3. Teachings of RAV PINCHAS OF KORITZ
[One of the primary disciples of the holy Ba’al
Shem Tov and the author of Imrei Pinchas]
THE ONLY TRUE TESHUVAH IS THROUGH TORAH
Nowadays, there is no way to do complete teshuvah
for our sins without Torah study. This is because some sins can be atoned only
through korbanos, offerings. Teshuvah is not enough.
How do we teshuvah without korbanos today?
Through Torah study. Our Sages taught, citing the verse “This is the Torah of
the burnt offering, of the minchah offering, and the sin offering…”
(Vayikra 7:37), that now, when we can no longer offer sacrifices, someone who
is obligated to offer a sacrificial offering should study the passages of Torah
that correspond to that sacrificial offering (Menachos 110a). When we study
those parts of the Torah, it’s as if we brought those offerings. IMREI PINCHAS,
ASERES YEMEI TESHUVAH
TESHUVAH CANNOT BEGIN WITHOUT TORAH
Rav Refael of Bershad, the disciple of Pinchas
Koritzer, taught that the primary form of teshuvah is intense, increased
Torah study. “Without this”, he explained, “teshuvah does not even
begin!” IMREI PINCHAS, ASERES YEMEI TESHUVAH
TEMPORARY TESHUVAH: REUNITING THE PRINCE
AND THE KING FOR AN HOUR
Once, after returning from a journey, Rav Pinchas
Koritzer turned to his disciples and asked them, “What good is it to give mussar
and help people do teshuvah if they end up returning to their former
misdeeds and carry on sinning as they had before?
He answered his own rhetoric with a parable:
There was once a prince who was captured by the enemy.
His father, the king, pined away, wishing only to see his son again. If it were
possible to free the prince and deliver him from bondage, how wonderful that
would be! However, even if that were impossible to accomplish, and they could
only manage to arrange for the prince to visit his father even just for an
hour, and then the prince would have to return to his prison, would the king
not happily rejoice that he had even just one hour in his beloved son’s
presence?
“Similary”, explained Rav Pinchas, “even if we cannot
make these people repent fully and do complete teshuvah, if we can just
give them a desire for repentance and feelings of regret for just one hour
alone, that, too, is of great benefit.” IMREI PINCHAS, ASERES YEMEI TESHUVAH
Returnity – The Way Back To Eternity
[Selected Teachings From The Chassidic Masters On Teshuvah] by Rabbi Tal
Moshe Zwecker.
Rabbi Tal Moshe Zwecker is a Chassid and
teacher in Ramat Beit Shemesh. Translator of Noam Elimelech and
other classics of Chassidus in English.
R’ Tal Moshe Zwecker
Director Machon Be’er Mayim Chaim Publishing
Chassidic Classics in the English Language
Website: www.chassidusonline.com
Email: chassidusonline@gmail.com
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