Parshas Bechukosai
1. In the verses of our parsha, toward the end of the Rebuke, it is said:1 "והתודו את עונם ואת עון אבותם גו' והבאתי אותם בארץ אויביהם או אז יכנע לבבם הערל ואז ירצו את עונם" ("They will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers… and I will bring them into the land of their enemies; perhaps then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and then they will gain forgiveness for their sin"). And in the verse that follows:2 "וזכרתי את בריתי יעקב גו'" ("And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov…").
The commentators ask:3 Since there will be "They will confess their sin…" — teshuvah — how does it follow, in continuation of this, "and I will bring them into the land of their enemies," i.e., that this brings punishments upon them? Seemingly, immediately after "They will confess…" it should have said "And I will remember My covenant…".
The commentators give various answers to this. One must understand, however: this is, after all, a question according to the plain meaning of Scripture, yet we do not find that Rashi forestalls it and answers the question.
Seemingly one could answer: on "They will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers" it says in Toras Kohanim: "לצד התשובה הם הדברים שמיד שהם מתודים על עונותיהם מיד אני חוזר ומרחם עליהם שנאמר והתודו כו'" ("These words refer to teshuvah: as soon as they confess their sins, I immediately return and have mercy on them, as it says, 'They will confess…'"). And afterward, on the verse "And I will bring them into the land of their enemies," Toras Kohanim says: "זו מדה טובה לישראל שלא יהו ישראל אומרים הואיל וגלינו לבין אומות העולם נעשה כמעשיהם, אני איני מניחם אלא אני מעמיד נביאיי עליהם ומחזירין אותם למוטב תחת כנפיי" ("This is a good measure for Israel, so that Israel should not say, 'Since we have been exiled among the nations of the world, let us act as they do.' I will not leave them; rather, I will set up My prophets over them, and they will bring them back to the good path, under My wings").
The commentators4 explain that with this Toras Kohanim answers the aforementioned question — how "And I will bring them into the land of their enemies" fits after "They will confess…," which "refers to teshuvah"5: "And I will bring…" is (not, as it would appear from the plain wording of the verse, a "curse and punishment," but rather) "a good assurance and a good measure for Israel."
And since Rashi brings the interpretation of Toras Kohanim on the verse "And I will bring…" — "This is a good measure for Israel, so that they should not say… I will not leave them… and I bring them back under My wings" — it follows that Rashi thereby forestalls the above question.
But it is a great strain to say that this (answering the above question) is Rashi's intent in this interpretation, because (in addition to the fact that, according to this, Rashi should also have explained the preceding words in the verse, "אף אני אלך עמם בקרי" ("I too will walk with them with indifference"), and said how that is "a good measure for Israel"6,) from Rashi's very comment on "And I will bring" the opposite is proven: Rashi brings a proof (that "I will not leave them; rather I set up My prophets and bring them back…") from the verse7 "והעולה על רוחכם גו' אם לא ביד חזקה גו'" ("And that which enters your mind… surely with a strong hand…"), from which it is understood that before "And I will bring…" comes there was not yet any matter of teshuvah (and therefore "a strong hand" is required).8
Moreover: here itself the verse continues (after "And I will bring…") "perhaps their uncircumcised heart will be humbled," i.e., only "then" — after "And I will bring…" — will there be "their uncircumcised heart will be humbled,"9 the matter of teshuvah. One cannot, then, learn according to the plain meaning of Scripture that "And I will bring…" is a "good assurance," a reward for the preceding "They will confess…" — teshuvah.
Thus the question returns to its place: since already before this there was "They will confess their sin…," why should there afterward come "I too will walk with them with indifference and I will bring them…"? And "then" — only afterward — "their uncircumcised heart will be humbled"10?
2. This will be understood by first introducing the general difference between the interpretations of Toras Kohanim and of Rashi on these verses:
In Toras Kohanim, both on the verse "They will confess…" and on the verse "perhaps their uncircumcised heart will be humbled," it prefaces "These words refer to teshuvah." That is, the subject here is that Jews have already done teshuvah. Rashi, however, does not bring down from Toras Kohanim the point that "these words refer to teshuvah."
On the other hand, on the words "and then they will gain forgiveness for their sin," Rashi adds: "יכפרו על עונם ביסוריהם" ("they will atone for their sin through their sufferings"). This is not in Toras Kohanim; after the interpretation of "their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" — "these words refer to teshuvah" — Toras Kohanim concludes that after their teshuvah, "I return and have mercy on them, as it says, 'perhaps then their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and then they will gain forgiveness for their sin.'"
From the above nuances we see that according to Toras Kohanim there was teshuvah here11, whereas according to Rashi — the plain meaning of Scripture — there had not yet been any teshuvah here. And therefore Rashi must add that the atonement for the sins comes "through their sufferings," because the Jews had not done teshuvah.
One must understand: what compels the plain meaning of Scripture to learn (not like Toras Kohanim, but) that the Jews had not done teshuvah? Seemingly, the verse does say "They will confess… perhaps their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" — so how does Rashi say that the atonement for their sins is (not because they did teshuvah, but) "through their sufferings"?
3. It may be said that Rashi learns this from the fact that immediately after "and then they will gain forgiveness for their sin" it says "And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov…" — that through "And I will remember" the Redemption will come (as Rashi explains that the words "And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov" allude that Eliyahu will come and herald "the redemption of his children").
For seemingly it is not understood: since "they will gain forgiveness for their sin" has already taken place — the Jews have already received atonement for their sin — why must they still resort to the remembrance of the merit of the Patriarchs in order to merit the Redemption?
Especially as Rashi elaborates on how far their merit must be relied upon — "and if (Yaakov) is not worthy, here is Yitzchak with him, and if he is not worthy, here is Avraham with him"12 — i.e., it may be that the merit of one of the Patriarchs will not suffice, and it will be necessary to rely on the merit of all three together. This is certainly difficult: even if the Jews need to rely on the merit of the Patriarchs, why should there be any supposition that the merit of Yaakov alone is not enough, when the Jews no longer have any sins?!
In Or HaChaim13 it says: "הוידוי יועיל להקל מעליהם הגזירות הרעות אבל להשיבם לכנם14 צריך זכות אבות" ("The confession will help to lighten the evil decrees from upon them, but to restore them to their base requires the merit of the Patriarchs").
But this itself requires explanation: the entire — and only — cause of exile is the sins ("ומפני חטאינו גלינו מארצנו" — "because of our sins we were exiled from our land"), and as it says at the beginning of the Rebuke:15 "ואם לא תשמעו לי גו'" ("But if you will not listen to Me…"). It is therefore understood that as soon as the cause of the exile — "their sin" — is nullified, the effect, the exile, must automatically be nullified, and the Redemption comes.
Now, since here there was "They will confess… they will gain forgiveness for their sin," why must one resort to "And I will remember…" in order to merit the Redemption?
4. From this Rashi is compelled [to conclude] that although "they will gain forgiveness for their sin" did take place here, no change came about in the Jews themselves. It is merely that "they will atone for their sin through their sufferings," but they themselves did not change.16
And therefore Rashi says on "their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" (not, as in Toras Kohanim, that this is a matter of teshuvah, but) that it is a continuation of "And I will bring…," which Rashi explains (as above) is a conduct from Above in the manner of "ביד חזקה… אמלוך עליכם" ("with a strong hand… will I reign over you"): because of the "strong hand," "their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" — the sufferings, etc., break the heart. But this is not a matter of teshuvah.
And therefore one must resort to the remembrance of the covenant of the Patriarchs: to merit the Redemption it is (not enough to remove the sins through their sufferings; rather) the Jews must be transformed. Exile and Redemption are two opposite states; in the words of the verse: in the time of exile there is a conduct of "אלך עמכם בקרי" ("I will walk with you with indifference"),17 whereas in the time of the Redemption there is "ופניתי אליכם" ("I will turn to you"), "ונתתי משכני בתוככם… והתהלכתי בתוככם" ("I will place My dwelling among you… and I will walk among you")18 — revelation and the shining of the countenance of G‑d.
Therefore it is not enough to wipe away the sins; rather, there must be a change in the Jews, so that they be ready for the opposite state — that of Redemption. And since here there was only "they will atone for their sin through their sufferings," how will the Jews come to the Redemption? The verse therefore continues and explains: "And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov…" — this will come about by virtue of the covenant that G‑d made with the Patriarchs. Since there is a covenant made with the Patriarchs, G‑d fulfills His pledge with their children, without regard to their standing and state (in and of themselves).
5. According to all the above, it is also answered why Rashi need not forestall how "I too will walk… and I will bring them…" fits after "They will confess their sin…":
Just as "their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" is not a matter of teshuvah (according to Rashi's commentary), as above, but a result of the "strong hand" with which G‑d reigns over the Jews "in the land of their enemies," so too regarding "They will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers": this is not a matter of confession that comes together with teshuvah, but rather a continuation of the preceding verse. When there will be a state of "ימקו בעונם גו' ואף בעונות אבותם" ("they will waste away in their sin… and also in the sins of their fathers"), this will bring the Jews to confess "their sin and the sin of their fathers." That is, the confession is not an expression of their desire for teshuvah; rather, since they feel "their sufferings," the pain of their sin and the sin of their fathers, they admit that their sin was not worthwhile — but not that it was a sin (a sheretz).
[Similarly, as Kli Yakar19 explains, even after the confession they remain "במעלם אשר מעלו בי" ("in their trespass which they trespassed against Me"), so the confession is "כטובל ושרץ בידו" ("like one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand").20]
6. This, however, is still not smooth:
As mentioned earlier, Rashi explains the verse "And I will bring them" as "This is a good measure for Israel," and from the fact that it comes immediately in continuation of "They will confess their sin…" it is understood that the "good measure for Israel" comes as a result of "They will confess."
It is not understood: if one says that the confession is a result of the sufferings of exile, but there is no teshuvah involved — as Kli Yakar says, "like one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand" — why should this bring about "And I will bring them… this is a good measure for Israel"?
One must say that although the confession is not a matter of teshuvah, it is nonetheless at least something good, which causes G‑d to conduct Himself with the Jews in a manner of a good measure — "He brings them back under My wings."
7. This will be understood by first introducing the explanation of the matter of confession according to halachah — for we find several particulars in the definition of confession:
At the beginning of the Laws of Teshuvah21 the Rambam rules: "כשיעשה תשובה וישוב מחטאו חייב להתודות" ("When he does teshuvah and returns from his sin, he is obligated to confess") — confession comes specifically after the person has already done teshuvah. And as the Rambam explains in the following chapter,22 the essence of confession is that he utters with his lips "עניינות אלו שגמר בלבו" ("these matters which he has resolved in his heart"). That is, first there must be teshuvah, whose substance is "ויגמור בלבו שלא יעשהו עוד… יתנחם על שעבר כו'" ("he resolves in his heart that he will not do it again… he regrets the past, etc."),23 and afterward these resolutions of the heart ("these matters which he has resolved in his heart") are brought out in speech through the confession.
The Chinuch,24 in his explanation of the "roots of the mitzvah" of confession, adds a second aspect of confession: "גם מתוך הזכרת החטא בפרט יתנחם עליו ויזהר ממנו יותר פעם אחרת" ("Also, through mentioning the sin specifically, he will regret it and be more careful about it another time") — i.e., the confession helps toward further teshuvah.
It may be said that, in terms of this aspect of confession, there is room for confession even before one does complete teshuvah in his heart, because the confession itself will bring him to "regret it." This is similar to what the Rambam explains in the Laws of Fasts25 regarding the content and purpose of the four fasts, in these words: "יש שם ימים שכל ישראל מתענים בהם מפני הצרות שאירעו בהן כדי לעורר הלבבות לפתוח דרכי התשובה ויהי' זה זכרון למעשינו הרעים ומעשה אבותינו שהי' כמעשינו עתה עד שגרם להם ולנו אותן הצרות, שבזכרון דברים אלו נשוב להיטיב שנאמר והתודו את עונם ואת עון אבותם וגו'" ("There are days on which all Israel fast because of the calamities that occurred on them, in order to arouse the hearts to open the paths of teshuvah; and this shall be a remembrance of our evil deeds and the deeds of our fathers, which were like our deeds now, until it caused them and us those calamities; for through remembering these matters we will return to do good, as it says, 'They will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers…'"). That is, the "remembering these matters" itself — recalling that "our evil deeds and the deeds of our fathers" caused "those calamities" — will bring about "we will return to do good."
Similarly, there is a mode of confession that comes even before one does teshuvah, the purpose of which is that through it there should be "we will return to do good."
8. There is, however, yet another mode of confession (before teshuvah), which is — as the Rambam says in the Laws of Teshuvah26 — "המתודה בדברים ולא גמר בלבו לעזוב" ("one who confesses in words but has not resolved in his heart to abandon [the sin]"), and the Rambam compares such a confession to "one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand."27
At first glance it appears that such a confession is not at all within the definition of confession. For since the essence of confession is (as the Rambam says just before this, at the end of the preceding halachah) "to confess with his lips and say these matters which he has resolved in his heart," it must accordingly follow that if the "resolved in his heart" is absent, the entire definition of confession is also absent.
But according to this, it is not understood why the Rambam gives the example of "one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand": if the entire matter of confession is absent, this is similar not to one who immerses (but in a manner of) "while holding a sheretz in his hand," but to one who has not had any immersion at all26?!
From this we see that the essential matter of confession — saying in speech that one has committed a sin — even when there is not yet a resolution in the heart to abandon the sin, is in itself something good; it is akin to immersion, which is an act that has the power to effect purity. The only deficiency is that when "he has not resolved in his heart to abandon," the confession is in the manner of "holding a sheretz in his hand" (in his heart he has an attachment to the sin; he is still holding on to the "impurity"); therefore he cannot become pure "עד שישליך השרץ" ("until he casts away the sheretz") — until he resolves in his heart, etc.
9. The explanation of this:
Speech has several properties:
a) Speech brings out — reveals — the matters found inside, within a person's heart and mind.
b) Speech has the property of evoking (additional) arousal in the subject and content of what is spoken (as is written in sefarim28 that when someone is angry he should not speak at that time, because through speech the anger is strengthened even more).
c) When someone utters in speech something that is the opposite of what he feels and holds within his heart, he feels at that very moment a sense of unease, even a sense of shame. For although speaking is merely an external matter, nevertheless, since a person is in his essence a "speaker" (as explained in many places29), it must necessarily be that something he brings out in speech touches him, and therefore he feels "constricted" when he says something that contradicts what he feels in his heart.
10. Correspondingly, there are these three aspects in the matter of confession (in speech30):
The main obligation of confession is, as above in the Rambam, "to confess with his lips and say these matters which he has resolved in his heart" — the speech should bring out openly the teshuvah within the heart. And as the Chinuch31 explains this at greater length: "לפי שבהודאת העון בפה תתגלה מחשבת החוטא ודעתו שהוא מאמין באמת כי גלוי וידוע לפני הא-ל ב"ה כל מעשהו כו'" ("For by admitting the sin with the mouth, the thought of the sinner is revealed, and his conviction that he truly believes that all his deeds are revealed and known before G‑d, blessed be He, etc.").
A second aspect of confession is that the confession itself,32 even before he makes a complete resolution in his heart to abandon the sin, arouses in him the feeling of teshuvah — as above, that speech arouses the feeling of the heart.33
A third aspect of confession is that the confession itself is an "act"34 of teshuvah: by saying in speech "אנא השם חטאתי עויתי פשעתי לפניך ועשיתי כך וכך והרי נחמתי ובושתי במעשי ולעולם איני חוזר לדבר הזה" ("Please, G‑d, I have sinned, I have done wrong, I have transgressed before You, and I have done such-and-such; and behold, I regret and am ashamed of my deeds, and I will never return to this thing")35 (and the like), even if at that time "he has not resolved in his heart to abandon," it nevertheless has an effect on the person at that very moment: he feels a sense of shame over the past (also over the fact that his speech does not accord with the feeling in his heart). Therefore the confession is considered like an act of immersion36 (which — in general — purifies from impurity).
11. According to all the above it is also understood why, although according to Rashi "They will confess" is not a matter of teshuvah (and the atonement for the sins is "through their sufferings") — and as Kli Yakar says (as above), the confession is "like one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand" — it nevertheless contains a benefit, on account of which it brings about "And I will bring…," "This is a good measure for Israel… and He brings them back under My wings."
For the essential matter of confession, even without a feeling of teshuvah in the heart, is akin to immersion. And therefore,37 as a result of this, G‑d conducts Himself with the Jews in a manner of a good measure, and "brings them back under My wings."
12. According to what was explained above — that there are several levels in confession, and that the main obligation of confession is its first aspect, "to confess with his lips and say these matters which he has resolved in his heart" (and not (as much) the other aspects of confession, which do not come together with teshuvah in the heart) — one can also explain a puzzling matter in the Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvos:
In the mitzvah of confession, the Rambam38 cites from the Mechilta:39 "יכול בזמן שהם מביאים (קרבן) הם מתודין ובזמן שאין מביאין אין מתודין, תלמוד לומר דבר אל בני ישראל והתודו, ועדיין אין משמע וידוי אלא בארץ מנין אף בגלות, תלמוד לומר והתודו את עונם ואת עון אבותם" ("One might think that when they bring [an offering] they confess, and when they do not bring one they do not confess; therefore the verse states*39 'Speak to the Children of Israel… and they shall confess.' Still, this implies confession only in the Land; from where [do we know] also in exile? Therefore the verse states, 'They will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers'").
It is not understood: granted, it is understandable that there should be a supposition that confession applies only when one brings an offering, as the Rambam explains there beforehand: "ובעבור שבא זה הציווי שהוא והתודו עם חיוב הקרבן הי' עולה במחשבה שאין הוידוי לבדו מצוה בפני עצמו אבל הוא מדברים הנגררים אחר הקרבן, הוצרכו שבארו זו במכילתא" ("Since this command, namely 'and they shall confess,' came together with the obligation of the offering, it would have entered one's mind that confession alone is not a mitzvah in its own right, but rather one of the matters subordinate to the offering; therefore they needed to clarify this in the Mechilta").40
But it is not understood: how could there be a supposition that confession applies only in Eretz Yisrael, to the extent that a special derivation is needed that there is confession in exile as well?
The Chinuch41 explains this: "ועדין הייתי אומר שאין הוידוי אלא בארץ, כלומר אע"פ שמתודין בלא קרבן מ"מ לא יהי' חייב וידוי אלא בארץ, כי שם עיקר הכפרה ושם הקרבנות ועיקר הכל בה" ("And still I would have said that confession applies only in the Land; that is, even though one confesses without an offering, nevertheless one would be obligated to confess only in the Land, for there is the main atonement, and there are the offerings, and the essence of everything is in it").
But this explanation requires elaboration: the mitzvah of teshuvah and the mitzvah of confession are, after all, personal obligations at all times — what practical difference does it make that in Eretz Yisrael is "the main atonement, and there are the offerings"?
According to the above, this can be explained: since the definition of the obligation of confession is the expression and revelation of what "he has resolved in his heart," there would have been a supposition that in exile — where it may be that the confession does not stem entirely from the teshuvah in the person's heart, but rather the pain of the sufferings of exile is mixed into it, i.e., what causes his confession is the exile, the sufferings of exile — it accordingly follows that this is not confession as an expression of the teshuvah in the heart, but rather along the lines of the second and third modes mentioned above; one might therefore think that such a mode of confession is not obligatory.
We therefore learn from the verse "They will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers" that for the confession of exile as well (even though it lacks the "resolved in his heart" in full completeness, since the teshuvah comes mainly because of the sufferings of exile), nevertheless, for such a confession too there is an obligation (together with teshuvah).
13. According to this — that the general matter of teshuvah in exile (which comes because of the sufferings of exile) is not the matter of teshuvah in its completeness — we will also have an explanation of why one must resort to "And I will remember…" even according to the commentators who hold that "They will confess… perhaps their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" is indeed a matter of teshuvah:
Since the teshuvah begins only because of the sufferings of exile, it is not a true change in the very being of the Jews. One must therefore resort to the merit of the Patriarchs in order to merit the state of Redemption.
And according to this, the novelty of the future Redemption is all the more appreciated — as the Rambam rules42 as halachah that "אין ישראל נגאלין אלא בתשובה" ("Israel will be redeemed only through teshuvah"), and then continues, "הבטיחה תורה שסוף ישראל לעשות תשובה בסוף גלותן ומיד הן נגאלין" ("The Torah has assured that Israel will ultimately do teshuvah at the end of their exile, and they will immediately be redeemed"). It may be said that the Rambam's intent in this is that the Torah assures that the Jews will attain teshuvah from their own being. That is, although first there will be (as in the verse43 that the Rambam cites there*43) "ויבואו עליך כל הדברים גו'" ("and all these things will come upon you…"), afterward, however, there will be "ושבת עד ה' א-לקיך" ("and you will return to the L‑rd your G‑d")44: the teshuvah will be attributed to the Jews themselves.
[It may be said that the Rambam emphasizes this by placing the matter of teshuvah at the end of the exile in the seventh chapter of the Laws of Teshuvah, after he elaborates in two chapters45 on the matter of free choice — that every Jew has free choice — and then says at the beginning of the seventh chapter: "הואיל ורשות כל אדם נתונה לו כו' ישתדל אדם לעשות תשובה ולהתודות כו'" ("Since every person is granted free will… a person should strive to do teshuvah and to confess…"). It may be said that the Rambam's intent in this*45 is:
The true matter of teshuvah is when it comes through one's free choice; therefore a person must strive to do teshuvah through his free choice, and not46 wait until he will be compelled from Above to do teshuvah. And in continuation of this matter the Rambam says, "The Torah has assured that Israel will ultimately do teshuvah at the end of their exile"47 — that the Jews will do this very teshuvah: a teshuvah that comes from a person's free choice.]
And this is the difference between the matter as it appears in our parsha and as it appears in the verse "And you will return…" mentioned above: in our parsha the wording of the verse is "perhaps their uncircumcised heart will be humbled" — here the action of the Jews (circumcising the foreskin of the heart) is not emphasized; rather, the heart is acted upon — it will be humbled because of the sufferings of exile.
Whereas in the true and complete Redemption through our righteous Moshiach there will be "And you will return to the L‑rd your G‑d" — the teshuvah of the Jews by their own power. The sufferings of exile will merely serve as an arousal, but afterward the teshuvah comes from the Jews themselves.48
(From the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Behar-Bechukosai 5728, and Vayakhel-Pekudei 5735)
Notes
1) 26:40–41.
2) Ibid., 42.
3) See Ramban, Akeidah, Abarbanel, Kli Yakar, Or HaChaim, and others.
4) Korban Aharon on Toras Kohanim.
5) See Korban Aharon there, before this (os 3), on what Toras Kohanim says, "These words refer to teshuvah, etc." — that until now the curses were completed, and from here onward it states the remedy for them, to escape from all this after they sin, namely teshuvah, etc. See there.
6) See Toras Kohanim on the verse "I too will walk with them with indifference." And in Korban Aharon there: "They treated My laws as incidental, but did not abandon them completely; I too will treat them as incidental, and will not abandon them completely."
7) Yechezkel 20:32–33.
8) Although in Toras Kohanim too the entire continuation of the verse is cited, and not only in brief as in Rashi's commentary, nevertheless, since in Toras Kohanim this comes in continuation of the interpretation of "They will confess" — "these words refer to teshuvah, etc." — as above, it is understood that it comes as an addition to that matter (regarding those who did not confess, or whose teshuvah was not as it should be; see at length in the commentators cited in note 3). But in Rashi's commentary the emphasis "refer to teshuvah, etc." was not stated before this, as above. Note also the difference between the wording of Rashi and that of Toras Kohanim: in Toras Kohanim, "and they bring them back to the good path, under His wings," while in Rashi, "and He brings them back under My wings," omitting "to the good path."
9) [OCR unclear] according to both interpretations in Rashi, s.v. "Oh Az." See the commentators on Rashi. And elsewhere.
10) It is understood that according to the plain meaning of Scripture (Rashi's commentary) one may not interpret contrary to the order of the verses — as Ibn Ezra writes on the verse "I too will walk [OCR unclear] and I will bring…": "So I did, to bring them to the land of their enemies until their heart is humbled," in the past tense — but rather as the Ramban cites his interpretation and continues and challenges it: "In my opinion, it alludes that after the confession He will yet bring them into the land of their enemies."
11) See Korban Aharon on Toras Kohanim there, s.v. [OCR unclear], what he cites from the author of Os Emes.
12) Its source is in Toras Kohanim. But in Toras Kohanim: a) it is stated in reverse order; b) "with him" is not stated. The differences are explained in Likkutei Sichos vol. 32, p. 168ff.
13) 26:42.
14) From the expression "the laver and its base" (kiyor v'kano) — i.e., to their place (in Eretz Yisrael).
15) 26:14.
16) Perhaps it may be said that this is the precision in Rashi's wording, "they will atone for their sin through their sufferings": seemingly, it is G‑d Who atones for their sin through sufferings, and it should have said, "their sin will be atoned through sufferings," as in the wording of the verse, "ופקדתי בשבט פשעם ובנגעים עונם" ("I will punish their transgression with the rod and their sin with plagues") (Tehillim 89:33). However, this atonement through sufferings by G‑d is after teshuvah, when his teshuvah is acceptable before Him, as the Alter Rebbe elaborates in Iggeres HaTeshuvah, ch. 1. But in our case, since these are not the sufferings that come after teshuvah, as above, it follows that it is as if "they will atone… through their sufferings."
17) 26:41. See also earlier, 26:24, 28.
18) 26:9ff.
19) 26:39.
20) And at length in Akeidah and Abarbanel there. And elsewhere.
21) All of the Laws of Teshuvah in the Rambam are studied (according to the division of three chapters a day) during this week of Parshas Bechukosai (5744): Tuesday — chapters 1–3; and so on. Similarly the Sefer HaMitzvos cited below in the text, section 12, for those who study Sefer HaMitzvos. Note also that in this week (5744), on Wednesday, falls Pesach Sheni, whose theme is the theme of teshuvah — see Hayom Yom, p. 53; Likkutei Sichos vol. 8, the third and fourth sichos on Parshas Behaalosecha; and elsewhere.
22) Ch. 2, halachah 2.
23) The Rambam's wording there.
24) Mitzvah 364.
25) Beginning of ch. 5.
26) Ch. 2, halachah 3.
26) See the Chinuch (mitzvah 364): "it is better that he not confess about this" (though there it refers to one who has not yet returned the stolen property in his hands). Midbar Kedmos, entry vav, os 10 (citing the Zohar).
27) Note the difference between the Rambam's wording and that of the Gemara (Taanis 16a, cited in Kesef Mishneh): in the Gemara, "To what is he comparable? To a person who holds a sheretz in his hand, who even (and in Kesef Mishneh: although) he immerses in all the waters in the world, his immersion is not effective"; while in the Rambam's wording, "this is comparable to one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand," it is emphasized more that the confession is akin to immersion.
28) See Sefer HaMaamarim 5659, p. 5 (citing Reishis Chochmah).
29) See Likkutei Sichos vol. 6, end of p. 115ff., and the sources cited there. Note also Likkutei Sichos vol. 22, p. 67, regarding the definition of lashon hara.
30) Note the variations in the Rambam: at the beginning of the Laws of Teshuvah, "he is obligated to confess… this is verbal confession… and likewise those liable to sin-offerings, etc., until they do teshuvah and make verbal confession… those liable to death… until they do teshuvah and confess. And likewise one who wounds, etc., until he confesses and returns, etc." And in ch. 2, halachah 2: "and he must confess with his lips, etc."; in halachah 3: "whoever confesses in words"; and at the beginning of ch. 6: "and to confess with his mouth from his sins, etc." See Minchas Chinuch, beginning of mitzvah 364. This is not the place to elaborate.
31) Mitzvah 364. And see Chovos HaLevavos, Shaar HaBechinah, ch. 5.
32) Note Chiddushei Beis Yaakov on the Rambam (by Maharei Bei Rav, printed in the Rambam, Pardes edition), Laws of Teshuvah 2:1; Sefer Yad HaKetanah, Laws of Teshuvah 1:2, subpar. 4; Maharam Schick on the 613 mitzvos, mitzvah 368.
33) Along the lines of the saying of our Sages, "the voice arouses the concentration" (see Tur and Shulchan Aruch (and the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch), Orach Chaim, end of sec. 61, par. 4 (par. 5); Beis Yosef [OCR unclear], subpar. 1; Taz there, subpar. 1–3; the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch there, par. 3; Reishis Chochmah, Shaar HaKedushah, end of ch. 16 — cited in Shelah, Shaar HaOsiyos (82b). And see Or HaTorah, Va'eira, p. 176ff.; Sefer HaMaamarim 5659, p. 6).
*) According to this, the Rambam's wording "one who immerses while holding a sheretz in his hand" is resolved — that it is regarded as an immersion (as below in the text). And from the length of his words it is implied that it refers also to one who has no regret at all in his heart, etc. (see there). This is along the lines of the third mode in the text.
34) Note Derech Mitzvosecha, Mitzvas Viduy U'Teshuvah, ch. 1: through regret, which is the uprooting of the will from the sin, he thereby extracts the soul from the kelipah, etc.; but to erase its body, this is through verbal confession, for the movement of his lips is considered an action, and thereby he erases its body, and it is as if it never was.
35) The Rambam's wording at the beginning of the Laws of Teshuvah, "How does one confess? He says…," and he concludes, "and this is the essence of confession."
36) According to this, the wording of the Meiri (Chibbur HaTeshuvah, maamar 1, ch. 9 (p. 191)) is all the more appreciated; after citing the above words of the Rambam he writes: "How very fitting is the analogy to its subject: for immersion in water is a metaphor for teshuvah, and holding the sheretz is a metaphor for his thinking of returning to his sin; and just as for one who immerses while holding a sheretz the immersion does not help even while he is in the water, so teshuvah without a resolution of thought to abandon the sin does not help even at the time of teshuvah, etc."
37) It may be said that this conduct of "They will confess" without a feeling and movement of teshuvah was a conduct of "אשר הלכו עמי בקרי" ("that they walked with Me with indifference"), and therefore "I too will walk with them with indifference and I will bring them into the land of their enemies" — they are aroused through "a strong hand," and not through revelation and closeness.
38) Sefer HaMitzvos, positive commandment 73.
39) So it is in the Rambam; it is from Sifrei Zuta, Naso 5:7.
*39) Naso there, 6–7.
40) So it is in our edition of Sefer HaMitzvos. In the Heller and Kafih editions, with slight variations.
41) Mitzvah 364.
42) Laws of Teshuvah 7:5.
43) Nitzavim 30:1.
*43) It may be said that the Rambam's citing the beginning of the verse, "והי' כי יבואו עליך כל הדברים גו'" ("And it will be, when all these things come upon you…"), is only to bring proof that the verse speaks of the time of "the end of their exile."
44) Ibid., 2.
45) Chs. 5 and 6.
*45) See at length Likkutei Sichos vol. 30, p. 199ff.
46) "And not out of fear, and not out of failure, etc." (see Rambam there, beginning of ch. 2).
47) It may be said that this is also why the Rambam begins halachah 5, "All the prophets commanded concerning teshuvah, and Israel will be redeemed only through teshuvah": Israel will be redeemed only through this teshuvah — "they commanded concerning teshuvah," meaning that the doing of teshuvah is only on account of the command, and one does it through his own choice, similar to the general matter of mitzvos and transgressions, which a person does through his choice, as he explained in ch. 5. See there.
48) It may be said (at least by way of allusion) that this is the precision of the wording "and they will immediately be redeemed": nothing further is needed — not even the remembrance of the covenant of the Patriarchs (as in our parsha) — in order for them to be redeemed; rather, "immediately" — solely on account of the teshuvah.
Key Lesson
Even a confession that does not yet come from a full resolution of the heart is itself something good — like an immersion — and draws G‑d's good measure, bringing a Jew back under His wings. Yet true teshuvah is the one a person undertakes by his own free choice rather than waiting to be compelled by suffering; and the Torah assures that at the end of the exile the Jewish people will return to G‑d of their own accord and immediately be redeemed.