Teshuva and Redemption

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"O You Afflicted, Tossed with Tempest, Not Comforted"
Haftarot: Re'eh
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein
The haftara focuses on material consolation, previously ignored in chapters offering comfort to the exiled nation. While previous prophecies emphasized that redemption is based on the connection between God and Israel, but never conditioned on Israel's actions, this haftara introduces a new principle - redemption through repentance; when man mends his ways he will be redeemed.
On Sin and Redemption
Haftarot: Para
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein
When the sins of Am Yisrael are compared to the impurity of the menstruating woman, this is a positive metaphor. It indicates that the sin stems from human nature, and that it is a passing state. The comparison to impurity that stems from contact with death is worse: this impurity is more complicated to shed, and seems to be related to moral corruption. However, just as the Red Heifer has the power to overcome impurity despite our inability to reverse death, so sinners who seemingly have no hope of atonement can be purified by God. The haftara discusses redemption that does not stem from teshuva - and notes that this form of redemption cannot be complete.
"I will surely have mercy on him"
Haftarot: The Second Day of Rosh Hashana
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein
On the first day of Rosh Hashana we read of the desired model - inscription for good life by virtue of man's righteousness. However, not everyone merits; therefore, on the second day of Rosh Hashana the haftara emphasizes inscription for a good and peaceful life even if a person is unworthy. The haftara for the first day teaches us what meritorious conduct is; the haftara for the second day offers us the consolation that even if we lack that conduct, God will treat us graciously and with compassion.
Punishment of the Individual and of the Nation
Parashat Nitzavim
Dr. Mordechai Sabato
Parashat Ki Tavo describes kelalot - the curses – from a public perspective; the unique innovation of Parashat Nitzavim is that the curse can also relate to the individual, the family, and the tribe. The Torah therefore emphasizes that he covenant relates to and includes each and every individual, in any status and from any time. This emphasis negates the ability to escape both the covenant and the curse.
Teshuva
Rabbi Yehuda Rock
These verses link Teshuva with the process of redemption; Rabbi Breuer suggests two aspects of Teshuva, which depend on the atonement of Am Yisrael, and a third complementary aspect which is independent of the actions of the nation.
Torah and Song, and the Redemption of Am Yisrael
Prof. Jonathan Grossman
Both the song and the Torah are referred to as "witnesses" that attest to God's covenant with Am Yisrael. Why is a witness in addition to the Torah required? In fact, the Torah itself, in Parashat Nitzavim, spells out the exact same process of punishment and redemption, making the need for this Song superfluous! This article explains the necessity of two different types of testimonials.
Teshuva: Reciprocal Return or Automatic Redemption?
Rabbi Alex Israel | 33 minutes
We explore teshuva as presented in Nitzavim. The paradigm of teshuva (return) presented is a loving reciprocal process that is initiated by the people of Israel after sin and exile. God then responds to Israel’s return and continues to raise Israel to new heights. Apparently, though, the end of Vayikra presents a different model of teshuva: one that is initiated by God after Israel’s punishments. Redemption in Vayikra may not be contingent on Israel’s behavior, but the redemption presented in Devarim may be more worth the wait.
Rachel Weeping for Her Children
Rabbi David Sabato
This unique prophecy exalts the figure of Rachel and has been a source of inspiration for future generations. It has engraved the image of a loving and compassionate mother on the consciousness of the exiled and tormented people for thousands of years.

Yaakov's lack of reconciliation with the loss of Yosef expresses his inner recognition that Yosef is alive. This is the principle alluded to by Rachel's continuous bitter weeping. Her non-stop weeping and refusal to be comforted testify to a similar cognition: Deep inside, Rachel knows and feels that her children will one day return to their land. This weeping is not a weeping of despair but a weeping meant to stir up the mercies of Heaven for her children and return them to their land. Just as Yaakov merited to be comforted and to see his lost son, so too Rachel is promised that her weeping will have an effect, and in the end her children will return to their land.

In contrast, the second part of the prophecy describes a return of a different kind. Here, the son is active in the process; Ephraim's desire to return is what drives the wheels of salvation. Indeed, here too there is parental love for a lost son, but this is a father's love for his son, which symbolizes God's love for Israel.

The difference between the two parts stands out in the root "shov." In the first part, it appears twice and denotes the children's return to the land as a result of Rachel's weeping. In contrast, in the second part, it appears three times and describes Ephraim's repentance, which will bring about his salvation.
Yirmiyahu's Prophecy of the End of the Days
Rabbi David Sabato
The second section of chapter three focuses on Yirmiyahu's prophecy regarding the end of days. In this section, Yirmiyahu portrays the ark in a negative light. What is the reason for this, and how is this prophecy connected to the prophecies of repentance that surround it?
The Departure of God’s Glory from the Temple
Part 2
Dr. Tova Ganzel
The people of the city concede that difficult times are on their way. But the people nevertheless maintain that even if they “cook” in the fire of the troubles that await them, they will be saved from annihilation, just as meat in a cauldron is saved from burning. Thus the people prepare themselves for the siege, certain however that they will prevail.

God’s response emphasizes that despite their claim, they are destined to be brought out of Jerusalem and be judged on the border of Israel.

After these prophecies of destruction, Yehezkel transmits the promise that the exiles are destined to return to their land. God will bring back His people to the land in the future, but without the people having repented. So God Himself will have to give them a new heart of flesh that will ensure that henceforth they will follow God’s laws. While superficially this appears to be a prophecy of consolation, in fact it actually offers little comfort.

The chapter concludes with God’s glory departing not only from the Temple, but also from the city of Jerusalem. Any hope of the people finally internalizing the message of Yehezkel’s prophecy is shattered by God’s statement depicting the people as rebellious.
The Abominations of their Fathers
Part 2
Dr. Tova Ganzel
The act of offering children to Molekh and passing them through fire – was common among pagans and is echoed in the story of Akeidat Yitzhak. It led to a perception that such practices had Divine legitimacy. Yirmiyahu emphasizes, in each of the three verses where the burning of children by fire is mentioned, that the act violates God’s command; that such an idea never “came into God’s mind,” and that God would never mislead His people this way. If indeed – as it appears from Yehezkel – the view prevailed among the people that this act was legitimate in God’s eyes, then it is clear why Yirmiyahu repeats over and over the prophetic message that there is no basis for it.

According to Yehezkel’s prophecy, the future revival of the nation will not come because of the covenant of the forefathers – which is not mentioned here at all – nor as the result of the nation repenting. It is a “forced” redemption, motivated by the desecration of God’s Name inherent in the very fact of the nation’s exile. The nation should therefore be ashamed of its deeds because of the Divine motivation to restore them to their land. This redemption is “forced” upon the people, as it were, with no opportunity for them to exercise their free choice – perhaps even against their will. It is for this reason that the whole nation will not return.
Yehezkel’s Description of the Nation’s Purification
Dr. Tova Ganzel
The various descriptions of redemption in Sefer Yehezkel suggest that the occurrence of the redemption is not dependent on the nation’s deeds, rather the process is carried out in its entirety by God. The prophet states the reason for this: the ingathering of the nation into its land takes place solely because of God’s desire that His Name be sanctified in the eyes of the nations. The Destruction and the exile do not cause any fundamental change in the nation’s attitude towards God, and therefore the desired processes – purification and atonement - will take place without any preconditions.
Yeshayahu 54-55 - Matan Al HaPerek
Rabbi David Sabato
In Chapter 54, the Prophet Yeshayahu continues to console and encourage Zion. This time, the consolation involves a dramatic, impossible, transformation: from a barren, desolate woman to a beloved wife who is the happy mother of children; from a weak, destitute woman to a wealthy, secure lady.

Chapter 55 includes one of the most well-known prophecies about teshuva, one that is read on regular Fast Days. Throughout the prophecy, the idea of Divine awakening is interwoven with the idea of human awakening: God approaches man, and it is upon man to take advantage of this time of favor to come close to God through his teshuva (return).
Ramban on Parshat Nitzavim - Transcending Free Will
Rabbi Ezra Bick |
In this shiur, we examine a famous, yet perplexing comment by Ramban on the description of the teshuva process detailed in Parashat Nitzavim. After the people repent and return to God, and God returns them to the Land of Israel, God will “circumcise the heart” of the people so that they will each follow God with full heart and soul. What does this phrase mean, and why does this stage appear AFTER the teshuva process? To answer this question, more questions arise as we explore concepts of desire, free will, moral vs. metaphysical perfection, and the true meaning of complete teshuva.

Ramban posits that in the messianic era, it will be human nature to do good, without having to fight a simultaneous conflicting desire. But will there be any desire? What would it mean to be human without free will? Free will is a morally ideal state, but does it come at the expense of a metaphysically ideal state? Ramban’s vision of the future involves a state resulting from true teshuva: not only resolving to DO good, but to BECOME good. Once one becomes good, it is not as possible to choose to do evil, or to desire to do evil. The diminishing of conflicting desires comes from becoming good, and becoming close to God in a world with a greater manifestation of God’s presence.
The Love of a Father
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein
Chagai's Rosh Chodesh Elul Teshuva Derasha
Shani Taragin | 4 minutes
In this short shiur, Rabbanit Shani Taragin focuses on the first chapter of Haggai. Haggai tries to urge the returnees to Zion to recognize that God is in their midst and that it is time to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash. On the first day of Elul, Haggai turns to the people to look at their past actions and begin a process of transformation. He tells them that they can still change their fate for the coming year.
Three Languages of Teshuva
Rabbi Moshe Taragin | 31 minutes
Touching on the meaning of the different holidays, we look at three perspectives on Teshuva highlighted by Hazal, which find expression in Tanakh. We examine various pesukim from Tanakh that provide different approaches to teshuva: teshuva as a healing process, a redeeming process, and teshuva as a burden. We look at the positive and negative aspects of each metaphor, as well as the challenges that each approach poses to the transformative teshuva process.

Seeking to define these overlapping and conflicting voices of teshuva can help us to clarify our own personal teshuva processes.
Obscure Reveries
Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky
Anyone who steals the Temple’s materials or otherwise defiles the holy house will be cursed. All this refers to the Jews’ enemies, who seek to stifle the Jews’ attempts to build the Temple by way of theft and any other means possible. Their end, hints the prophecy, will be that of curse and failure.

The appointment of multiple leaders without a clear hierarchy is generally a recipe for disaster. The prophecy predicts that despite the potential for tension, Yehoshua and Zerubavel will cooperate peaceably. The Hasmoneans acted contrary to the spirit of this prophecy.

Zekharia transitions to an uplifting messianic vision depicting the old and young flourishing in the streets of Jerusalem. He concludes, all the fasts associated with the destruction of the Mikdash will be transformed into joyous occasions.

Whereas at the beginning of the sefer the prophet presents repentance as a necessary precondition for the Jews to receive Divine reward, by the end of the eighth chapter, the two appear to have been disentangled from one another. Certainly the Jews are required be righteous. Still, the simple reading of our chapter indicates that the salvation will be forthcoming whether or not the Jews follow God’s word.
The Hope of Israel is God
Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky
The Revolution in the Conceptualization of Teshuva in the Halakhic and Historical Perception of Rav Yehuda Alkalai
Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun
The halakhic, philosophical and historical revolution wrought by Rav Yehuda Alkalai is especially manifest in his commentary on the biblical unit on teshuva (Devarim 30) and his definition of the concept of teshuva in Halakha and in history. This textual unit, and the concept of teshuva, become a central focus of
his overall worldview and his activities. We explore his ideas and analysis of the "teshuva section" in Devarim 30.
Teshuva - Not in the Heavens and Not Across the Sea
Rabbi David Silverberg
V'Zot Habracha: Looking Towards the Future
Rabbi David Fohrman |
With this week's video, Rabbi Fohrman finishes the series of parsha videos by giving us a look at the Torah's vision of what happens after the text of the Torah officially ends, and reminds us that we today are a critical part of the timeline in Jewish history.

If you enjoyed this video, please visit AlephBeta.org to watch more.
Are We Waiting for Mashiach or is He Waiting for Us? Two Models of Redemption
Rabbi Alex Israel | Hour and 6 minutes
Sefer Vayikra and Devarim offer two variant paradigms of Redemption. We shall apply these to the Egyptian Exile, and to the exiles that followed, and relate to our current state of play; are we currently in Exile or Redemption?
Paradigms of Geulah
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein
תאריך פרסום: 2023 | | Hour and 12 minutes
In this lecture, we will explore the various facets of redemption that appear throughout the Tanakh, with a particular focus on the portrayals by different prophets, each emphasizing different aspects of the people's relationship with God. Additionally, a fundamental question about the process of redemption will be addressed: Is repentance needed to attain redemption?

Dedicated by Ruth M. Shane in memory of her mother, Sarah Poliakoff Shane חיה שרה בת חיים רפאל והענא גיטל, and her aunt, Bess Poliakoff Krivitsky פעשא בת חיים רפאל והענא גיטל who were חובבי תורה and devoted to the Land of Israel and her children