מַתְחִילִין מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד וְלֹא לְכוּ נְרַנְנָה וְכֵן בְּכָל שַׁבָּת מוֹצָאֵי יוֹם טוֹב. הפטורה: שׁוּבָה - יִכָּשְׁלוּ בָם. מִי אֵל כָּמוֹךָ - מִימֵי קֶדֶם.

1 [In the Kabbalas Shabbos Service,] we begin with Mizmor LeDavid2 instead of Lechu Neranenah.3 This applies whenever a festival ends on Friday evening.4

The haftarah [for Shabbos Teshuvah] begins with Shuvah… yikashlu vam5 and concludes with Mi E-l kamocha… mimei kedem.6

בִּיחִידוּת הַצֶּמַח צֶדֶק אֵצֶל רַבֵּנוּ הַזָּקֵן ב' תֵצֵא בְּשִׁשִּׁי בֶּאֱלוּל תּקס"ד, סִפֵּר לוֹ רַבֵּנוּ: שַׁבָּת פָּרָשַׁת תָּבוֹא תּקכ"ח אָמַר מוֹרִי וְרַבִּי (הָרַב הַמַּגִּיד מִמּעֶזְרִיטְשׁ) — תּוֹרָה וְהַתְחָלָתָהּ וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד הוי' אֱלֹקֶיךָ, וּבִאֵר כִּי עֲבוֹדַת הַתְּשׁוּבָה צְרִיכָה לִהְיוֹת עַד אֲשֶׁר הוי', שֶׁהוּא לְמַעְלָה מֵהָעוֹלָמוֹת, יִהְיֶה אֱלֹקֶיךָ, אֱלֹקִים בְּגִימַטְרִיָּא הַטֶּבַע, בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים. כָּל הַחֶבְרַיָּא קַדִּישָׁא הָיוּ בְּהִתְעוֹרְרוּת גְּדוֹלָה מִתּוֹרָה הַהִיא. הָרַב הַצַּדִּיק ר' מְשׁוּלָּם זוּסְיָא מֵאַנִיפּאָלִי אָמַר, כִּי הוּא אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַגִּיעַ לְמַעֲלַת תְּשׁוּבָה כָּזוֹ, וְעַל כֵּן יְחַלֵּק אֶת הַתְּשׁוּבָה לַחֲלָקִים, כִּי תְּשׁוּבָה רָאשֵׁי תֵּיבוֹת: ת, תָּמִים תִּהְיֶה עִם הוי' אֱלֹקֶיךָ. שׁ, שִׁוִּיתִי הוי' לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד. ו, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ. ב, בְּכָל דְּרָכֶיךָ דָעֵהוּ. ה, הַצְנֵעַ לֶכֶת עִם ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ.

כְּשֶׁסִּפֵּר לִי אַאַמוּ"ר אֶת הַנִּזְכָּר לְעֵיל, סִיֵּם: תֵּיבַת תְּשׁוּבָה צְרוּפָה מֵחָמֵשׁ אוֹתִיּוֹת, אֲשֶׁר כָּל אוֹת הוּא דֶרֶךְ וְאוֹפֶן בַּעֲבוֹדַת הַתְּשׁוּבָה, — וּבִאֵר בַּאֲרִיכוּת חֲמִשָּׁה הָאוֹפַנִּים — וְכוּלָּם בָּאִים מִכֹּחַ אֶל הַפּוֹעַל עַל יְדֵי עֲבוֹדַת הַתְּפִלָּה.

During a yechidus of the Tzemach Tzedek with the Alter Rebbe, on Monday of Parshas Ki Seitzei, 6 Elul, 5564 (1804), the Alter Rebbe told him: “On Shabbos Parshas Ki Savo, 5528 (1768), my mentor and master (the Maggid of Mezritch) delivered a teaching that opened with the verse,7 Veshavta ad HaShem Elokecha — ‘You shall return to Havayah (G‑d), Elokecha (your L‑rd).’

“The Maggid [understood this verse as implying that ‘You shall return until Havayah is Elokecha,’ and] explained that one must bring one’s Divine service of teshuvah to the point that Havayah, [the aspect of Divinity] that transcends all worlds, becomes Elokecha (your L‑rd). [He went on to say that] the Divine Name Elokim (א-להים) has the numerical equivalent of the word hateva (הטבע), meaning ‘nature.’8 This [link is exemplified] in the verse, ‘In the beginning, Elokim created….’”9 [I.e, the natural world came into being through the Name Elokim. Thus the term Elokecha (your L‑rd) refers to the Divine power within us that endows us with life-energy.]

The entire holy brotherhood [of the Maggid’s disciples] was greatly aroused by this teaching. However, one of the disciples, the tzaddik R. Meshullam Zusya of Hanipoli, declared that he could not reach such a level of teshuvah, and therefore divided it into its components. Teshuvah (תשובה), he pointed out, is an acronym for the following five verses:

תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך — ת: “Trust G‑d your L‑rd with simple faith.”10

שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד — ש: “I have placed G‑d before me at all times.”11

ואהבת לרעך כמו — ו: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”12

בכל דרכיך דעהו — ב: “Know Him in all your ways.”13

הצנע לכת עם ה' אלוקיך — ה: “Walk humbly with G‑d your L‑rd.”14

[The Rebbe Rayatz added:] When my revered father [the Rebbe Rashab] told me the above, he concluded: “The word teshuvah comprises five letters, each representing a distinct path and approach to the labor of teshuvah.” He explained these five approaches at length and then said: ‘All of them are actualized through the service of prayer.’”15

Living in This World

On the one hand, the Maggid was speaking about an extremely high spiritual level, one that even a tzaddik of the stature of R. Zusya found difficult to attain. Nevertheless, it is not beyond our grasp, for every Jew’s Divine soul is “an actual part of G‑d Above.” Hence, for every Jew, Havayah truly is E-lokecha; i.e.,a Jew’s nature is Havayah, the dimension of G‑dliness that transcends nature.

Accordingly, the Maggid was giving his disciples a mission — that this potential should not remain hidden, somewhere deep in our hearts. Rather, it should surface at the forefront of our consciousness, so that it can express itself in our daily lives.

And R. Zusya, for his part, was emphasizing how that mission could be carried out, by pointing to the spiritual processes that would enable the Maggid’s goal to be reached. These spiritual processes bring a person into contact with his inner G‑dly nature, and thus to the core of teshuvah.

To these five processes the Rebbe Rashab added a sixth point — the role of prayer, in which one turns to G‑d for help in making the above ideal a concrete personal reality, not mere theory.