219. The Greatness of Teshuvah

Teshuvah 7:5

All the prophets commanded the Jewish people to perform teshuvah because that’s the only thing that will enable Israel to be redeemed. The Torah tells us that the Jews will repent towards the end of the exile and then be redeemed immediately. Deuteronomy 30:1-3 says, “There will come a time when these things come upon you... then you will return to Hashem, your God and listen to His voice.... and Hashem, your God, will turn back your captivity….”

Teshuvah 7:6

Teshuvah is great because it draws a person close to God. Sources for this include Hosea 14:2 (“Return, Israel, to Hashem your God”), Amos 4:6 (“‘You have not returned to Me,’ says God”), and Jeremiah 4:1 (“‘If you will return, Israel,’ says God, ‘then You will return to Me’”). It is implicit that if one returns in teshuvah, he will then cling to God. Teshuvah draws near those who were once distanced. As a sinner, the person was hated by and far removed from God; as a baal teshuvah, he is beloved by and near to God.

God uses the same terms to describe separating from sinners as He does drawing close to penitents. Hosea 2:1 says, “Instead of saying, ‘You are not My nation,’ He will say, “You are children of the living God.’”

When describing Jeconiah while he was still evil, Jeremiah 22:30 calls him “a man who will never prosper in his days” says that if he were “the signet ring on My right hand, I would tear him off” (ibid., verse 24). After he repented, however, Haggai 2:23 says about his son Zerubavel, “‘I will take you, Zerubavel, the son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ says God, ‘and I will place you like a signet ring.’”