Where the Penitent Stands

A Talmudic passage about marriage helps us gain a deeper understanding of the journey of teshuva, repentance.

The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that the real definition of teshuva is not just return from sin, but every soul’s constant journey back to its divine source, and even the righteous must do teshuva. But according to our Talmudic passage, the righteous person pales in comparison to the Jew who was wicked and becomes a “complete penitent.”

Ascending to the highest spiritual rung, the true penitent not only reaches the level of the “completely righteous,” but surpasses it, for “light is greater after darkness.”