Teshuvah with Joy - the Secret the Baal Shem Tov Revealed to the World | Chai Elul

00:00 One of the striking innovations of Chassidus is the idea of doing teshuvah with joy. In general, we know that the Baal Shem Tov emphasized joy in serving Hashem. The verse already says, “Serve Hashem with joy,” and the Torah even says, “Because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with joy and gladness of heart.” The Rambam explains that this is meant literally too: serving Hashem must be joyful. At the end of Hilchos Lulav, the Rambam says, “The service with which a Jew serves Hakadosh Boruch Hu must be done with joy; it is a great service,” and so on. Nevertheless, we know that with the Baal Shem Tov, this became a foundation of serving Hashem. As I once had the privilege of hearing, the Rebbe said that one way we can look at a person and recognize that he is a chossid is by seeing his joy. In other words, joy expresses a chossid’s whole outlook. But Chassidus speaks about something even more fascinating: doing teshuvah with joy. Seemingly, when we speak about teshuvah, it is associated with sadness, or at least bitterness. A person takes stock of himself and thinks about everything he has gone through during the year. How can he be joyful? After all, we each know that “there is no righteous person on earth who does good and does not sin.” How much more so when we are far from being righteous. So when the month of Elul arrives and we begin taking stock, thinking about regret for the past and resolutions for the future, the work of teshuvah involves feelings of pain, bitterness, sadness, and the like. The Baal Shem Tov came and said: No, teshuvah must be done specifically with joy. So let’s talk about that today, especially since this week we celebrate 18

02:13 Elul, the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov in 5458 and the birthday of the Alter Rebbe in 5505. These are great days, the birthdays of two great luminaries, the founders of the teachings of Chassidus in general and Chabad Chassidus. We will see, in a wonderful way, how Chassidus teaches us that teshuvah must go together with joy. Part of this subject is explained in the Tanya. The Alter Rebbe discusses it both in Likkutei Amarim in Tanya and in Igeres Hateshuvah. We will look closely at what is written there, and we will also discuss what the Alter Rebbe says in maamarim in several other places where he explains this subject. It is a very, very interesting subject, and it is important for us, too, to know how to do teshuvah with joy. It is truly remarkable that the Alter Rebbe and the Baal Shem Tov were both born on 18 Elul. As the well-known saying among chassidim goes, 18 Elul means that Chassidus brought life, vitality, and joy into the month of Elul. Elul is the time for teshuvah, the month of mercy and forgiveness. And we see the power of teshuvah when we study it deeply according to Chassidus and understand how there can be joy in serving Hashem. Let’s discuss a few points. One is that, as we have explained and have discussed before, Chassidus emphasizes that teshuvah is not only about regret. On the contrary, regret is one detail of teshuvah, but the essence of teshuvah is in the word itself: to return, to come back—to return to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to return to our inner truth, to reconnect. “And the spirit shall return to G-d Who gave it.” According to Chassidus, the meaning of this verse is that the spirit, the soul—the soul of each and every one of us—is truly a part of G-d above, as explained at length

04:40 in Tanya. The soul descended into this world. “It is pure. You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me, and You preserve it within me.” The soul is in a physical body, but in its essential nature it is pure; it is a part of G-d above. Teshuvah means returning to that state while we are here in this world, a soul in a body, alive. A Jew has the power to return and connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu in the deepest and most complete way through teshuvah. Teshuvah is, in essence, the power to draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu out of love and to cleave to Him. That is why the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, and says it again: teshuvah is specifically joyful. He puts it very simply. On the one hand, our Sages say that a person should spend all his days in teshuvah. There is a famous teaching of our Sages: Rabbi Eliezer the Great, Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkenus, told his students, “Repent one day before your death.” A person should do teshuvah the day before he dies. His students asked him: How can a person know when he will die? He cannot know when that will happen. So he told them: That means he should spend all his days in teshuvah; he must always do teshuvah. On the other hand, we are told, “Serve Hashem with joy.” A person must serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu every day, and serve Him specifically with joy. So how do those two things go together? This itself tells us that they are not a contradiction. On the contrary, as the Alter Rebbe puts it in chapter 31 of Likkutei Amarim in Tanya: “All his days in teshuvah, which is with great joy.” The lifelong teshuvah of a Jew who does teshuvah every day is specifically a source of great joy. He explains this further in Igeres Hateshuvah. What is the explanation? He puts it simply. To give an example of teshuvah—and this example

06:40 is rooted in the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, in a parable from the Baal Shem Tov specifically for these days, the months of Elul and Tishrei: a king’s son is held captive. When the king’s son leaves captivity and returns to his father’s home, there is no greater pleasure or joy, for either the father, the king, or his son. When the son is freed from captivity and returns to his father’s home, and they are reunited and embrace, it is the greatest joy. Teshuvah is the same. When a Jew does teshuvah and returns to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, he is like a king’s son who was held captive in the hands of the yetzer hara. He has been freed and has returned to his father’s home. There is no greater joy than when the king’s son is back in his father’s home. When they are simply together all the time, near each other, that closeness is taken for granted. In that situation, you do not see any special joy. But when the king’s son was in captivity and then returns, the joy is great and wonderful. And this, the Alter Rebbe says, happens every single day. This is what Rabbi Eliezer meant by spending all one’s days in teshuvah. He meant teshuvah ila’ah, higher teshuvah, which is accompanied by great joy. The Alter Rebbe explains this in greater detail in Igeres Hateshuvah, based on what is brought in Kabbalah and discussed further there in Tanya: there are several levels of teshuvah. Broadly speaking, they are divided into two levels: teshuvah tata’ah, lower teshuvah, and teshuvah ila’ah, higher teshuvah. In the first, a person’s main inner focus is to leave evil behind. Lower teshuvah means leaving the darkness, leaving evil, breaking away from rebellion against the Kingdom. As we discussed, when a person reflects on the fact that he has rebelled and cast off the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, he returns to accepting that yoke upon himself. That is teshuvah at the first stage, and even there, there is already the

08:45 The great joy is that a Jew can reconnect despite the separation. He can return and connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu again, and do teshuvah again. But that is only the first stage. The goal of teshuvah, its fulfillment, is to reach teshuvah ila’ah, the higher teshuvah. That higher teshuvah is the inner closeness and cleaving expressed in “and the spirit returns to G-d who gave it.” And that closeness comes specifically with great joy. “All his days” should be spent in teshuvah ila’ah, says the Alter Rebbe in chapter 11 of Igeres Hateshuvah, and it is accompanied by great joy—by the greatest joy of all. What could bring greater joy than the extraordinary closeness a Jew can attain with Hashem? And for a baal teshuvah, it is even more powerful and intense. Because he was distant, because he was far away, he has a greater thirst, a greater longing, a deeper attachment. His closeness, too, is deeper, and therefore his joy is greater. That is one point. The second point the Alter Rebbe tells us is about trust—a tremendously important point. A Jew must have complete confidence that the moment he asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu for forgiveness, Hakadosh Boruch Hu forgives him. This is one of the foundations of faith. A Jew must believe and be completely confident that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is abundant in forgiveness. After all, we say this every day in prayer, in the Amidah, the Shemoneh Esrei. A Jew stands face to face with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Every word is true. In the prayer we say: “Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed, for You are a good and forgiving G-d.” We ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu for forgiveness because we know that “You are a good and forgiving G-d.” And how do we conclude? “Blessed are You, Hashem, gracious One who forgives abundantly.” We are certain, and that is why we can say, “Blessed are You,

10:49 Hashem.” The Alter Rebbe says: Think how remarkable this is. If you have any doubt whatsoever whether Hakadosh Boruch Hu forgives you, you are forbidden to recite a blessing—it would be a blessing in vain. That applies even when there is a doubt. Yet here a Jew says in the Amidah, three times a day—in the morning, in Minchah, and in Maariv—“Blessed are You, Hashem, gracious One who forgives abundantly.” We have no doubt. We are certain enough to say Hashem’s Name, thereby declaring that Hakadosh Boruch Hu truly forgives abundantly. And the Alter Rebbe goes further: “forgives abundantly.” Think about those words. What do they tell us? That Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s forgiveness is infinite. If I treat a friend badly, an ordinary person will forgive me once. We are talking about a normal, healthy person. Fine, I did something wrong. I apologized. All is well; we remained friends. The second time is harder, but he may forgive me then too. A third time, a fourth time—it becomes unbearable. There is a limit. If someone keeps doing the same wrong to me again and again, committing the same offense over and over, I cannot take it anymore, and I will no longer forgive him. But Hakadosh Boruch Hu is infinite, and His attributes are infinite. His mercy is infinite. So every day, morning, afternoon, and evening—in Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv—a Jew approaches Hakadosh Boruch Hu and says, “Forgive us and pardon us.” And Hakadosh Boruch Hu forgives. He is abundant in forgiveness. That is the power of infinite Divine forgiveness, of Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s boundless mercy. And when a Jew asks forgiveness, he must have complete confidence that Hakadosh Boruch Hu forgives us. This is what we say in the prayer of teshuvah, the well-known chapter of Tehillim, chapter 51, the psalm in which King David

12:39 asks for teshuvah and says: “According to Your abundant mercy, erase my transgressions.” Then, after asking Hakadosh Boruch Hu to forgive him for the grave sin described there in chapter 51 of Tehillim—“when he came to Batsheva”—he asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu for forgiveness again and again. But amid all this he says: “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.” He asks Hakadosh Boruch Hu to give him joy; he asks for joy. “According to Your abundant mercy, erase my transgressions,” and immediately he asks for joy. “Wash me,” “purify me,” “Create a pure heart for me, G-d.” He is certain that Hakadosh Boruch Hu will forgive him. And this is one of the foundations of faith. The Alter Rebbe says elsewhere that if a Jew approaches Hakadosh Boruch Hu and says, “I am sorry, and I ask forgiveness,” if he is stirred to teshuvah but doubts whether Hakadosh Boruch Hu truly forgives him—if he still thinks, “Perhaps Hakadosh Boruch Hu is still angry with me; perhaps He does not forgive me”—then, says the Alter Rebbe, this Jew is called a person of little faith. There is a deficiency in his faith. He goes further and gives an analogy. Imagine the king’s son we spoke about earlier. He behaved badly, he rebelled, and was put in captivity. Eventually he managed to free himself. He returns to his father the king’s home, pleads to be let in, and the king opens the door to him. He approaches the king, comes right up to the throne, stands face to face before his father the king, and asks forgiveness. And Hakadosh Boruch Hu forgives him. But then he says, “Wait, I’m not sure he forgives me.” He goes outside and returns to the place he came from. How foolish is that behavior? That is called having little faith. A Jew must have complete confidence that Hakadosh

14:38 Boruch Hu looks forward to and waits for us to come to Him. That itself should awaken tremendous joy in us: Hakadosh Boruch Hu gives us the ability and the opportunity to return to Him, and He waits for us to return. This is the beauty and depth of the avodah of teshuvah. Speaking about joy in the avodah of teshuvah, the Rebbe says that even a simple reflection shows why teshuvah must be accompanied by joy. And not just joy: when we look more deeply, the joy of teshuvah is greater than the joy of any other mitzvah. Why? The explanation is simple. When a Jew fulfills a mitzvah, he is happy. What makes him happy? He rejoices in the opportunity Hakadosh Boruch Hu has given him to connect with Him. Every mitzvah is a bond; every mitzvah creates a connection. Imagine a great and exalted king coming to an ordinary person and saying, “Do something for me”—some simple task, whatever it may be. In that moment, a wonderful connection forms with the ordinary person, who a moment earlier felt like nothing, utterly insignificant compared with the king’s greatness and exalted stature. And suddenly he has a connection with him. There is no greater joy than that—the joy of a mitzvah. That is true of every mitzvah. The joy of a mitzvah is one of the greatest things. As we mentioned earlier, in the words of the Rambam: “The joy a person feels in serving Hashem is a great avodah.” “Because you did not serve Hashem your G-d with joy,” it says in the weekly parsha, which we are reading right now, Parshas Ki Savo. That shows how important joy is in serving Hashem. According to the Rambam’s explanation, it means quite literally that a Jew must rejoice in serving Hashem. This applies to every mitzvah. What is the essence of that joy? The bond, the connection, the closeness. You have a connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Now let us consider what happens with teshuvah. A Jew sinned, so he became disconnected. He severed the connection. There was a separation here, and nevertheless Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells us that there is a path of teshuvah

16:48 And His hand is outstretched to receive those who return. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says: Even though you became disconnected, even though you separated yourself, even though you cast off the yoke of Heaven, I am waiting for you to return to Me. The moment you return to Me, everything will be all right. I want you to come back to Me. How does this happen? The Tzemach Tzedek explains: Teshuvah means that a Jew has the ability, through the power of teshuvah, to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself, Who is above the will expressed in the mitzvos. The mitzvos are called the Supernal Will. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is the One Whose will it is, and because it is His will, He can also forgive a transgression of that will. He can let it go; He can forgive. When a Jew does teshuvah, he connects himself with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the One Whose will it is, and then the forgiveness and atonement are complete. So when I reflect on the fact that Hakadosh Boruch Hu has given us this wonderful possibility—that despite having acted wrongly, despite my past behavior, I can return to Him, draw close to Him, connect with Him and be forgiven, and His love for me returns, as we said, twofold—that itself should awaken tremendous joy in a person. There is no greater joy than this. So these are a few points to reflect on, to understand how a Jew should feel joy in teshuvah itself, even while doing the work of teshuvah. Returning the soul. If I know what teshuvah is in essence, it is returning, drawing close and connecting. The greatest joy. Returning the soul to its source and root. Drawing close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Complete trust that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is abundant in forgiveness. That is what gives us strength. I had the privilege of once hearing a maamar of Chassidus from the Rebbe. The Rebbe spoke then about the well-known saying of the Tzemach Tzedek, from the famous story of a man whose daughter was ill. The doctors said there was no hope, and he did not know what to do. Chassidim told him, “Go to the Rebbe,” even though the doctors had said there was no time

19:02 and it was a matter of hours. But with complete faith he went to the Rebbe, and he began to cry. The Rebbe told him, “Think good, and it will be good.” That saying is one of the fundamental sayings in the ways of Chassidus. The Tzemach Tzedek told him, “Think good, and it will be good.” Trust has the power to change a situation for the better. Usually, then, this story is told as a fundamental illustration of the power of trust in material matters. But I once heard the Rebbe say in a maamar of Chassidus that “think good, and it will be good” also applies to spiritual work. It is an inner work of trust and faith in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, not only in material matters—healing, health and livelihood—but also in spiritual matters, in serving Hashem. A Jew needs to think good, to think optimistically. He needs to know that this does not mean being casual or flippant and saying, “Everything is fine.” No, quite the opposite. A Jew truly devotes himself to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and he works on himself to recognize Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s goodness, to recognize that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is abundant in mercy and kindness, and that His compassion is great. He knows that Hakadosh Boruch Hu loves him, and that is why He gives him the power of teshuvah to change his ways. That is the joy in the work of teshuvah. We are now in these great days, as we said, the days of 18 Elul. As is known, from 18 Elul until Erev Rosh Hashanah there are twelve days. Each of these twelve days corresponds to a month. Through the work of teshuvah on each of these days, we rectify one month of the past year. So let us try to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu during these days with great joy, devotion and vitality—in Torah study, in fulfilling mitzvos and in the work of prayer—and finish the year with joy. And we see that in the weekly parsha, joy is mentioned several times: “And you shall rejoice in all the good.” “I rejoiced and rejoiced in Him.” “Serve Hashem your G-d

21:06 with joy and gladness of heart.” So let us serve Hashem with joy. Let us finish the year with joy and enter the coming year with joy and gladness of heart, accepting upon ourselves the yoke of Heaven with joy and delight. And in this way, with Hashem’s help, we will have a new year, be inscribed and sealed for good, a good and sweet year materially and spiritually, a year of Geulah and deliverance, and a year of joy and gladness.