Yom Kippur, the Day of Teshuvah

The Rambam writes (Hilchot Teshuvah 1:2) that the se’ir hamistale’ach, the goat which is sent off the cliff on Yom Kippur, is mechaper on all aveirot, both the lighter ones and the more stringent ones, whether by accident or on purpose, whether known to a person or not; all is atoned for through this se’ir. However, this is only when a person does teshuvah, if not, then the se’ir hamishtale’ach is mechaper on kalot, lighter aveirot. So from this which the Rambam writes that come Yom Kippur, a person has atonement for his aveirot kalot, meaning the mitzvot aseh and lo ta’aseh which do not carry the death penalty or karet, even without teshuvah. However, this seemingly contradicts the Gemara in Masechet Shvu’ot (12b) which says that if you do not do teshuvah, the se’ir hamishtale’ach does not atone for mitzvot aseh and lo ta’aseh. Without teshuvah, the se’ir is referred by the Torah as "זבח רשעים תועבה"- an abominable korban of reshaim. Rav Moshe Shternbach shlit”a writes (Moadim U’Zmanim siman 57) that in the sefer Chibur HaTeshuvah, by the Meiri, it says that when we say that the se’ir hamishtale’ach atones for kalot, even without teshuvah, it means when we have not been aroused to do teshuvah gemurah, but have still done a minor form of teshuvah. This requires some further explanation as this doesn’t seem to be the simple meaning of the Rambam who seems to say that you don’t need to do any teshuvah.

According to what the Rambam writes at the beginning of Hilchot Teshuvah, a main action of teshuvah seems is ודוי, confession of the sin. He even counts this as a mitzvat aseh. He also writes that the main part of teshuvah is to accept not to do that aveirah any more. One has not fulfilled the mitzvah of teshuvah without this component of severing himself from his aveirot. And seems clear, writes Rav Shternbach, if one has complete remorse for his actions his is no longer a rasha, for once he feels it within himself to turn away from his aveirot, he is no longer in a state of rebellion against Hashem. However, even with that he has not fulfilled the mitzvah of teshuvah. So this must be what the Meiri meant; on Yom Kippur, our aveirot kalot are atoned for if we have this partial teshuvah; charatah- regret. If a person really looks at himself and does a little (preferably a lot) cheshbon nefesh, he will find that his thoughts will be that he wants to leave his aveirot and return to HaKadosh Boruch Hu. However, it is extremely difficult for a person to take the next step and officially accept upon himself to abstain from sin. So this must be what the Rambam meant; not that a person didn’t do teshuvah, but that he didn’t do proper teshuvah. One must fulfill the entire mitzvah and complete every aspect of it to do teshuvah gemurah.

If this is true, that our ultimate kaparah does not rest on Yom Kippur or the se’ir hamishtale’ach, but rather on each and every one of us, then certainly we must always have this in mind as our actions may determine the ultimate outcome of whether we can merit atonement. We should not just go into davening on Rosh HaShanah, during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, and on Yom Kippur thinking that this time slot of intense prayer will accomplish all of our teshuvah, klapping “al chet” to erase all of our sins. We need to do it b’emet b’lev shalem u’b’kavanah. Doing teshuvah should not and cannot just be confined to such a short time! We need to live with a sense of teshuvah constantly within us. We should have an awareness incorporated into everything we do; it can’t end when we walk out of davening and selichot.

As we said above, the Rambam counts ודוי as one of the 613 mitzvot. R’ Moshe Tzuriel asks (Otzrot HaMussar: Shaar HaTeshuvah maamar 1), why doesn’t the Rambam count “teshuvah” as a mitzvah? Why only one component of it, what about the rest of the whole teshuvah process? R’ Tzuriel suggests his own answer that teshuvah itself is an all inclusive mitzvah, like “Kedoshim Tih’yu.” The Rambam doesn’t count inclusive mitzvot such as these. Teshuvah includes all of the mitzvot we do, all of the Torah we learn, and they way we live by them. It’s not just meant for the few hours we spend in shul on Yom Kippur! He also brings down a different answer from the Maharal (Netivot Olam). The midrash (Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim) says that the three sifrei Tanach were asked what a sinner’s punishment is. K’tuvim answered, “he will continue to chase evil.” Neviim said, “he will die”. Torah “he will bring a korban and do atonement.” But Hashem said even better; “he will do teshuvah and thereby atone for himself!” The Gemara says that seven things were created before the world and one of them is teshuvah. The Maharal writes that teshuvah is such a great and amazing thing. It’s like pressing a restart button; a person is going back to the way he was before his sin and he is returning to Hashem! He writes that this is something above this world. That is why only Hashem could have advised us to do teshuvah, it is so great that kivyachol it was beyond the advice of the Torah which only tells us to bring a korban. It was beyond the scope of Tanach, rather it had to come from the Torah Sheba’al Peh which was not always written but came straight from an oral chain that originated from Hashem Himself.

It says in Hoshea: "שובה ישראל עד ה' אלקיך כי כשלת בעונך"- Return, Yisrael, to Hashem your G-d for you have stumbled in your inquity. Chazal say (Yoma 86a) on this that teshuvah is so great that it reaches all the way to the kisei hakavod. Rav Chaim Shmuelevitv tz”l writes that we see from here, that teshuvah brings one all the way to the kisei hakavod, that it also elevates one to a higher level than he could have reached with all his strength even if he had always been a tzaddik! As Chazal say, the place where those who do teshuvah stand, even tzaddikim gemurim do not stand! It says in the Gemara (Menachot 29b), if one comes to purify himself, he receives Divine assistance. Rav Shmuelevitz explains that this means that one who comes to purify himself from his impurities and the aveirot which he has done will receive Divine assistance. Therefore, the matter is clear; if a person does teshuvah, he can bring himself closer to Hashem than even a tzaddik gamur as he is being helped directly by Hashem Himself! May we be zoche this Yom Kippur to do a teshuvah gemurah, properly, b’lev shalem, while making sure that we maintain ourselves throughout the rest of the year as well. And may we raise our neshamot back to Hashem with siyata dishmaya.