6. Teachings of RAV DOV BER, the MAGGID of MEZRITCH
[The Ba’al Shem Tov’s successor, also known as “Der
Groisser Maggid”, THE GREAT MAGGID]
HIDDEN WITHIN THE SIN
Just as olive oil is hidden within the olive, so is teshuvah
hidden within the sin itself. This is because, although repentance is one of
the 613 commandments, one cannot repent unless he has sinned in the first
place. Teshuvah, the possibility of repentance, is already hidden in its
initial state of potential within the sin itself. LIKUTEI AMARIM
DISGUISED AS A MITZVAH
There are two types of people. One is truly wicked; he
recognizes his Master and nonetheless rebels against Him. The other has been so
blinded by his evil inclination that he and others around him are fooled into
thinking that what he is doing is really good. They believe that he is a
righteous Tzaddik. He might even study Torah and pray and afflict himself, but
since he lacks true sincerity and faith in Hashem, his whole path is crooked
and false.
The difference between the two is that there is hope
for the truly wicked one. If he will one day pay heed to his feelings of
remorse and does teshuvah wholeheartedly and beseeches Hashem for
guidance, he can be saved.
The same cannot be said of someone who is fooled into
thinking himself a Tzaddik! How can such a person ever do teshuvah when
he does not even know that he is mistaken in the first place?
This is why, when the yetzer hara tries to
seduce us into sinning he tries to convince us that our misdeeds are actually
mitzvos. This is a clever ploy – it prevents us from doing teshuvah
over what we have done, because we don’t think we have done anything that
requires repentance! OHR TORAH
THE BROKEN EGG
There are two types of sin: when a person transgresses
the word of G-d and he knows it, and when a person is so full of himself that
he thinks he is truly serving Hashem and doing mitzvos like a Tzaddik. When the
first type of person encounters thoughts of repentance and feelings of remorse,
he simply thinks more highly of himself for feeling this way, and his vanity
only women. This effectively prevents him from doing teshuvah.
It is like the woman who was holding an egg and
boasted to all who would hear her how this little egg was going to make her
rich. “This egg will make me a wealthy woman”, she declared.
“First I will hatch it and raise the click, and she
will grow to be a chicken. Instead of slaughtering the hen, I will let her lay
more eggs, and those eggs will also hatch, and soon I will have an entire coop
of chickens laying eggs for me. I shall sell some of them and buy a calf and
raise her to be a cow. Instead of slaughtering the cow, I will breed more
calves until I have a herd, and then I will sell some of them and buy a field…”
As she went on and on, bragging and boasting, she
dropped the egg and it broke, and so did all her foolish fantasies come to an
end.
When we first begin to learn and we tell ourselves.
“One day I will be a great scholar and a true chassid”, these vain
fantasies are so full of arrogance that they cancel out any possibility of
attaining true spiritual greatness from the outset. OHR TORAH; DARKEI CHAIM
HASHEM’S PRIDE IN THE BA’AL TESHUVAH
There was once a king who had two sons. One son was
faithful and dutiful toward the king. He could always be found at his father’s
side. The second son was wayward and reckless. He could happily go for long
periods of time without seeing his father more than once a week.
Eventually he grew so distant and rebellious that he
took off and ran away. He disregarded his father’s deep, abiding love for him.
Instead he blatantly shook off his father’s rule and decided to follow his own
heart’s desires. He took up company with a band of vagabonds, thieves, and
cutthroats.
The king could have sent armed guards after his son to
force his return, but instead he exercised great mercy and restraint. Rather
than punish his son, he pined after him and sighed longingly, “Woe is he who
has exiled himself from his home and birthplace, and woe is the son who is not
found at his father’s table!”
One day the wayward son came to his senses and
regretted his ways. He recalled his father’s love and compassion and decided to
return home. He would prostrate himself before his father, the king and plead
with him that he take him back.
And so he did. He prostrated himself and begged his
father’s forgiveness. “Father”, he pleaded, “I have sinned and seen the error
of my ways. Please forgive me!”.
When the king heard his son’s earnest entreaties, the
king’s compassion was roused and he took his son back. Seeing that his son’s
remorse was genuine filled him with joy. Finally he had his son back, the one
whom he had almost given up any hope of ever seeing again. He took pride in his
son for returning of his own good sense and was filled with love for him, for
returning out of love for his father.
The king’s affection and pride in the wayward son who
had returned surpassed even those feelings he had for his dutiful son. He took
the dutiful son’s obedience for granted since it had never wavered, but the
sudden upsurge of emotions that he felt at being reunited with his lost son was
much greater.
The king forgave his son completely and absolved him
of all wrongdoing. He raised his once – wayward son in stature and gave him a
station above that of all his brothers.
This parable, explains the Maggid, illustrates how
Hashem feels differently toward the ba’al teshuvah than for the Tzaddik
who has never sinned. Like the wayward son of the king, a wicked sinner who
once turned away from Hashem evokes great pride and joy when he finally
returns. OHR TORAH
Taken from Returnity with permission of Rabbi Tal Moshe Zwecker.
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
