English translation — נשא א

Sicha 1<pg>18</pg>

A.

The Rambam wrote in Sefer HaMitzvot

(Positive Commandment 73)

: "He commanded us to confess the sins and transgressions that we sinned before God and to say them with repentance<sup>1</sup>,

and this is the confession etc. and it is His saying etc. and they shall confess<sup>*1</sup>

their sin which they committed".

And the question is known — why did the Rambam not count in the count of the commandments except the commandment of confession,

and did not count the commandment of repentance.

And we find regarding this three explanations:

a)

the method of the Minchas Chinuch<sup>2</sup>

"that repentance is not a commandment..

this positive commandment

[confession]

is like many of the 613 commandments..

that it is not a commandment to do or not to do, only the doing in such and such a manner is considered a commandment,

like divorce and plaintiff and defendant..

that the laws of the commandment: if he does thus, it will be thus, is a commandment,

so too, the Torah said: if he repents, it will be in such a manner to confess etc. and thereby his repentance is accepted..

but he does not nullify any commandment if he does not repent..

for this is not a commandment at all, only like divorce and the like, that the Torah wrote the laws of the commandment: if he wishes that his sin be atoned, he shall repent in such and such a manner".

And he infers thus also from the wording of the Rambam<sup>3</sup>

at the beginning of the Laws of Repentance, who wrote "All the commandments of the Torah etc. when one repents and returns from his sin, he is obligated to confess before God, blessed is He..

this confession is a positive commandment etc.",

that "it is clear from his words that repentance is not a positive commandment<sup>4</sup>,

for he did not write a positive commandment that one repent, only if he comes to do [it],

a positive commandment that he confess verbally".

b)

also according to the Rambam there is a commandment and obligation to do teshuvah⁵

[and it must be said that the commandment in the Torah regarding the mitzvah of teshuvah is included in the verse⁶

"And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart and stiffen your neck no more",

its explanation — a commandment to circumcise the heart and remove the stiffness of the neck that already exist⁷],

except that this mitzvah is not counted in the count of the 613 mitzvos,

because it is among "the encompassing commandments of the entire Torah"

(which are not in the count of the 613 mitzvos,

as the Rambam explained in his Sefer HaMitzvos,

fourth root).

for the essence of teshuvah is,

as the Rambam wrote⁸,

"And what is teshuvah? It is that the sinner abandon his sin and remove it from his thought and resolve in his heart not to do it again",

and in the language of our master the Alter Rebbe in Igeres HaTeshuvah⁹

"The mitzvah of teshuvah from the Torah<pg>19</pg>

is the abandonment of the sin alone..

that is, that he resolve in his heart with a whole heart not to return again to foolishness to rebel against His kingship, blessed be He, and not to transgress again the king's commandment, G-d forbid, whether positive commandments or negative commandments".

And it follows,

that teshuvah is nothing but a matter of acceptance of mitzvos

(that he accepts upon himself to fulfill the 613 mitzvos),

and if so it is among "the encompassing commandments",

for there is in it no innovation and "special act" that is not included in the fulfillment of the other mitzvos,

and in the language of the Rambam¹⁰

"He did not command to do anything other than what we know".

And therefore the Rambam counted only the mitzvah of confession in the count of the mitzvot,

for confession

(i.e., the obligation to express with his lips the heart's resolve to abandon etc.¹¹)

is a "unique action" that is not included in the other mitzvot of the Torah.

3)

In Kiryat Sefer¹²

quotes the language of the Rambam in the heading to Hilchot Teshuvah

(which also were written by the Rambam¹³)

"that the sinner return from his sin before God and confess",

and explains: "Teshuvah and confession are one mitzvah¹⁴

it is that there is no confession without teshuvah, for one who confesses and does not resolve in his heart to return from his sin is like one who immerses while holding a reptile in his hand

(as brought in the Rambam in Hilchot Teshuvah chapter 2¹⁵)

and confession is the completion of teshuvah".

Explanation of his words: Repentance and confession are two parts of one commandment — repentance is the part of thought in it,

the resolution in the heart to abandon

("that he will not do it again"¹⁶),

confession is the part of speech,

in the language of the Rambam⁸

that "he must confess with his lips and say these matters that he resolved in his heart",

namely to express with his lips what was resolved in his heart.

And based on this it is understood,

that the commandment of confession includes the obligation to repent¹⁷,

for without repentance in the heart there is no content to confession.

[And based on this the reason is understood that the Rambam brought¹⁵

an example of "one who confesses in words but did not resolve in his heart to abandon — this is like one who immerses and a reptile is in his hand, that the immersion does not avail him until he casts away the reptile",

for at first glance,

what is the need for this example,

and he should have said simply that confession without abandonment of the sin does not avail.

But this example explains the nature of repentance: just as "one who immerses while holding a reptile in his hand" there is no side factor that causes the immersion to be ineffective

(like an interposition&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;,

or lack of time and the like,

which are side conditions that the immersion requires&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;),

but this is the opposite of the concept of immersion,

&lt;pg&gt;20&lt;/pg&gt;

for when a person is gripped by impurity,

it is impossible that at that same time he should have its opposite

(immersion)

— abandonment of impurity,

to purify from impurity,

so it is regarding "one who confesses verbally but does not resolve in his heart to abandon" — that repentance and confession are one act of purification from the impurity of sin].

And the reason that in the Book of Commandments the Rambam mentioned only the commandment of confession

(And he did not mention the obligation to do repentance)

— for at first glance,

according to the above,

behold the essence of the commandment is repentance

(Completion of the heart to abandon),

and confession is only a result of the completion of the heart and its expression in speech — it is because a commandment that has two parts,

thought,

and speech or action,

is counted in the count of commandments the matter of speech

(And the action)

in it&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;,

and not the matter of thought in it.

And for example — the commandment of prayer,

which is composed of two parts — service of the heart

(As our Sages said&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

"Which is the service that is in the heart..

this is prayer")

and the speech of prayer.

And even though the essence of the matter of prayer is

(Not the speech,

but rather)

the thought and intention of the heart

[To the extent that "prayer that is without intention

[That is, the general intention such as know before Whom you stand and the like]

is not prayer"&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;

; and elsewhere it is explained&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

the precise language of the Rambam in the Laws of Prayer&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

"The obligation of this commandment is thus that a person should supplicate and pray every day etc.",

that the definition of the commandment of prayer is — expression of a certain feeling in speech,

and without the feeling of "supplication" there is no meaning in the utterance of the words of prayer]

— nevertheless the commandment of prayer is considered a commandment in speech&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;,

and this is the simple interpretation of the phrase "he shall pray" — which refers to the speech in prayer.

And in the count of commandments at the beginning of the Book of the Hand&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

the Rambam stated "to pray to Him"

(And likewise at the beginning of the Laws of Prayer "a positive commandment to pray every day")

— because in the count of commandments they count the matter of speech in prayer,

and not the intention in it&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;.

2.

And now regarding the revealed aspect,

Of the three explanations mentioned above — the third explanation seems more [correct].

For according to the method of the Minchas Chinuch that according to the Rambam there is no obligation to do repentance — it is difficult,

For in the heading to the Laws of Repentance it is explicit

(as above)

"One positive commandment,

And it is that the sinner should return from his sin before God and confess",

Behold, even according to the Rambam there is a commandment to return from his sin.

And so also our master the Alter Rebbe stated in his Igeres HaTeshuvah⁹,

<pg>21</pg>

That it is said "The mitzvah of&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

repentance from the Torah is only the abandonment of sin,"

behold, there is a mitzvah from the Torah to return from one's sin

(and it stands there according to the opinion of the Rambam,

as is proven from the continuation of his words&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;).

And also the second explanation mentioned above

(that repentance is from the inclusive commandments that have no "specific action")

— is forced, seemingly,

because in repentance there must be not only the abandonment of sin

(acceptance for the future)

but also regret for the past,

and as the Rambam wrote&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

"And what is repentance? It is that the sinner abandon his sin etc. and also regret what is past,"

and behold, regret for the past is a "specific action" that is not known from other commandments?

With difficulty one can say that regret over the past is a detail within the acceptance for the future,

for if he is not distressed about the past and does not regret it, this is proof that there is a deficiency in his acceptance and decision for the future,

and therefore regret is not considered a "special act"

(since it is compelled by the acceptance for the future).

But this is a great difficulty,

for in the laws of repentance explained in the Shulchan Aruch³⁰,

through which a wicked person becomes fit to testify,

only acceptance for the future is mentioned,

and it implies from this that one can resolve wholeheartedly that from now on he will fulfill the commandments of G-d without feeling pain and regret over the past.

And so too the simple language of the Rambam "and likewise he will regret what is past" indicates,

that it is not a condition and detail in the abandonment of sin,

but rather an additional matter³¹.

[And more deeply it seems to me,

that even the abandonment of sin

(the resolve and acceptance of the heart for the future)

is considered a thing that we do not "know" from other commandments,

for the acceptance in repentance is not comparable to the acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of heaven in general].

And therefore the explanation of the above three [matters] is seen,

that the reason that teshuvah is not counted in the count of the commandments is because it is a matter of the heart,

and in the count of the commandments only the speech part of this commandment is counted,

namely the commandment of vidui.

However,

since these three explanations are logical arguments in Torah,

it can be said that the words of Chazal apply to them&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;

"These and those are the words of the living God",

and as has been explained several times,

that every opinion in Torah

(even an opinion that was rejected for halachah)

has a place in the service of God.

For that the halachah is decided according to one opinion is only for practical conduct,

that it is impossible to conduct oneself in practice according to two contradictory opinions,

but regarding the spirituality of the commandments,

there is a place for all opinions.

And so in our matter,

that the three opinions mentioned above regarding the matter of repentance —

(a)

Repentance is not a commandment

(according to the view of the Minchas Chinuch&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;),

(b)

it is from the inclusive commandments&lt;pg&gt;22&lt;/pg&gt;

im,

(c)

it is a specific commandment like all the commandments&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

(and that it is not counted in the count of commandments is because the speech part of it is counted and not the matter of repentance in the heart)

— they have a place according to the spiritual content in the commandment of repentance.

3.

And this will be understood with the introduction of the explanation of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, that the 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments correspond to the 248 limbs³⁵

and 365 sinews³⁶.

And it is known,

that just as the body is divided into 248 limbs and 365 sinews,

so too there are corresponding to them "613 kinds of powers and vitality"³⁷

in the soul.

And when a person is complete in the observance of all the 613 commandments

(which correspond to the 248 limbs and 365 sinews),

then he is "perfect and complete in all the limbs of the soul...

but if he omitted one commandment or blemished it, then he becomes lacking a limb"³⁸.

And this is the concept of the commandment of repentance,

that "it³⁸

is on a higher level than all the commandments",

therefore it has the power "to fill the blemish and the lack" that was caused in the limbs

(and vitality)

of the soul.

That is,

because through repentance from the depths of the heart one reaches the essence of the soul,

which is the source of the vitality of the limbs of the soul

[and there, from the outset, the blemish of sins does not reach,

and in the language of the Alter Rebbe³⁹

"that even at the time of the sin she was faithful to Him, may He be blessed"],

and therefore from there new vitality is drawn to the blemished limb,

to fill the blemish and the lack⁴⁰.

And based on this, the reasoning of the view that the mitzvah of teshuvah is among the inclusive commandments and is not counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos is understood,

for the reason that inclusive commandments were not counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos is because in the enumeration of the mitzvos only mitzvos that correspond to particular limbs of the soul were counted,

and not commandments that include all the mitzvos entirely.

And in the manner of the explanation of the Alter Rebbe⁴¹,

regarding the distinction between Torah and mitzvos,

that mitzvos are called "limbs",

whereas the Torah,

which is the source of all the mitzvos,

"is the aspect of the blood that draws vitality to all the limbs equally in their entirety"⁴².

And so it is regarding the mitzvah of teshuvah,

that "it is on a higher level than all the mitzvos",

for its matter is to draw new vitality into the "limb" that is blemished,

therefore it is not in the enumeration of the mitzvos

(which correspond to the limbs of the soul)

but rather above them

(and it pertains to the "blood" and vitality of the soul).

And the reason that only the mitzvah of teshuvah is not counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos

(but the mitzvah of vidui is counted in the enumeration of the mitzvos)

— it can be said,

for the power of teshuvah to fill the blemish in the limbs of the soul,

is<pg>23</pg>

through the resolution and awakening from the depth of the heart⁴⁰,

which reaches into the essence of the soul

(as above),

and this matter relates to the matter of repentance

(in the heart)

and not to verbal confession⁴³.

4.

Based on this introduction, it is possible to explain

(according to the inner aspect of the matters)

also the reason for the view of the Minchas Chinuch that repentance is not a commandment at all:

as mentioned above,

the power in repentance to fill the defect and lack in the limbs of the soul is because repentance reaches the essence of the soul,

the source of vitality of the limbs of the soul,

as above — and matters that come from the essence of the soul depend solely on the choice of the person.

for when a person does something out of necessity, then the inwardness of his soul is not in this action,

and it is only an external action alone.

and it is understood,

that as the external necessity diminishes,

there is more inwardness in the action.

and a matter that comes from the very essence of the soul,

above all the powers etc.,

is because it comes entirely and solely from the choice of the person,

without an external cause⁴⁴.

and along these lines, as was explained elsewhere⁴⁵,

that this is also the reason for the great joy of the water libation on the festival of Sukkot, which "is⁴⁶

a law [given] to Moses from Sinai..

which is not explicitly stated in the Written Torah, only the Rabbis supported it with verses",

which is greater than the joy of Yom Tov, which is an obligation from the Torah; and the joy of the hakafot on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah,

which is not even an obligation from the Rabbis, but rather a custom of Israel,

is even greater

(as a custom of Israel)

even than the joy of the water-drawing [celebration],

And it is explained in this,

that it is the proof — that the deeper and greater the joy is,

so the force of the obligation diminishes,

because when there is a command upon a person,

this itself is like an external cause that seemingly compels him to do what he was commanded.

And therefore, as the force of the obligation diminishes,

the joy in the heart is more internal and its source is in the depth of the soul.

And so it is regarding the matter of repentance,

that since complete and true repentance comes from the essence of the soul

(that only from there is drawn new vitality to fill the defect in the limbs of the soul),

therefore there is no command regarding this mitzvah&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;,

because only when a person repents with his completely free choice

(even not because of the command of the Torah),

this is proof that the repentance is from the depth of the heart and the essence of the soul itself.

[And based on this, one can also explain the reason that the Rambam included the "principle" of free choice specifically in the Laws of Repentance&lt;sup&gt;48&lt;/sup&gt;,

even though it is a "great principle..

and it is the pillar of the Torah and the commandments"&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;,

that is, the pillar of the entire Torah and commandments,

and seemingly it should have been brought in the Laws of the Foundations of the Torah — because the matter of free choice is related to the actual performance of repentance,

since complete repentance is when it comes from the essence of the soul as above,

and the sign of a matter that comes from the essence of the soul is — when it comes&lt;pg&gt;24&lt;/pg&gt;

as a result of completely free choice,

without any external cause&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;

(unlike in the other commandments,

where the matter of choice pertains only to the matter of reward and punishment&lt;sup&gt;51&lt;/sup&gt;),

and as explained elsewhere&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;].

5.

Nevertheless, the opinion of the Rambam

(and the Alter Rebbe)

in practical law is that repentance is a commandment,

and furthermore — that it is a specific commandment counted among the count of commandments³⁴

(that it is part of the commandment of confession,

except that this one is in thought and that one is in speech,

as above).

And one can explain the explanation in this:

It is explained in several places⁵³

In the explanation of the Sages' expression "repentance and good deeds" — that through repentance a person's deeds become "good deeds and illuminating,"

because repentance brings vitality into the fulfillment of Torah and commandments.

And this is not an additional matter in the concept of repentance,

but rather this is the purpose and goal of repentance — to bring a person to an increase of vitality in his service in the fulfillment of Torah and commandments.

That is to say⁵⁴

: The quality of repentance is,

that it is able to bring a person to a desire to "flee" from this world

(most of which is evil and the wicked prevail in it⁵⁵).

For after a person stumbles in the evil of the world and feels the greatness of his lowliness,

then in doing repentance there awakens in him the desire to flee from the world which is death and evil and to return to God simply,

"and the spirit shall return to God who gave it"⁵⁶.

And as we find in the repentance of Rabbi Elazar ben Dordaya⁵⁷,

that "he placed his head between his knees and cried out weeping until his soul departed,"

that he regretted so much his evil deeds,

and there was awakened in him the yearning to separate from the evil in this world,

until "his soul departed."

And therefore our Sages emphasized that repentance must be in a manner that brings in "light and vitality" into good deeds,

because the repentance of Rabbi Elazar ben Dordai was only a hora'as sha'ah (temporary ruling),

but the way of repentance must be in a manner that does not bring a person to the departure of his soul from the world,

but on the contrary,

repentance must awaken in a person a desire and yearning to add in Torah and good deeds specifically while he is a soul in a body.

[And also regarding the repentance of Rabbi Elazar ben Dordai,

it is known what the Arizal said

"And it is difficult: since he did not accumulate good deeds, how did he come to the World to Come..

With what will he be covered, for a person cannot enter there if he does not have a garment made from good deeds..

Rather, this is a gilgul of Yochanan Kohen Gadol, who served for eighty years as Kohen Gadol and eventually became a Tzadoki..

the garment that Yochanan Kohen Gadol made from all the good deeds which he accumulated for eighty years, Rabbi Elazar took it" — behold, the feeling of repentance alone does not have the power to bring in

the man for the World to Come,

and specifically good deeds are needed].

And this is also the inner reason that even repentance in the heart is a particular commandment — because by this one comes to emphasis,

that although its essential nature and definition is above all commandments

(and above the concept of commandment in general,

as above),

nevertheless,

repentance must not be in a manner that it remains "above" particular commandments,

namely a feeling of regret and a desire to return to G-d in a "general" manner,

but rather the enthusiasm of repentance must be in a manner that it brings the person to an addition of vitality in the fulfillment of particular commandments

(and by this — to repair the blemish in the limbs of the soul),

"repentance and good deeds" specifically.

(From the talks of the 20th of Menachem Av and Shabbos Parshas Eikev 5728)