Vayelech: A Journey of Joyful Repentance
On this Shabbat Shuva, the Sabbath within the Ten Days of Repentance, two seemingly contradictory themes stand out: repentance and joy. Maimonides writes that during these ten days, repentance and prayer are "most beautiful and are accepted immediately." On the other hand, Shabbat is a day of joy and delight.
The essence of Shabbat Shuva is that these two ideas—repentance on the one hand and delight and joy on the other—are united. This union is also hinted at in the weekly Torah portion, named "Vayelech," meaning "And he went." The meaning of "going" is leaving one's current place and moving forward to another. This is the essence of teshuvah: a person leaves the state they were in before and steps into a new, different reality. As Maimonides describes, a penitent should feel as if they are "a different person and not the one who performed those acts." Therefore, "Vayelech" is the work of repentance.
This raises the question: How is it possible to combine these two seemingly contradictory feelings? After all, repentance, in which a person regrets their less-than-good deeds, should cause sadness and a bitter soul. So how can one simultaneously be in a state of great joy? Every commandment should be fulfilled with joy: "Serve G-d with joy." What's more, one should rejoice even more in repentance, because through it, all other commandments are repaired and made complete.
In addition, there is no greater joy than the return of a person—whether they are a Jew or a Noahide—to their Father in Heaven. This is also relevant for Noahides, as repentance applies to them as well, as seen in the Book of Jonah, Chapter 3. There is a parable brought in the Tanya, of a prince who was a captive, working hard in the prison , and then went free to the house of his father the King. There is no greater joy than being freed from the control of one's evil inclination. In the same way, when a person returns to G-d and re-cleaves to Him, it brings endless happiness and joy. It is a powerful metaphor for the spiritual journey of repentance. This is a higher form of repentance—one that comes from immense joy. And from this joy, we reach the greatest joy of all—the true and complete Redemption, immediately.
Source: Sefer HaSichot (Book of Talks/Discourses) 5749 (1989), Volume 1, page 4. Deuteronomy 31:1.Maimonides laws of repentance.
Rabbi Moshe Bernstein is the author of the books:
Light Onto the Nation: A Guide to the Seven Noahide Laws
Light Onto the Torah Portions
Insights on the Torah Portions for Noahides
Stories of Faith for Noahides: Inspiring Stories for Noahides from the Righteous of all Generations
Todah raba, rav. Just what I needed to be reminded of today… I feel joy in my heart, yet I also am acutely aware that I am also sad, and these two states caused me confusion and some guilt. Now I can just let things be as they are, for they are perfectly as HaShem wants them to be.