Baal Teshuva Becomes a Different Person

Rabbi Twerski pointed out a key word in the Torah that has a double meaning. It refers to the individual who has completed the purification process after having been defiled, in a state of טומאה.

Referring to the reinstatement of the Kohein, the Torah says, ואחר יאכל מן הקדש, “And after, he may eat from sanctified food.”

This is one interpretation of the word, “ואחר.” The other possible interpretation in the name of Rav Yehoshua Frank, is that אחר means, “different.”

This refers to the transformation that the Baal Teshuva goes through. He is no longer the person he was, but he is a different person. Now that he has worked on himself, and has distanced himself from sinful behavior, he will never go back. If we use the addiction to eating a cheeseburger, as an example, we will see how ואחר comes into play.

Although in the past, eating the cheeseburger was a regular occurrence, now that he has done Teshuva, he cannot possibly eat this forbidden food. The same is true with Shabbat violation. Now that he has done Teshuva, he will never consciously violate Shabbat. This is the beauty of working on oneself. Yesterday he was one kind of person, but today he is אחר, somebody different and much better.