Rambam’s (Maimonides’) definition of the mitzva of teshuva is a step-by-step process that has a clear starting point and endpoint. A person “dusts himself off” from his sin and ends his wrong behavior. He arrives at a decision not to go back to his old ways, and he regrets that he had sinned. At the end of the process, he confesses his sin (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Teshuva 2b).
We might expect to see a continuous process (like that described by the Rambam) in our parasha, but that is not what we find. Our parasha presents a different model: that of a married couple (God and Israel or God and Humankind). The Teshuva process presented is one that is recursive, repetitive, circular, without a clear endpoint: the beginning of Devarim Chapter 30 describes the nation as repenting – returning from their former ways (30: 1). The continuation of the chapter portrays reciprocity from God, as he returns to them, and returns them to Him (30:3). After the “ingathering of the exiles,” God purifies and cleanses the hearts of the people (30:6). Following this response from God, there is another effort by the nation to return to God, and God brings good things to them (30:9). And the nation comes even further in returning to God (30:10.
In the first stage of the teshuva process, it seems that the first step must be taken by Israel, and God reciprocates and returns us to Him in his mercy and love. But instead of the parasha then ending with “and they lived happily ever after”, the continuation of the parasha appears to convey that God’s catapulting us into a better place is what then arouses us to teshuva. In generalized terms, the process described in the parasha is one of loving gestures, where it is not clear which was the initiating gesture and which was the response.
We will skip the usual explanations and suggest another interpretation of the process depicted in the parasha. The parasha implies that certain parts of the teshuva process cannot happen without a change of place and perspective: even after the people of Israel return to God, there is still a long way to return. That continuation of the process can only happen once the people are firmly planted in the Land of Israel. We can offer an analogy of a young child in the earliest development stages. The sages refer to such a child as one who is not “bar da’at” – one who lacks wisdom, common sense, or cognitive decision-making capabilities. Presenting a young child as lacking da’at (wisdom) contradicts what our eyes can see: children understand things, quickly absorb new information, and interact with their environment reliably and thoroughly. In order to make sense of the words of the Sages, we must conclude that the “da’at” that is lacking in children is not connected to their comprehension or ability to absorb knowledge. Rather. it refers to their perspective (or lack thereof). A young child cannot comprehend the great depth of the mitzvot of Shabbat, and are thus exempt with respect to desecrating it. When the child grows up, these matters will be clarified, and he will arrive at an understanding of the importance of these values. Once the child is brought to a place of maturity, it is then possible for him to understand what he missed out on in childhood. As the Rabbinic saying goes: “no boor is God-fearing.” Thus in our parasha, there is the initial stage of teshuva – the expression of intent, the sense of understanding that there needs to be a change. But there is also a stage that comes later, of blossoming and return following the renewed establishment in the Land of Israel, amidst a reality of political and spiritual independence.
The Admor (Hasidic leader) of Slonim, the author of Netivot Shalom, writes about this type of teshuva, which comes only at a later stage and which is not only in our hands, which we ask God to initiate for us. The Netivot Shalom develops the concept from the language of the “Hashiveinu” blessing in the Amida: Return us, O Father, to your Torah, and bring us close, O King, to your service, and return us in complete teshuva before you.”
A person who is steeped in sin, writes the Netivot Shalom, cannot achieve teshuva by himself (Netivot Shalom, Teshuva 3). He posits that the sinner must be freed from his situation via external assistance – a man does not free himself from prison. But he adds that the person repenting must be in an environment of Torah study – he must have the opportunity of relocation, because only these new surroundings of his will enable him to properly repent his sins (ibid.).
To explain the ideas of the Netivot Shalom, we will use the analogy of the two main methodologies for teaching reading. One approach is phonetics and phonics – focusing on each letter, pronouncing it, and learning the sound one hears while listening to the letters. This methodological approach focuses on developing technical reading skills very systematically, and relies heavily on repetition, memorization, and practice. The student learns the letters and vowels (in Hebrew – the vowel pointers underneath the letters, which are mainly consonants) and slowly figures out how to connect syllables into words). The second approach is that of literacy, based on a “jumping into the water” approach. There is no clearly defined teaching of the names of the letters and their sounds. The student figures this out himself from experience, listening, and making connections with words that he encounters in other contexts. In this process, he also learns the orthographic form of the letters. Using this method, the student gains a full orientation, beyond that of individual letters. The advantage of the literacy method is that the child is “plunged” into a new place, wherein he has to know the general principles before he knows the details. As he enters into a comprehensive conceptual environment and acquires language proficiency, he comletely re-orients himself. In essence, the literacy method is a deductive method. The child enters into a new world of concepts, and learns to adopt a new outlook of words and language because he is in a “new place.”
In our context, according the Netivot Shalom’s approach, the essential teshuva process is teshuva using the literacy method. The removal of a person from his place of origin to a place of Torah, and his transference from a world of emptiness to a world of spirituality allows him to undergo “language acquisition” without having to go through a drawn-out endless process. Otherwise, even with great effort, he wouldn’t have been able to reach such a spiritual world without such a change. With the “literacy” method, he can succeed in moving from his original spiritual state to a new place. Instead of taking baby steps, he is “thrown” into a world where he can undergo complete sociological, spiritual, and cultural “conversion.” When person expresses his initial intent to enter a teshuva process, he still does not have the strength to get to his destination by himself. Teshuva of an individual or a nation cannot be completed through personal strength alone; rather, they need God to act – to gather them up, bring them to an new place and establish them in a good and wholesome environment. As Rabbi Akiva says: “Blessed are you, Israel! Before whom do you become purified? Who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven. As it is written: ‘And I shall sprinkle pure waters over you, and you shall be purified’(Ezekiel 36:35). And as it is written: ‘The hope [Heb. “mikveh” – also “ritual bath”] of Israel is God’ (Jeremiah 17:13)…”(Mishnah Yoma 8:9).