1,355. Turning to God

Hilchos Taaniyos 1:2 The practice of turning to God is one of the paths that leads to teshuvah (repentance) because when troubles arise, causing the people cry out to God and sound the trumpets, everyone comes to realize that the troubles were only brought as a consequence of their own misconduct. Regarding this matter, Jeremiah 5:25 says, “Your sins have turned away (the rain).” Addressing this underlying cause will lead to the removal of the problem. Hilchos Taaniyos 1:3

However, if the people fail to turn to God, saying instead that the troubles they are experiencing are merely a random natural occurrence, they will continue in their evil path, leading to further troubles. Regarding this, Leviticus 26:27-28 says, “If you remain contrary to Me, I will be contrary to you with a vengeance.” This means that God brings troubles upon us so that we should do teshuvah. If we say that our troubles are the result of random chance, God will increase them as punishment for our willful ignorance.