Lately, I thought a lot about this apparently simple idea. “Transgressing a positive commandment” means: failing to do something good!. Normally, when we think of Teshuba we recall our mistakes, flaws, misdeeds, etc. But according to Maimonides’ statement: we need to regret (and act upon!) not only for what we have done wrong but also or primarily for what we have not done!

It reminds me of one of the deepest experiences I’ve been exposed to as a rabbi. When I visited in the Hospital patients who knew they will die soon, I found out that they are not focused that much on the mistakes they have made. Rather, those patients, at these sacred last moments, are regretful for the good things they should have done and they didn’t do. For the many opportunities they’ve missed to help others, to learn more Torah, to give more Tsedaqa, etc. In other words, people regret they have missed their full potential to do good. They feel they have had the capacity to do more than what they did. The greater the person was, or the highest position that person had, the bigger the feeling of having missed so many opportunities to make a positive change in himself and in others.

In a sense, if we take seriously the Jewish concept of Rosh haShana: the rabbis’ idea that every new year we are judged weather to be granted or not an additional year of life, the days before rosh haShana are well suited to reflect, not just in our flaws, but (mainly?) in our potential to learn, to grow, to give, to help, to make a real change.

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Anyone familiar with the process of Teshuba (repentance) delineated by Maimonides, would not be surprised to learn how the A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous) or other agencies who help people with all type of addictions have developed a program which includes: “admission of one’s problem” as one of the first steps in the way of recovery.

In the process of Teshuba, as we have explained, the ultimate (not necessarily the ‘last’) step that leads into repentance is also the Viduy: confession, admission of one’s problem. Admission implies to stop the denial, and acknowledge to ourselves that we have a problem, an addiction, a flaw.

The first difficulty an alcoholic needs to overcome, if he wants to get cured is to do away with all his excuses. Anyone which is criticized of having an alcohol problem will probably begin by defending himself saying: “I’m NOT an alcoholic. I just like to have a few drinks a day, like everyone else. I’m in control. I can stop whenever I want”.

That is why when one attends A.A. meetings, the first step toward a cure is for the person to say loud and clear: “My name is Joe, and I’m an alcoholic.”

Notice that, same as required on the Viduy, the addict must articulate and verbalize his problem, not just think about it. This articulation is an indispensable prerequisite to overcome his conscious and subconscious denial.

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According to Maimonides, the commandment of Teshuba is fulfilled when we recite the Viduy. Viduy means ‘confession,’ and it consists on the articulation of our transgressions, admitting our responsibility and feeling regret for the wrong things we have done.

The Viduy/confession is done privately. We do not disclose our sins in front of other people or a rabbi, but right in front of God. Whispering the confession to ourselves.

There is a discussion of the Talmud if at the recitation of the Viduy one has to specify his wrongdoings (Rabbi Yehuda ben Baba) or one can just state in general terms that he has acted wrongly (Rabbi Akiba).

According to the Shulchan Arukh, there is no need to mention every specific sin that one has committed during the last year. This leniency aims at not discouraging a person who wants to repent, but does not find himself capable (or courageous enough) of recalling the specifics of his bad behavior.

Maimonides, however, rules like the first opinion and indicates that one has to mention in his private confession, everything wrong he has done.

To follow Maimonides opinion, one will need to apply himself to a deep introspection, exercising greatly his memory, struggling against his own denial, reviewing last year’s actions, and perhaps, writing a list of all misdeeds he can remember.

Additionally, the text of the Viduy that we have in the Machzorim –the one we say for Selichot for example– should be seen as a reminder of the subjects one has to review, repent for, and hopefully correct.

As we have said before, all this spiritual/ethical activity cannot be done overnight. We dedicate to it forty days, from the beginning of Elul until Yom Kippur: the day we devote ourselves entirely and exclusively to Teshuba/Viduy.

Shabbat Shalom!

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“Confession and Redemption”

by Rabbi Zev Leff (Aish.com)

In his Mishne Torah, Maimonides dedicates ten chapters to the subject of Teshuba (repentance). In those chapters he describes and explains the technical issues involved in the process of repentance. He deals in length with the idea of freedom of choice and its relationship to Teshuba, and most interestingly, he clarifies the Jewish view on afterlife and the World to come (‘olam-habba). On the last chapter he elaborates on the proper way to serve God: if we should serve God expecting a reward or out of our unconditional love for Him. In this month, Elul, I will try B’H to cover some of these important issues.

At the very beginning of Hilkhot Teshuba (The Laws of Teshuba 1:1) Maimonides clarifies that Teshuba, understood as: 1.Admission of our wrong behavior. 2. Repentance and 3. Resolution to change our behavior, is a prerequisite for the performance of the Mitzvah which is explicit in the Torah: the Viduy, or “confession”.

“When one repents and returns from his sin, he must confess before God… as it is written: (bamidbar 5:6) “…and they shall confess the sin that they committed”. This refers to a oral confession. This confession is positive commandment”.

Oral or verbal confession is said to the exclusion of a mental confession. Similar to psychoanalysis, where the patient begins his metal healing when he or she is able to articulate his trauma, in the process of Teshuba, we reach the level of ‘admission of our sins’ only when we are able to articulate our transgressions with words, not with thoughts. Bad habits might remain forever in our subconscious mind unless we articulate them.

Confessing and verbalizing is the ultimate way of admitting our mistakes, which is the most important step we must take to arrive to the goal of the Teshuba process: positive behavioral change.

After receiving the Ten Commandments in Shabu’ot, Moshe Rabbenu stayed in Mount Sinai for forty days. There, God taught him the Oral Torah: the meaning and the ways to perform all the 613 commandments. At the end of the forty days Moshe came down and encountered the people of Israel worshiping the golden calf. At the sight of such terrible offense, Moshe broke the tablets containing the Ten commandments. This happened on the 17th of Tamuz.

A few weeks later, in the beginning of the month of Elul, God told Moshe to ascend once again to Mount Sinai, where he stayed again for forty days. What did Moshe do during those forty days? Since God expressed His intention to erase Am Israel for their deplorable sin, Moshe begged God Almighty to forgive His people, Israel. Moshe argued with God, advocating for the Jewish people, and invoking the merit of their ancestors Abraham, Ytzchaq and Ya’aqob.

At the end of the forty days, and at the insistence of Moshe Rabbenu, God finally absolved the people of Israel. That day, the 10th of Tishri, is Yom Kippur, the day of forgiveness.

In remembrance of those forty days during which Moshe Rabbenu begged God to absolve Israel, we dedicate forty days to ask God for our own forgiveness. During forty days we immerse ourselves in a deep process of introspection, admission, repentance and change called: Teshuba.

This period of spiritual preparation begins tomorrow and ends on Yom Kippur.

Tomorrow morning B’H, Sephardic communities start reciting the Selichot, the prayers that inspire us to reflect on our lives and embark on the process of Teshuba.

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Previously (see here ) we’ve explained the first three steps of the Berit Mila:

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Previously, we have explained that our rabbis established a blessing to be said when something happy happens to us. When we acquire something new, which brings us happiness we recite the blessing “Shehecheyanu” (see here ).

For example, if we buy or get as a gift a new suit, a new dress or any new clothing that we are happy to have, we say Shehecheyanu, acknowledging God as the ultimate source of our blessings and enjoyments.

The custom is to recite this berakha not when we buy the new clothes but when we wear them for the first time.

Similarly, when we eat a fruit from the new season we also recite the blessing Shehecheyanu to thank God Almighty for the beautiful world He created, and for the multitude of trees and fruits He fashioned, just for our enjoyment.

One of the spiritual benefits of this blessing is that it teaches us not to take small happiness for granted. To eat a fruit of the new season might seem a trivial ordinary act, but we Jewish people don’t miss an opportunity to remember God and to thank Him for His blessing toward us. The more spiritual a person is, the more awe and amazement he or she will feel for the small things he enjoys. The more materialistic a person is, the more difficult will be for him or her to enjoy or appreciate God’s daily gifts. A materialistic person, no matter how wealthy he is, gets his pleasure only in the pursuit of what he does not have.

The blessing Shehecheyanu teaches us to enjoy and appreciate what we NOW have.

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We Jews pray three times a day. Establishing a daily personal connection with our Creator. The rabbis of the Talmud established also a series of blessings, aiming at reminding us of HaShem’s presence constantly. Every time we eat, drink, sense a good smell or experience a happy occasion, etc. we recite a blessing to God. We convey in this way that God is not far away hidden in heavens, absent from our lives. On the contrary, His presence is overwhelming. And our major spiritual challenge in life is not to be distracted from His omnipresence.

Emuna (popularly translated as ‘faith’) does not consist just in our believe in God’s existence. Emuna consists mainly in our awareness of God’s presence. In a sense, Emuna could be measured by measuring our attention span: The less we are distracted from God’s existence, the higher our Emuna, and vice versa.

The blessings were established by the Rabbis, with this purpose in mind. To keep us aware, or to bring our minds back to remember God’s presence, virtually every hour of our lives.

The berakha we are learning today, Shehecheyanu, was established by the Rabbis to be said when something unusually joyous happen to us. By pronouncing this beautiful berakha we express our gratitude to God, declaring that He is the true source of our happiness.

Before we get into the details of the appropriate occasions to recite Shehecheyanu, let us understand what this berakha means.

“Blessed are You haShem our God, King of the universe,

Shehecheyanu: that You grant us the merit to be still alive

Vekiyemanu: that You have sustained us, giving us food, health, etc.

Vehigiyanu: allowing us to arrive…

Lazeman haze: to this moment [of happiness and joy]

May we always have the opportunity to thank haShem for happy occasions!

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