Moshe reassures Benei Yisrael that repentance is within their reach, it is “very close to you,” and not “in the heavens” or “across the sea.” What exactly is the potential misconception that Moshe seeks to dispel in these verses?
Moshe famously instructs in Parashat Nitzavim, “For this commandment that I issue today – it is not impossible for you, and it is not distant from you. It is not in the heavens, such that you could say, ‘If only someone could ascend the heavens for us and bring it to us, we would observe it.’ And it is not across the sea, such that you could say, ‘If only someone could cross the sea for us and bring it to us, we would observe it.’ For the matter is indeed very close to you…” (30:11-14).
The Ramban, in his commentary to these verses, claims that Moshe speaks here of the specific mitzva of teshuva – the subject he had been discussing in the previous section. Moshe had described to Benei Yisrael how they would, in the future, betray God and be sent into exile, at which point they would repent and then be returned to their homeland. Now, Moshe reassures Benei Yisrael that repentance is within their reach, it is “very close to you,” and not “in the heavens” or “across the sea.”
What exactly is the potential misconception that Moshe seeks to dispel in these verses?
Seforno explains that “It is not in the heavens” and “It is not across the sea” refer to two different, though related, misconceptions about teshuva. The first – “It is not in the heavens” – is that repentance requires prophetic intervention or instruction. Especially after enduring a long, painful period of exile, which included a process of sharp spiritual decline, people might think that a return to God is impossible without some sort of clear “initiative” on His part – i.e., sending us a prophetic message. After falling so far from where we are supposed to be, we might assume that any attempt at repentance is inappropriate until God takes the first step by “giving us a phone call” and inviting us back. Moshe thus teaches us that repentance is up to us, not God, that the Torah He gave us is an “open invitation” to return, and an invitation which we must accept.
“It is not across the sea,” by contrast, dispels a different misconception, namely, that we require the advice and expertise of the generation’s scholars in order to repent. As opposed to halakhic decision-making, for which we are indeed dependent upon the scholarship of our sages, repentance does not need to wait for consultation with experts overseas. In any location and under any circumstances, one is capable of making the decision to improve and repent and following up on that resolution.
Too often, we postpone religious growth because we are waiting for circumstances to change. We recognize the need to change, but we feel that this can’t happen just yet, our current conditions do not allow it. We sit and wait for God to send us some bolt of inspiration, or for a captivating lecturer to come along and find the “on” button in our hearts, or for some aspect of our lives to change before we change ourselves. Moshe here admonishes us that teshuva is “very close to you,” that it is within our reach and our capabilities at all times and under any circumstances. There is no excuse for delaying self-improvement, because this process depends on nobody and nothing other than ourselves.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il