Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, The Thirteen Petalled Rose: A Discourse on the Essence of Jewish Existence and Belief (adapted)
G-d created teshuvah before creating the world. The implication of this remarkable statement is that repentance is a universal, primordial phenomenon and has two meanings. One is that it is embedded in the root structure of the world. The other is to teach that before humanity was even created, people have been given the possibility of changing the course of their lives. In the latter sense, repentance is the highest expression of the divinity within us- the capacity to choose freely. One can extricate oneself from the binding web of one’s life, from the chain of causality that otherwise compels one to follow a path of no return.
Repentance also comprises the notion that humanity has a measure of control over existence in all dimensions, including time. It is impossible to undo or even alter an action after it has occurred. Repentance admits the possibility of changing its significance in the present and future. Repentance gives people the power to overleap their past, to separate from them and reach new heights that were not even visible before. It is the potential for something else.
It is only a beginning, for the present has been altered but earlier actions and their consequences continue to generate a chain of cause & effect. For every wrong deed in one’s past, the penitent is required to perform certain acts that surpass the ordinary individual, to complement & balance the picture of one’s life. One must build and create anew and change the order of good & evil in such a way that now not only one’s current life acquires new form & direction, but the totality of one’s life is positive.
The penitent does more than return to one’s proper place. One performs an act of amendment of cosmic significance, restoring the sparks of holiness which had been captured by the forces of evil. This is the significance of the statement in the Talmud that in a place where a completely repentant person stands, even the most saintly cannot enter; because the penitent has at one’s disposal not only the forces of good in one’s soul and in the world, but also those of evil, which have been transformed into essences of holiness.
Teshuvah always resides in the heart; even at the moment of sin, the impulse for teshuvah is hidden in the soul, radiating influence which will be revealed later, with the arrival of the regret that calls for teshuvah. Teshuvah resides in the depths of existential life, for it preceded the universe, and before sin arrives its teshuvah is already prepared. Therefore, nothing in this universe is as certain as teshuvah, and, ultimately, all will be repaired. (Rav Kook, Orot haTeshuvah 6:2)
Teshuvah is a natural product of health and maturity: the desire for teshuvah is a person’s most healthy spiritual desire. A healthy soul in a healthy body is compelled to achieve the great bliss of teshuvah, experiencing in it the greatest natural pleasure. A properly functioning body removes harmful materials, thereby improving & healing the body. One who is spiritually & physically healthy will remove evil deeds & the evil, corrupt impressions they produce, every evil thought, & the distance from Divine influence which founds all evil, crudeness and ugliness. (O.T. 5:1)
The potential for Teshuvah is always present: Even if a person consistently stumbles, damaging his righteousness and ethical behavior, this does not damage his fundamental perfection. A person’s fundamental perfection is found in his longing and desire to achieve perfection, a desire which is the foundation of teshuvah, and which continually governs his path in life. (Orot haTeshuvah 5:5)
The Challenge of Jewish Repentance from Wall Street Journal
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, September 2017
The book of Genesis opens with G-d making humans “in G-d's image and likeness.” This phrase has become so familiar to us that we forget how paradoxical it is, since for the Hebrew Bible, God has no image and likeness. As the narrative quickly makes clear, what humans have in common with God is freedom and moral responsibility. The Jewish drama is less about character and fate than about will and choice. The trouble is, of course, that faced with choice, we often make the wrong one. Given a second chance, Adam and Eve would probably pass on the fruit. Cain might work a little harder on his anger management. The key fact about us, according to the Bible, is that uniquely in an otherwise law-governed universe, we are able to break the law—a power that we too often relish exercising.
This raises an acute theological dilemma. How are we to reconcile G-d’s high hopes for humanity with our shabby and threadbare moral record? The short answer is forgiveness. G-d wrote forgiveness into the script. G-d always gives us a second chance, and more. All we have to do is to acknowledge our wrongs, apologize, make amends and resolve to behave better, and G-d forgives. It allows us to hold simultaneously to the highest moral aspirations while admitting honestly our deepest moral failings. That is the drama of the Jewish High Holy Days.