Devar/5768/Vayigash
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עברית
English
For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I look upon the evil that shall come on my father (Gen 44:34)
Regarding my last week's devar torah, a friend of mine objected to my statement that the children of Israel "were all righteous and wise" - he said, it's not so, since we have seen murderous thuggishness (the brothers against Yosef), sexual licentiousness (Reuven and Bilhah), violence (Shimon and Levi) and other similar things. Indeed, from a certain perspective he's right - it is hard to understand how one might call them "righteous" when we know all their history.
When one regrets his past, and pushes himself not to repeat and return to his evil ways - he is called a "master of repentance" (ba`al teshuvah). So writes the Rambam: What is complete repentance? That is when one comes upon the matter in which he sinned, and has the ability to perform that sin, but he separates himself from it and didn't perform it because he is repentant - not because of fear or lack of strength. Howso? If he had had an illicit relationship with a woman, and after a time was alone with her again while he still loves her and has the physical strength required; and in the same city in which he sinned - but he withheld and did not sin -- this is a complete ba`al teshuvah. (Laws of Repentance 2:1)
Yosef did not know whether or not his brothers had repented - therefore he arranged this entire scene which we read about recently. He tested them because he thought perhaps they had become evildoers. To his relief, he discovered that indeed they had repented and regretted their past.
I can call them "righteous", because: The repentant should not think to himself, that he is far from the level of the righteous, because of his sins and the transgression he did. The matter is not so, rather he is loved and treasured before the Creator, and as if he never had sinned. Not only that, but his reward is great, for he had tasted the taste of sin and was able to leave it and overcome his evil desire. Our Sages said that the level of these (ba`aley teshuva) is greater than that of those who had never sinned, for they conquer their evil inclination more than the others. (Laws of Repentance 7:4)
In the verse I brought above, we see the man as he is now, not as he used to be. We must always keep in mind that "permission is granted us" to change and improve (or indeed the opposite). If a person repents, we must look at his current deeds, and not his past ones.
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