR and Jiminy Cricket

I remember the first time heard the word “conscience” was when I was a kid and I discovered one of my favorite characters, “Jiminy Cricket”, Pinocchio’s conscience. Jiminy tried to keep Pinocchio out of trouble, and especially protected him from falling into the wrong influences. While listening to Jiminy, everything was fine for Pinocchio. The problems began for the wooden boy when he chose to ignore the desperate calls of warning from his cricket ….
The conscience is an integral part of our neshama (human soul). Its mission is to warn us when we are doing something wrong. It is the mental and spiritual mechanism that God gave us to protect ourselves from ourselves.
Our conscience (= yetser hatob) is the inner voice, that when, for example, we are about to say something negative about someone (lashon hara) shouts from inside: “Do not do it, it is bad to speak critically of another person. Would you like people to say that about you? “
But what happens when we ignore the first call of our conscience? How many times our conscience warns us about bad things we are about to do?
Our conscience shouts loud and clear the first time we are about to do something wrong. The Tsadiqim (=  completely righteous people) hear and obey the first call of their conscience. Therefore, they maintain a permanently “active” and alert conscience that speaks with a strong and loud voice.
But what if, like Pinocchio, we decided to ignore the warning of our conscience?
When we ignore the first call of our conscience, that inner voice becomes increasingly lower and weaker … The conscience becomes virtually “mute”. And if we persist in our wrongdoing, and conscience are anesthetized, or in the words of Maimonides, “asleep”.
According to Maimonides the shofar is like an alarm clock. Consciences that have not been heard for the first time, have fallen asleep. The Shofar helps us to recover the original voice of our sleeping consciences.
In this sense, when we hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, we are starting the deepest step of the Teshuba process. We awaken our moral lethargy and reexamine our conduct in the light of a renewed conscience, awake and alert, which will call our attention like the first time.
The Shofar is the Divine alarm clock that calls us to reflect, reassess our behavior and ask ourselves: Is it possible that we are doing things wrong, and we did not even realize it? We speak critically of others, we proceed with dishonesty, we hurt people, we do not appreciate how much Hashem gives us, we lose our time in material vanities, etc, etc, etc …. and we have become so used to this routine, that our consciences no longer shout at us….
In the words of Maimonides (MT, Teshuba 3: 4) the shofar of Rosh Hashanah sends a powerful message:
“Awaken from your slumber, all those asleep! Those who are sleeping, stand up to review your deeds. Repent of what you have done wrong and remember your Creator … Examine your souls. Improve your behavior. Abandon your evil ways and your evil thoughts “

 



TESHUBA: Obstacles, on the way to repentance

In Chapter 4 of Hilkhot Teshuba Maimonides enumerates twenty-four actions, personality patterns or attitudes which prevent or make very difficult for a person to begin or undergo the process of repentance.
Three illustrations.
DOMINO EFFECT (4:1)
Those who because of their teachings or their bad example…. induce or influence other people to sin. Sometimes, if we have taught or inspire other people to act in the wrong way, we have triggered a negative domino effect which eventually gets out of our hand. In this case repentance is virtually impossible. Why? Because part of the process of repentance consists in repairing what I have done wrong. So, even if I personally repent from my wrong actions,  how could I be able to repair the damage other people have caused because of my wrong teachings or bad example? In this scenario, I’m virtually beyond redemption. Because despite my own personal repentance my example is still exerting a negative influence in other people to an unknown extent.
CALCULATED TESHUBA (4:1) Sinning with the intention of repenting later. Maimonides refers here to a situation in which I’m about to commit a sin and before I do it I say to myself :  “I will sin now and repent for this sin later on.” Or I say to myself: “Since Yom Kippur is the day of forgiveness, I will sin now and God will forgive me for this sin in Yom Kippur”. In these conditions Teshuba is unacceptable. Because Teshuba is welcomed by the Creator when it comes from a sincere remorse, not when it is part of a calculated game-plan.
DEFENSIVE PERSONALITY (4:2) Someone who refuses to be corrected or criticized. Imagine a person incapable of accepting a minimal dose of positive criticism, even when coming from those who care for his or her well being. Many times, this type of personality-disfunction is a consequence of a low self esteem or other psychological issues which prevent a person to cope with any criticism.   This person, Maimonides concludes, will likely continue with his or her bad habits because is incapable of seeing himself as other people perceive him.

 



TESHUBA: What do people think before dying?

In his monumental book, Mishne Tora, Maimonides dedicates ten chapters to the subject of Teshuba (repentance). In the first four chapters Maimonides describes and explains the nature of the Mitzva of Teshuba and all the matters involved in the process of repentance. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 deal in length with the idea of freedom of choice and how it relates to responsibility and repentance. The eighth chapter is dedicated to explaining the Jewish view of the “world to come” or ‘olam-habba, life after death.  The ninth chapter clarifies the notion of punishment and reward for the observance of the Mitsvot. And in the last chapter Maimonides, perhaps the most profound, concludes that the highest way to serve HaShem is not out of fear of punishment or out of our desire to be rewarded materially,  but out of our unconditional love for Him.
During the month of Elul, which is when we begin the process of Teshuba, we are studying some of Maimonides Halakhot on this subject.
Hilkhot Teshuba 1: 1:
“Regarding all the commandments of the Tora, when a person transgress a prohibition or when fails to perform a positive commandment… when he regrets….”. 
Normally, we think of Teshuba/repentance as regretting for our mistakes, flaws, misdeeds, etc. But according to this statement we also, or primarily, need to regret for the good things that we have not done! We are accountable not just for our actions but also for our inaction and idleness. For not having done all the good and right things we have the potential to do.
Like all rabbis, I’ve visited several times patients who knew they will die soon. If they are conscious and they feel that they want to talk to a rabbi in confidentiality, I’ve noticed that they would address a common subject: at the end of their life, people (normal people, not criminals, etc.) do not focus their regret on the mistakes they might have made. Rather, at those very holy  moments, when their whole life lies in front of them, people regret for the good things they should have done and they didn’t do. For the opportunities they’ve missed to make a change. At those moments, when they realize more than ever the preciousness of time, they regret to have invested so much time in the pursue of material efforts, or having cared so much about what others think of them,  instead of giving more, helping more, sharing more, loving more and fighting for what is right do in the eyes of God.  People regret having missed their full potential.  The greater the person or the highest position or the power that person had, the bigger the feeling of frustration for missing so many opportunities to impact the life of others and improve his relationship with God.
Following this simple idea, Teshuba implies, first of all, the realization of our talents and the great potential we have to make positive changes, to give, to inspire and to come closer to God.

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TESHUBA, in front of a camera

“What is considered a perfect act of repentance? When one is faced with the same opportunity to repeat the original transgression, but now he does not do it because he has repented… however, when one does not repeat the original transgression, [and refrains from sinning] because now he fears people will find out… his repentance is still accepted, but it is not considered a perfect repentance”  
To explain a perfect scenario of Teshuba, in chapter 2 of Hilkhot Teshuba, Maimonides gives the example of a man who is involved in an adulterous relationship and later on repents. The ultimate test of his repentance would take place if that man is eventually faced with a similar opportunity but now he refrains from repeating that same transgression because he repented, and because he has reached a new understanding: now he realizes that following his material impulses will hurt him, driving him away from God.
However, if that man faces a similar scenario but now he refrains from sinning because he fears somebody will find out about his affair, his Teshuba is still acceptable, but it is not considered a complete Teshuba. Why? Because this man might have changed his conduct, not because of his repentance and his renewed understanding, but just because of social embarrassment, fear of losing his job, etc.
A modern example:  Very often we read in the news about a public figure, usually someone involved in politics, who was caught doing an immoral act. Many times these people would come in front of the TV cameras and would publicly express their regret and apologize for what they have done. This is definitely an act of repentance. However, because of its timing, this act of Teshuba is questionable in terms of its credibility and genuineness. Why? Because the whole process of repentance, regret and apologies happened as a consequence of being caught. It is possible that what prompted this person to repent was his fear to loss his  reputation, his job, his family etc., rather than his moral conscience.
Following Maimonides, the perfect act of repentance in this case would have taken place if, while still involved in an illicit relationship or other immoral act, before being caught and with no impediment to continue with it, that person would decide out of his own conscience, to stop, repent and change.
That would have been a perfect a and complete Teshuba.