David’s Teshuva

Chapter thirty of the Book of Devarim, is one that focuses completely on the Mitzva of Teshuva. We are given a charge telling us that no matter how far we may have strayed, there is always the possibility to repent and mend our ways. The Netivot Shalom points out that the best example of a Baal Teshuva was King David. When confronted by the Prophet Nathan, he immediately accepted his guilt without making any excuses. David had thirteen years of suffering and guilt over the Bat Sheva incident. There is a line in the תחנון prayer that says, “Every night my bed was drenched with tears of remorse.” When David wrote, אל תשליכני מלפניך in תהילים, it was at a time when he felt cast aside by Hashem for his sin. He realized that our transgressions distance us from Hashem. He longed for that incredible feeling of Hashem’s closeness. Only תשובה could bring it back. It is unlikely that we will reach the spiritual level of King David, but we would do well, to follow his example.