Email conversation about Teshuva I had today

From: some shmo

Hi shlemiel,

The question is:

The Rebbe explains that according to the Alter Rebbe in Tanya, the nature of Teshuva is  that the person must repent to the extent that he (not only deicde not to do *that particular sin* that he violated; but) decide that he will not vilate any one of the Mitzvot that Hashem commanded.

The question was: According to this opinion what IF the person did not reach that far, and he only decided that he will not commit that particular sin, is it considered as if he did NO teshuva whatsoever, or we say that although he did not reach *Complete* teshuva he nonletheless is no longer a RASHA ( as ALter Rebbe states: that if a person committed a sin he is a rasha until he does teshuva).

This is the question in the abstract form.

 (There may be various practial "nafkah minahs" practical ramifications that result from this question. Rabbi Piekarsky offered one, which i feel has no practical bearing).

Kol tuv,

Some other shmo

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From: your very own shmendrik

As far as I understand it, it is not as if the person did no teshuva whatsoever, only that they have not gone from the Tanya’s category of “Rasha” to “Benoni.” This is evident by the fact that the Arizal brings fasts and particular tikunim for particular sins(also brought in Tanya,) implying that when one has made teshuva for a particular sin you have fixed that particular area, regardless of the general “category” of your soul.

Please remember that the Tanya’s level of Benoni is a high level, and while in reach, takes great effort and there are many, many levels in between a complete Rasha and a Benoni, (ask explained in Tanya.)

There is a flux between a perfect state of tzadik to Rasha as the person alternatively does Mitzvos and Averos. When a person is doing a mitzvah, for that moment they are a perfect tzadik beyond time and space, then when they then go and do an avaira…

Each Mitzvah (or teshuva) that a person does then, affects their soul in a way that is beyond time and space and regardless of all the other deeds that they do.

All the above is explained in Tanya fairly clearly.

All the best,

   shmendrik (me!)

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From: some other shmo who got cc'ed

Which Sicha does the Rebbe say this?

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From: your very own shmendrik

The concepts I mentioned in my email to the first shmo I emailed can be learned straight from the Tanya itself.

The Rebbi mentions concepts from Tanya in almost every sicha. Is there a particular point mentioned you are looking for elaboration from the Rebbi sichas on?

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Same shmo:

“The Rebbe explains that according to the Alter Rebbe in Tanya, the nature of Teshuva is  that the person must repent to the extent that he (not only deicide not to do *that particular sin* that he violated; but) decide that he will not violate any one of the Mitzvot that Hashem commanded”

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From: your very own shmendrik 

Indeed that is the nature of Teshuva to become  a Benoni, since A) a Benoni cannot have any sins at all and B)if you have not completely given up your rebellion you have not completely returned.

However, my point was that there is a distinction made in Tanya itself between the general concept of teshuva, which you are mentioning, and the tikun of particular avonos, which is also elaborated on in Tanya.

When one is concentrating on correcting one particular sin, it does not mean you are not doing teshuva for everything, it just means that, by nature, man is finite and cannot fix everything at once. You cannot fast, for example the 104 fasts delineated for one sin while, at the same time, fasting 84 fasts for another one.

It is basically a concept of Klal and prat “general and specific.” You first must accomplish the general concept of giving yourself back to divine service through a movement of “generally” forsaking all the bad you may have done, without going into detail. Once that is established you can go into more “detail” and concentrate on the particular things that you want to concentrate on.

Perhaps what you are getting at is that there are something a person is willing to regret, while there are other things that they are not ready to regret yet. This should not stop a person from generally giving oneself over, without going into details, in order to make teshuva for the particular sin they are going to concentrate on. The fact that they are not willing to give themselves up, were they to think about another sin, is immaterial to the “teshuva” they are doing, that is beyond time and space, at the present time.

Again, it is impossible to ask a person to concentrate on all their sins at once, this is why the general concept is one of kabalas ol. However, to say that a person should not realize, from a particular sin they may have done they should make teshuva, is also foolhardy. Rather, they should make a “general” teshuva, using that one thing as a starting point of inspiration.

In Likutei torah, the Alter Rebbe mentions that there are a number of different types of teshuva (much more basic than concepts of teshuva ila etc), and brings from the sifrei mussar a number of examples (for example teshuvat ha’geder and teshuvat ha’mishkal.) Teshuva is not a black and white, “you must do it this way or it won’t work,” rather, there are 70 facets to Torah. :)

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From: the original shlemiel

The Alter Rebbe writes about teshuva in iggeret hatshvua and speaks there about the elementary halachik defintion of teshuva which is "azivat hachet" (abandoning the sin). There he adds that the repentance entail complete  resolution not to disobey G-d in ANY SIN (not only about that particular sin). See explanations of Tanys by Rabbi Weinberg which quotes the Rebbe's observations on this issue.

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From your very own shmendrik:

Look at it this way.

The Rebbe brings many times the Gemara that if a complete Rasha marries someone on condition that they are a complete tzadik it is still a good betrothal. Why? Perhaps he had a thought of Teshuva.

In other words, the kabalas ol needed as a foundation for Teshuva is like a hairs breadth. For that moment, when this rasha had a thought of Teshuva, he was a complete Tzadik. Again, that moment is beyond time and space, and regardless of any other thoughts or actions that Rasha does before or after. How much more so will a person be a complete Tzadik for the time they spend in protracted concentration on Teshuva for a particular avera!

So yes, in order to do Teshuva you must give oneself over in a general way, for all the positive and negative sins one may have committed, without going into detail. Certainly, that betrothing Rasha did not have time to detail or even think of all the sins he may have committed. Only a very minimal preface of Teshuva is needed as a starting point. Does this really mean that the person has done a proper Teshuva on each and every Avera? No. They must then concentrate on the tikunim in the particular. Furthermore, what does it matter it the tikun comes before the Teshuva or the Teshuva comes before the tikun. A person makes Teshuva (kabalas ol) in a general way because of a particular avera or averos they want to fix and a person also will strive to fix particular averos because they have already given themselves over in Teshuva. This is an infinite spiral without a beginning or an end.