Teshuva Process

This week we read only פרשת נצבים. In most years, it is read together with פרשת וילך, but because we have a Shabbat between Yom Kippur and Succot, we read only one Parsha.

The main theme of this week’s Parsha, is Teshuva, repentance. There is a great deal that can be said about Teshuva, but there are two points that need mentioning.

The first point is how a person in the process of returning to Hashem, must learn not only to forgive others, but more importantly, he must learn to forgive himself.

Too often, the Baal Teshuva is much too hard on himself. He finds it difficult to let go and stop dwelling on the mistakes or indiscretions that he now deeply regrets. One must realize that it is counterproductive to dwell on the past. The process dictates that he focuses on the present and future, and not on the past.

The second point related to the Teshuva process, is the need to let go of his previous world, and enter the world of Kedusha. This might be the last step in reaching his destination of Teshuva. He must not be afraid to leave behind the world he had previously known. He knows that he must do this, because what he’s leaving behind is a world that he’s no longer a part of. Despite this knowledge of what he knows he must do, doing it, is another story.

These two points regarding Teshuva, the need to forgive oneself, and the need to let go of his previous world, are two essential ingredients in becoming a true Baal Teshuva.