Mitzvas Vidui U’Teshuvah (Part 1)

Sefer HaChinuch, Parshas Naso (mitzvah 364):

To confess one’s sins, while turning to G‑d with teshuvah,

as it is written (Bamidbar 5:7): “And they shall confess the sin that they committed.”1

The intent is that the fundamental elements of the mitzvah of teshuvah according to Scriptural Law are:

a) abandoning sin,

b) confessing and asking for forgiveness,

as stated in Tanya, Iggeres HaTeshuvah, ch. 1,

in the name of Rambam and Sefer Mitzvos Gadol.

To understand this more fully, it is necessary to explain the core issues involved in these two concepts:

a) abandoning sin in the future,

which also includes regret over the past

(as Rambam states in Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah, ch. 2:2)

that is referred to as repentance; and

b) confession,

which is referred to as requesting forgiveness,

(as Rambam,loc. cit., ch. 1, writes).

And we must explain how these two activities will atone for the blemishes brought about in the person’s soul and in the spiritual realms above through sin.

Behold, the mitzvos are called “the mitzvos of Havayah,”2

because their entire purpose is to draw down and reveal Or Ein Sof (G‑d’s infinite light) within the name Havayah.

For with regard to Or Ein Sof, it is said:5 “It is not of any of these attributes at all,”

to express His wisdom in known wisdom, to express His understanding in known understanding,6

– which refer respectivelyto the letters Yud and Hei of the name Havayah,

and to express His kindness in known kindness and His might in known might

– which are the mystic secret of the letters Vav and Hei –

it is necessary that His influence be drawn down through the performance of mitzvos.

an arousal from below calls forth an arousal from Above

and man’s efforts evoke love that compels Him to contract Himself 7 within these attributes

to illuminate and provide vitality for the worlds.

In particular, there are mitzvos that are dependent on the Yud of the name Havayah

and others dependent on the Hei.

As the Zohar states:8 “They are like grapes hanging in a cluster.”

Therefore, the mitzvos are called9 “the limbs of the King.”

For the Ten Sefiros are comparable to a body

in relation to the light from the blessed Ein Sof that is enclothed within them through the mitzvos.

This is the mystic secret implied by the verse (Devarim 18:13): “You shall be perfect with G‑d your L‑rd.” Through being perfect in the observance of all the mitzvos, all of the Jews’ “spiritual limbs” will be unblemished. This will enable them

to draw down the 248 limbs and the spiritual counterpart of the body’s form in a consummate manner.

If, however, one “sinned against his soul”10

by negating the observance of a positive commandment or transgressing a negative commandment,

he creates a blemish,

for he reduces the influence of vitality drawn down to the attribute and sefirah associated with that mitzvah.

He also draws down additional nurture from the vitality within the Sefiros

and causes it to descend to the depth of the kelipos

with greater intensity than what is allotted to them through the kav that measures.

According to the ordained pattern of the allotment of Divine influence, the kelipos receive only from the hindmost dimensions of Divine light. They are granted merely a minimal amount of nurture. Moreover, that minimal amount is given without desire, like one who throws scraps over his shoulder to one he despises.11 However, through sin, the quality and quantity of the nurture kelipah receives is increased.

For through sin, the transgressor draws down the inner dimension of the Divine influence enclothed in the vessels of the Ten Sefirosto the forces of kelipah.

Thus, his sin is very great.

As stated in Tanya,Iggeres HaTeshuvah, ch. 7,

this is the mystic secret implied by the phrase (Shir HaShirim 7:6): “A king bound in tresses.”

There is no greater disgrace to G‑d than this.

Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, is referred to as “a disgraced King.”14

This is the mystic secret implied by the statement:15 “If I caused a blemish in the letter Yud… If I caused a blemish in the letter Hei…,”

as implied by the phrase (Vayikra 24:16): “He who makes an opening in the name Havayah.”16

Implied is that through his sins, a person creates an opening in the vessels of the Ten Sefiros, Heaven forbid,

and brings the light within them to the extraneous forces,

like a person who pierces an organ, causing blood to flow outward.

To correct this, in His abundant mercy, G‑d gave us the commandment of teshuvah

which “brings healing to the world,”17

repairing the blemishes that were caused, as explained above.

In general, there are two dimensions of correcting the deficiencies described above:

a) to heal the blemishes and deficiencies brought about by the decrease in the amount of G‑d’s infinite light drawn into the Ten Sefiros, as explained above; and

b) to remove the nurture of the extraneous forces.

The latter itself is a twofold endeavor:

i) to prevent them from receiving further nurture; and

ii) to withdraw what they have already received.

The first two of these three purposes – healing the deficiencies in the Divine light that is drawn down to the Ten Sefiros and preventing the kelipos from receiving further nurture – are accomplished through drawing down G‑d’s infinite light from Above in an encompassing manner,

because the encompassing light blinds the eyes of the extraneous forces,

preventing them from deriving additional nurture.

This light also repairs all blemishes,

for “He is the perfection of all existence,”18

and before Him, all existence is like a drop in the ocean,

for it is only “His glory that is manifest upon earth and heaven.”19

As explained in another source21 on the verse (Devarim 30:11): “For this mitzvah is not beyond you,”

this infinite light is drawn down through teshuvah and regret,

as will be explained in sec. II, with G‑d’s help.

With regard to the third category –

to withdraw the nurture from the extraneous forces

which the person increased greatly through sins –

a verbal confession must accompany one’s regret.

To explain:

As is well known, parallels to the concepts of lights and vessels, and soul and body, also exist within the realm of kelipah.

All these are brought into being through sin.

Through the desire that motivates the sin, the soul of the evil is brought into being, Heaven forbid,

and through the actual deed, its body is brought into being.

For example, if the undesirable act is on the level of thought,

e.g., evil thoughts,

the letters of thought bring the body of the kelipah into being, as mentioned above

and the desire brings into being the soul.

Similarly, on the level of speech,

e.g., slander, gossip, vain or false oaths, and the like,

and how much more so through deed,

these bring into being the body of the kelipah,

and the soul of the kelipah is formed from the desire in one’s heart.

The underlying reason for this is the fact that, in the spiritual realms, man is rooted in the Ten Sefiros of holiness.

Hence, through his desire and his deeds,

he draws down a body and a soul for kelipah

from the nurture from the Ten Sefiros, as explained above.

This is the mystic secret associated with the verse (Tehillim 51:5): “My sins are before me at all times.”

Implied is that the kelipah which a person brings into being by his sins continuously stands before him to cause him difficulty,

as it is written (Yirmeyahu 2:19): “Your evil will cause you anguish,”

and it is written (Iyov 34:11): “A person will receive recompense according to his deeds,”

as explained in the Zohar.22

When a person repents, he must kill the kelipos mentioned above

to remove them from the earth,

as it is written (Yeshayahu 44:22): “I have wiped away your sins like a cloud.”

This is achieved through regret along with confession,

for regret involves removing one’s will from the sin.

This takes away its soul.

For the soul of kelipah was born from the desire in one’s heart,

and by removing his will and his desire,

he eradicates its soul, as explained above.

But in order to obliterate the body of the kelipah,

a verbal confession is necessary.

In this regard, the movement of one’s lips is considered as deed.23

Through this activity, he obliterates the body of the kelipah, nullifying its being to the extent that

it is as if it never existed.

(This is a great kindness. For our Sages {Yoma 86b} say: “Who is a baal teshuvah? One to whom sin came… and despite being in the same place and with the same woman as before, he controls himself.” Consult that source.

For in such a situation, the act of restraint that he performs to obliterate the body of the kelipah

is entirely identical with the deed that generated its body

through the transgression he performed.

At this time, through holding himself back from performing this very deed,

he kills the body of the sin entirely,

Nevertheless, in His kindness, G‑d

considers the deed of moving one’s lips, the confession of one’s sins, as equivalent to a full-fledged deed

to obliterate the body of the kelipah.)

This is the mystic secret of the confessional prayers24

in which our Sages ordained that we say: “We have transgressed, we have betrayed…,”

mentioning a transgression for every letter of the alef-beis.

For a person’s alien thoughts and wicked designs

– from which no person is saved on any day,25

and not any one of them is lost,

he is given the punishment of kaf hakela26in the afterlife,

i.e., his thoughts surround his soul

after it departs from the body

and it appears to him that he is still involved in physical activities

and thinking and machinating about them.27

This is the mystic secret alluded to by the phrase:28 “It encompasses him.”

Therefore, by reciting these 22 letters in the confessional prayer: “We have transgressed, we have betrayed…,”

he obliterates the body of the 22 letters from all his evil thoughts.

Nevertheless, the confession must be coupled with regret to remove one’s will from all the evil thoughts

so that the inner spiritual content and motivation for the sin can also be removed, as explained above.

Behold, we can understand the aforementioned process of repairing the blemishes through drawing down G‑d’s infinite light

based on the interpretation of the verse (Yeshayahu 43:25): “I, yes I, am He Who wipes away your sins.”

The fact that in this verse, the term Anochi, “I,” is mentioned twice, requires explanation.

This concept can be clarified by prefacing with an explanation of the statements in Etz Chayim29

that Kesser is an intermediary between the Source of Emanation and the emanated beings.

It comprises the lowest level within the Source of Emanation, the Or Ein Sof, G‑d’s infinite light that transcends all definitions and limits,

as well as the root of the emanated beings, the source for the Ten Sefiros.

As such, Kesser is divided into two partzufim:30

Atik Yomin and Arich Anpin.

Atik Yomin represents the lowest level within the Source of Emanation,

while Arich Anpin represents the root of the emanated beings.

To explain this concept:

In truth, G‑d’s infinite light is above all particular definition and

is not within the realm of Chochmah and Chessed at all, as is well known.

Therefore, to enable G‑d’s light to be drawn down, contracted,

and enclothed in the attributes of Chochmah and Chessed,

it is necessary for there to be an intermediary.

This is the level of will (Ratzon),

i.e., it arose in His will that Chochmah and the remainder of the Ten Sefiros come into being.

Immediately, when they arose in His will, they came into being

and were included in His will.

And through His will, they are drawn down from a hidden state into revelation,

enabling the power of Chochmah to actually come into being

so that it could be called the Sefirah of Chochmah.

Similar concepts apply with regard to the other attributes: Binah, Chessed, etc.

To cite a parallel within the human realm:

When within a person’s will, he desires to acquire a particular field of knowledge,

his soul is drawn down to it, enabling him to penetrate to the depth of its wisdom.

By contrast, with another field of knowledge, for which he has no desire,

he will not acquire wisdom in it to the same degree.

Thus the person’s will motivates the revelation of his powers from a hidden state.

This comes about because of the pleasure that is enclothed in his will,

the attribute of Atik Yomin,

the Sublime Pleasure,

the delight of the King in His essence,

which is the lowest level within the Source of Emanation,

a rung that is too sublime to serve as a source for the existence of the emanated beings.

This relates to the meaning of the term Atik,

as indicated by the verse (Iyov 9:5): “He removes (hama’tik) mountains”;

i.e., this level is removed and discrete from the sublime days i.e., the Middos of Atzilus,

which are the source for the existence of the worlds,

as implied by the verse (Shmos 20:11): “In31 six days, G‑d made the heaven and the earth.”

Although Atik Yomin is removed from the Middos of Atzilus and the framework of existence they bring into being, a ray from it, identified with the level of Arich Anpin, enclothes itself in them

so that it will derive pleasure and will desire to bring into existence the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.

Arich Anpin32 is thus the root of the emanated beings. i.e., the first conception of the emanated beings in G‑d’s will and desire.

This provides us with a second interpretation of the term Atik, “copy,” as in the phrase “copying (ma’tik) from one scroll to another,”

i.e., drawing down an entity of substance,

bringing down the levels of Mah and Ban33 from the inner and external dimensions of Atik Yomin.

From the level of Arich Anpin are then drawn down Abba, the Supernal Father, i.e., the Sefirah of Chochmah, and Imma, the Supernal Mother, i.e., the Sefirah of Binah.

and afterwards, Z’eir Anpin,which refers to the six emotive attributes of Atzilus, and Nukva, “the feminine dimension,” i.e., the Sefirah of Malchus.

It is well known and explained in several sources that the fundamental purpose of our occupation in the mitzvos which are the 248 limbs of the King,

i.e., of Z’eir Anpin,

is to draw down a ray of Ein Sof (G‑d’s infinity)

through the medium of Kesser into Z’eir Anpin.

Now through sin, the light associated with a particular mitzvah withdraws from that limb.

Moreover, nurture is drawn down from that limb to the extraneous forces,

according to the mystic secret implied by the verse: “He who makes an opening in the name Havayah,” as explained above.

For this reason,

such a situation can be corrected by drawing down light from the two partzufim of Kesser mentioned above.

Namely, a) from the partzuf of Atik Yomin,

the lowest level within the Source of Emanation,

which serves as an encompassing light, enveloping the entire realm of Atzilus.

This encompassing light “blinds the eyes of the extraneous forces,”

preventing them at least from receiving additional nurture

through the blemish created by sin, Heaven forbid,

and b) drawing down light from the partzuf of Arich Anpin,

the root of the emanated beings,

which remedies all the blemishes and the deficiencies brought about within the inner dimension of the Sefiros.

To cite an analogy: It is like a river that is dried out and arid.

In such an instance, we dig deep to draw out water from a hidden source.

This is the mystic secret implied by the verse: “I, yes I, am He Who wipes away your sins,” in which the term Anochi, “I,” is mentioned twice,

referring to the arousal of influence from the two partzufim of Kesser.

Through this, one’s sins are wiped away.

All of this is accomplished through teshuvah and heartfelt regret.

For the Zohar34 interprets teshuvah (תשובה) as תשוב ה, the return of the Hei.

Now the letter Hei has a milui,36Hei-Yud.

The return of the Hei together with its Yud points to a movement of a person’s inner spiritual energy.

The Hei refers to the attribute of Binah in his soul,

which gives him the ability to meditate on the greatness of G‑d and His glory.

This generates a desire to call out to G‑d

and arouses regret in his heart for his previous deeds.

It motivates him to concentrate all of his desire and his focus on coming close to G‑d.

The Yud of the milui of the Hei refers to the quality of Chochmah

which represents the hidden reaches of the heart and its inner depths.

The Yud and the Hei represent the two yesodos of Abba and Imma.

As is well known, the attributes of Abba and Imma are identified with G‑d’s names Mah and Ban

and have their source in the names Mah and Banof Atik Yomin

and ultimately, in the names Mah and Ban of Adam Kadmon,

Through the activation of these potentials, one arouses the revelation of the two levels of Anochi mentioned above,

which relate to the names Mah and Ban of Atik Yomin,

which repair all blemishes as explained above.

This is the mystic secret implied by the verse (Devarim 30:11): “For this mitzvah that I (Anochi) command you today….”

The term “this mitzvah” refers to the mitzvah of teshuvah,37

which relates to the level of Anochi that is identified with the realm of Kesser.

In contrast, the other mitzvos are called “the mitzvos of Havayah,”

i.e., they relate to the level of G‑dliness that has already come into definition on the level of Z’eir Anpin, as explained above.

“is not beyond you, nor distant from you.”

The verse emphasizes that this level is not “beyond you” i.e., a person as he exists on this physical plane.

For in truth, the level of Atik Yomin is “the sublime wonder.”

It is hidden and covered entirely,

above knowledge,

for it is an encompassing light, as explained above.

“Distant” refers to the level of Arich Anpin that is distant from Atzilus,

as implied by the verse:38 “I said, ‘I will gain wisdom, but it is distant from me,’ ”

i.e., it is above comprehension.

“The heavens” refer to Atik Yomin,

the encompassing light.

And “beyond the sea” refers to Arich Anpin, which is beyond “the sea of Chochmah.”

True, it is necessary to draw down these sublime lights to make possible the mitzvah of teshuvah,

and on the surface, it is a very difficult matter

to draw down such lights that are truly wondrous and distant, above even the world of Atzilus.

Therefore, the verse clarifies that it is not “beyond you” i.e., beyond a Jew’s potential.

For the source of man’s spiritual potential is very high,

stemming from the level of Adam Kadmon which represents the first general collective,

including all existence,

equalizing everything.

It is called “the will of wills.”

It includes Atik Yomin, Arich Anpin, and the worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah as one, as stated elsewhere

(see Mitzvas Milah, Part II, sec. 3).

If so, man can draw down the levels of Atik Yomin and Arich Anpin easily.

For this same reason, man was also given the 613 mitzvos

which represent variant spiritual qualities,

e.g., the lulav and the esrog draw down one level,

and Shabbos another.

And within Shabbos itself there are several different levels;

the Friday night meal draws down the level of “the Holy Apple Orchard,” an analogy for the Sefirah of Malchus.

while the meal of Shabbos day draws down AtikaKadisha, lit., “the Holy Ancient One,” a level identical with Atik Yomin.

Our Sages teach:39 “One angel does not perform two missions,”

because each one is associated with a particular level.

Man, by contrast, is rooted in the collective light described above, a light which transcends all these particular levels.

This is alluded to by the utterance:40 “Let us make man,”

which employs a plural term,

for the entire Spiritual Cosmos is included in him.

Therefore, he was given all the mitzvos.

And therefore, it is said: “The mitzvah of teshuvah is not beyond you,”

since for man, it is easily within his potential to draw down these transcendent lights.

This is sufficient for a person of understanding.