15 Sep TESHUVAH: THE ART OF FINDING THE WAY BACK

As we stand in the midst
of the Aseret Yemei
Teshuvah, it is
worthwhile to find out a
fundamental question:
What exactly is
teshuvah?

At first glance, the answer seems obvious:
improving our ways and turning away from
sin. Yet it is fascinating to discover that there
is a significant discussion among the
Rishonim and Acharonim concerning the very
definition of teshuvah—what it means, what a
person must actually do in order to fulfill the
mitzvah, and how teshuvah cleanses the
spiritual effects of sin.
Let us begin with the word itself. What does
teshuvah mean?
Many people understand the word according
to its simple translation, “an answer.” But the
Tanya explains that the word teshuvah means
to return—to return to Hashem. Teshuvah is
therefore not merely about correcting a
particular sin; it is about returning to our true
connection with Hashem.
The Rambam
The most famous formulation of the mitzvah
of teshuvah is found in the Rambam, in
Hilchot Teshuvah (2:2). The Rambam
describes that teshuvah consists of several
fundamental components. First, a person must
have החטא עזיבת, abandon the sin and remove
it from his thoughts and intentions. He must
then have חרטה, regret what he has done. He
must reach לעתיד קבלה, firmly resolve that he
will not return to that sin again. And finally,
he must perform וידוי, verbally confess before
Hashem and express his regret and his
commitment to change.
According to the Rambam teshuvah is not
merely feeling bad about the past. It requires a
person to leave the sin, regret it, resolve not to
return to it, and verbalize his teshuvah through
vidui.
But when we look beyond the Rambam, we
discover that this is not the only way teshuvah
is understood. Other Rishonim and Acharonim
place the emphasis on different elements, and
some appear to understand the very essence of
teshuvah differently.
Sefer HaChinuch
The Sefer HaChinuch as explained by the
Minchat Chinuch, understands that the torah’s
mitzvah is only vidui, confession. However,
in order to perform vidui properly, a person
must first do teshuvah. According to his
understanding, teshuvah itself consists
primarily of regret—חרטה—over the sin.
According to this view teshuvah and vidui are
not one and the same. Teshuvah is the internal
process of regretting the sin, while vidui is a
separate mitzvah that requires a person to
express that teshuvah verbally before Hashem.
Thus, one can do teshuva without vidui.

This is similar to the preparation required for
other mitzvot. For example, a person must
acquire a lulav before Sukkot in order to be
able to perform the mitzvah of lulav. Similarly,
a person must first do teshuvah—regret his
actions—in order to be able to perform the
mitzvah of vidui.
The Minchat Chinuch explains that if a person
regrets his sin sincerely in his heart, he has
already accomplished the essential act of
teshuvah and is considered a baal teshuvah
and a Tsadik. However, if he fails to verbalize
his regret through vidui, he has not fulfilled
the separate mitzvah of vidui.
This is a very different understanding from
the Rambam. The Rambam appears to
incorporate vidui into the very definition of
teshuvah, whereas according to the Sefer
HaChinuch teshuvah itself is the inner process
of regret, while vidui is the separate mitzvah
that follows it.
The Tanya
Another approach is found in the Tanya, in
Iggeret HaTeshuvah. There, the Alter Rebbe
explains that the essential element of teshuvah
is החטא עזיבת—the abandonment of the sin.
Once a person sincerely resolves to stop
sinning and no longer intends to continue in
his wrongdoing, he has already accomplished
the fundamental act of teshuvah.
Interestingly, the Tanya does not mention
regret or vidui as part of the definition of
teshuvah itself. This probably seems to
indicate that although regret and vidui are
certainly important aspects of the process of
teshuvah, they are not what constitutes the
essential teshuvah. Rather, they serve to
complete, strengthen, and elevate the person’s
teshuvah.
According to this approach, teshuvah begins
with a decision: I will no longer continue on
this path. The moment a person sincerely
abandons the sin and resolves to return to the
proper path, the essential mitzvah of teshuvah
has been accomplished.
This gives us yet another understanding of
teshuvah. According to the Sefer HaChinuch,
as explained by the Minchat Chinuch, the
essence of teshuvah is regret. According to the
Tanya, the essence is החטא עזיבת—the actual
abandonment of the sin. And according to the
Rambam, teshuvah encompasses several
elements, including abandoning the sin,
regret, resolve for the future, and vidui.
Rabbeinu Yonah
Then we come to the approach of Rabbeinu
Yonah in Shaarei Teshuvah. Rabbeinu Yonah
presents a remarkable and extensive
discussion of teshuvah, outlining twenty
different steps and levels through which a
person can progress in his journey of
repentance.
At first glance, this raises an obvious question.
If the Rambam teaches that teshuvah involves
several essential components, should we

understand Rabbeinu Yonah as listing twenty
requirements that a person must fulfill in
order to perform the mitzvah of teshuvah?
It would seem that this is not the case.
Rather, Rabbeinu Yonah appears to be
describing the proper path of teshuvah—the
different thoughts, practices, and spiritual
stages that guide a person toward genuine
repentance and ultimately bring him closer to
Hashem. The twenty levels are therefore not
necessarily twenty separate conditions
without which the mitzvah of teshuvah is
incomplete. Rather, they are a roadmap for
how a person should approach teshuvah and
how he can elevate himself throughout the
process.
This distinction is important. There is a
difference between asking, “What are the
minimum requirements for a person to fulfill
the mitzvah of teshuvah?” and asking, “What
should a person do if he truly wants to become
a תשובה בעל and transform himself?”
The Rambam may be defining the essential
components of the mitzvah, while Rabbeinu
Yonah is teaching us how to build a complete
and meaningful process of teshuvah.
In other words, the twenty levels of Rabbeinu
Yonah should not necessarily be viewed as
twenty boxes that a person must check before
his teshuvah is considered valid. They are
guidance for the journey itself—how a person
can move from recognizing his wrongdoing,
to regretting it, to changing his ways, and
ultimately to becoming a different person.
And perhaps this is precisely why Rabbeinu
Yonah’s Shaarei Teshuvah is so much more
than a list of halachic requirements. He is not
merely telling us what teshuvah is; he is
teaching us how to live the life of a תשובה בעל.
Teshuvah: Cleansing or Command?
There is another fundamental point that is
worth understanding. The Rishonim explain
that teshuvah is not merely a mitzvah that a
person is commanded to perform. It is also the
means through which a person cleanses his
neshamah from the spiritual damage caused
by sin.
When a person sins, his soul gets damaged
and stained. Teshuvah is the process through
which that damage is removed and the person
returns to his previous spiritual state.
Rabbeinu Yonah develops this idea in Shaarei
Teshuvah by comparing teshuvah to washing
a garment that has become soiled. Just as a
person washes a soiled garment to restore it to
its proper state, so too, teshuvah cleanses a
person from the spiritual effects of sin.
According to this approach, teshuvah is not
simply about fulfilling a divine command. A
person has a spiritual need to cleanse himself
from the effects of his sins, and Hashem gave
us the process of teshuvah as the way to
accomplish that.
The Tanya, however, presents a fundamentally

different perspective.
The Alter Rebbe explains that the essential
obligation of teshuvah is the abandonment of
sin. The fact that teshuvah cleanses a person’s
neshamah is not what defines the mitzvah, nor
is it the reason for which the mitzvah was
given. Rather we are commanded to do
teshuvah, and when we do, Hashem Himself
cleansed our neshamah as a result.
This distinction is subtle but profound.
According to the approach of Rabbeinu
Yonah, the cleansing of the neshamah is
intrinsic to the very concept of teshuvah. A
person has become spiritually soiled through
sin, and teshuvah is the process of cleansing
and restoring the neshamah.
According to the Tanya, however, we should
not define teshuvah as a spiritual cleansing
process. Teshuvah is a mitzvah that Hashem
commanded us to perform. The cleansing of
the neshamah is a result of fulfilling that
mitzvah, but it is not the essence or purpose of
the mitzvah itself.
This difference gives us an entirely new
perspective on teshuvah. It is not only a
question of what a person must do to fulfill
the mitzvah, but also a question of what
teshuvah is actually accomplishing within the
person.
Is teshuvah primarily a process of repairing
and cleansing the neshamah, or is it
fundamentally an act of obedience to
Hashem’s command, with the spiritual
cleansing coming as a consequence?
The answer to this question may help us
understand why the Rishonim and Acharonim
describe teshuvah in such different ways.
According to the Tanya, since the essence of
teshuvah is החטא עזיבת—the abandonment of
sin—the person’s primary responsibility is to
stop sinning and sincerely resolve not to
return to his previous ways. The spiritual
cleansing of the neshamah is not itself the
person’s task; once he fulfills Hashem’s
command to abandon the sin, Hashem takes
care of the spiritual repair.
According to the Rambam, however, teshuvah
is a process of active repair. Hashem therefore
gives us the tools necessary to accomplish
and ,עזיבת החטא, חרטה, קבלה לעתיד :repair that
וידוי. Through these four elements, a person
confronts his sin, regrets it, resolves to
change, and expresses that transformation
through vidui.