Why Does Torah Bring Healing to the World?

Parashat Nitzavim
 
Returning to My Spiritual Roots and my Inner Self

As a teenager, I was searching for meaning. I felt that the society in which I grew up, and its values were meaningless. As I entered seventh grade, I began to question all the values of the environment in which I had been raised. The Judaism, to which I had been exposed, seemed like an empty, hypocritical religion. People, who called themselves religious, would drive to the synagogue on Shabbat and park the car a few minutes walk away, to pretend they had walked the entire distance. Of course, no one believed they had actually walked the 25 kilometers from their green suburb to the synagogue located in the heart of Copenhagen. Only the elderly came to the synagogue to pray, while the vast majority came to socialize and to show off their newest outfit. I was searching for deeper values. Simultaneously, I was also searching for myself. I had no idea who I really was, or what my mission was, for which I was sent into the world. Moreover, I was ignorant of what it truly meant to be a Jew. I felt empty inside, and I was yearning for a truth that would fill this vacuum within me. Many of my friends had searched in the Far East, and I too was attracted to the mystic, meditative innerness of the Eastern traditions. Yet, something was missing. It just didn’t resonate right. Only in the holy land, did I find Hashem and my soul. At the Western Wall, I just stood mesmerized – in awe of the sense of sanctity that pervaded the place – without a word of prayer crystallizing on my lips. The intense light reflected by the ancient stones penetrated into the empty space in my very heart and soul. I enjoyed the feeling of being among Jews. Everyone around me seemed like family. In the Torah world, I learned a new perspective on freedom. Real freedom is being true to our inner selves. Here in the heart of the land of my soul, I was finally uncovering my spiritual roots. My first Shabbat overlooking the temple mount was life-changing. I was led to a room where two silver candlesticks awaited me. An older student taught me to say the blessing, and I lit the candles. As I gazed at the lights of the Shabbat candles, the world was transformed. The room was aglow with holiness and serenity as if we had entered a higher realm of existence. It struck me that here was the expanded consciousness, that I had been searching for all along. I had never expected to find it within my own tradition. Here, I was no longer a stranger exploring other people and places. I saw truth very clearly for the first time, and it was a truth to which I belonged. I would keep learning and exploring together with others like myself. I had finally come home (Exert from My Ba’al Teshuva Story, for a free full copy please email director@berotbatayin.org).

The Healing Process of Teshuva Unites Our Broken Heart with Divine Delight
Just as in my case, countless other Jews – of my generation and of those succeeding it – have embarked on the path of return to Judaism. Teshuva begins by seeking the truth, searching for who I am, and why I am here. There are many people on the road, seeking answers to their questions. Together with teshuva, many people search for natural healing alternatives. Both of these phenomena go hand-in-hand. The sages teach that there is a strong connection between teshuvah and healing:

תלמוד בבלי מסכת יומא דף פו/א

...אמר רבי חמא (בר) [ברבי] חנינא גדולה תשובה שמביאה רפאות לעולם שנאמר ארפא משובתם אהבם נדבה

Great is teshuva for it brings healing to the world, and an individual who repents is forgiven and the whole world is forgiven with him (Yoma 86a).
 
“G-d is the healer of all flesh Who connects our souls to our bodies. If we want to be healthy, we need to be in touch with Hashem, Who says, “I am Hashem, your Healer” (Shemot 15:26; Rav Yitzchak Ginsburg, Gal Einai). While trying to understand the deeper connection between teshuva and healing, the following words of Rav Kook resonate and reflect well my personal teshuva process: “Our soul climbs upward until we are freed from enslavement to the sin. We feel within ourselves the holy freedom, which is so pleasant to our weary soul. And we grow progressively healed…” (Rav Kook, Orot HaTeshuva 5). Before I came to Torah, I suffered from severe, painful, itching skin rashes, which fortunately were healed, as soon as I walked the Torah path. I can also relate to the continuation of Rav Kook’s poetic words describing the healing ensuring from repentance: “And the radiance of the light of the sun of loving-kindness, of supernal kindness, sends its rays to us. We grow increasingly joyous. We are increasingly filled with an inner delight and satiety…” (ibid.)  Those early teshuva years sure were happy times, as I soaked up the holiness of the Old City of Jerusalem, together with my like-minded community. I soon got married and had a baby, which only added to our joy, which spilled over and brought healing to myself and all of creation. Yet, to achieve true joyous teshuva-healing (related to wholeness), we must tune into the dichotomy that includes our brokenness: “[The delight of teshuva goes] together with a broken heart…which we feel within ourselves. For this feeling itself, imbues us with an added inner spiritual delight and true wholeness. We feel that we are coming closer to the Source of all life, to the G-d Who is Alive, from Whom, just a short time before, we were so far” (Rav Kook, ibid.).
 
Our Teshuva is Entwined with Hashem’s Return
Parashat Nitzavim – always read just prior to Rosh Hashana – includes a detailed description of the teshuva process, which is connected to redemption. Rather than ‘penitence’ or ‘repentance,’ a more accurate translation of the word ‘teshuva’ is ‘return.’ Teshuva is a threefold return from being disconnected from our souls, our G-d and our land. Complete teshuva is a true homecoming in both its inner and outer dimensions. The first step is returning to our land, as
Our parasha teaches:

ספר דברים פרק ל פסוק א וְהָיָה כִי יָבֹאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה הַבְּרָכָה וְהַקְּלָלָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ בְּכָל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר הִדִּיחֲךָ הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ שָׁמָּה: (ב) וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְשָׁמַעְתָּ בְקֹלוֹ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ: (ג) וְשָׁב הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ וְרִחֲמֶךָ וְשָׁב וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר הֱפִיצְךָ הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ שָׁמָּה: (ד) אִם יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ: (ה) וֶהֱבִיאֲךָ הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יָרְשׁוּ אֲבֹתֶיךָ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְהֵיטִבְךָ וְהִרְבְּךָ מֵאֲבֹתֶיךָ:

It will be when all these things come upon you the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, that you will contemplate in your heart, among all the nations where Hashem your G-d has banished you, and you will return to Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you this day you and your children. Then, Hashem, your G-d, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you from all the nations, where Hashem, your G-d, had dispersed you. Even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens, Hashem, your G-d, will gather you from there, and He will take you from there. And Hashem, your G-d, will bring you to the land, which your forefathers possessed, and you [too] will take possession of it, and He will do good to you, and He will make you more numerous than your forefathers (Devarim 30-1-5).
 
Our section opens with the expression וְהָיָה/vehaya – “and it shall be” which is the expression of joy (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 42:3). Contemplation about the happenings of our people during exile – both the blessings and the curses – leads to the realization that G-d is running the world.  When we return to Him, He, Himself returns to us. Rashi learns this concept from the subtle nuance of the Hebrew word for “return” in verse 3: ...וְשָׁב הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ – “Hashem will return your captivity...”  The Heb. וְשָׁב/veshav, in the simple conjugation rather than the causative וְהֵשִׁיב/veheshiv – ‘will cause to return’ literally means: “Hashem, your G-d, will [Himself] return [with] your exiles. Our Rabbis learned from [the simple conjugation of the verb] here [which alludes to G-d Himself returning], that the Shechinah resides among Israel, as it were, in all the misery of our exile. When the Jews are redeemed, G-d writes redemption for Himself for He Himself returns along with Israel’s exiles (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 29a).
 
The Process of Return – from External to Internal Teshuva
Teshuva is a never-ending process rather than a one-time mitzvah we perform once a year and finish with. It starts with our returning עַד/ad – ‘until.’ This indicates that the teshuva is until a certain extent towards Hashem (verse 2). The culmination of the teshuva process is our returning אֶל/el – ‘unto.’ We get so close that we actually embrace, as it were. This climax of the teshuva process is described in verse 10:

ספר דברים פרק ל פסוק י כִּי תִשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֹתָיו וְחֻקֹּתָיו הַכְּתוּבָה בְּסֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה כִּי תָשׁוּב אֶל הָשֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ:

“…when you obey Hashem, your G-d, to observe His commandments and His statutes written in this Torah scroll, [and] when you return to Hashem, your G-d, with all your heart and with all your soul” (Devarim 30:10).
 
The first part of teshuva is to refrain from transgression and trying to keep the mitzvot. The final and highest form of teshuva is the return to Hashem himself. To return unto G-d implies that our will becomes unified with His will. Then all the mitzvot will become our second nature, and we’ll never desire to transgress His will. This kind of teshuva can only be done with G-d’s help. Hashem has promised to give us that help, if only we begin to return to Him, then He will circumcise our heart (verse 6). This implies that Hashem will remove the blocks that block us from truly connecting with Him in the highest way. When our heart is circumcised, we become pure, and no longer struggle with the yetzer hara. Then, even the least preferred mitzvah will become a joyful occasion to connect with Hashem.
 
Ingathering the Scattered Chards of Our Soul and All Reality
The deepest secret of teshuva and its connection to healing is that the root of all diseases is being disconnected – disconnected from ourselves and from the divine root of our soul. The inner dimension of teshuva – returning to who we truly are – to our whole self – is intertwined with returning to Hashem – the root of our soul. As Rav Kook explains, teshuva emerges from the depths of being, from such great depths in which the individual stands not as a separate entity, but rather as a continuation of the vastness of universal existence. The desire for repentance is related to the Divine universal will, to its highest source. From the moment the mighty stream of teshuva affects the universal will, many forces within the whole of existence are stirred to disclose the good and to bestow good to all. This explains “Great is teshuva for it brings healing to the world…”  (The Lights of Penitence, Lights of Holiness, The Moral Principles, Essays, Letters, and Poems, p. 56 (translation of Orot Ha-Teshuva by Ben Zion Bokser). Thus the highest teshuva reclaims and returns all the scattered chards of our soul – a process that moves all reality to health and wholeness.