Courageous Repentance

Shabbat Shuvah—the Sabbath of Return 5783 

I have heard that in the old Eastern European synagogues the rabbi only preached a sermon twice a year.  They were very long sermons, at least an hour each, but there were only two of them a year.  I’m pretty certain some people would prefer that we return to this tradition…

Now, the first of these European rabbinic sermons was delivered at Shabbat HaGadol, the Great Sabbath that precedes Passover, when the rabbi would preach about chameits, adulteration, removing the leavening from the home and from your life.  And the other time was on this Sabbath and the subject, invariably was repentance.

The first Shabbat of the year is always Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return, a time of reflection and self-examination.  Falling in the midst of the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, it is a special time to concentrate on how we can improve ourselves and our lives in this shiny new year.  And we are given some guidance here on how this can best be accomplished.

We are taught in Jewish tradition “For sins against God the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) atones, but for sins against our fellow human beings the Day of Atonement does not atone.” (Mishna Yoma 8:9). That means we can and should pray for forgiveness for anything we have failed to do for ourselves or for God.  But if we have hurt another person—and all of us have, haven’t we, over the last 12 months?—we must apologize to that person directly.  That lesson is a profound one, and particularly important in Judaism.  God can help us on our spiritual paths, but when our issues are interpersonal it is up to us to work on resolving them.  

The most important lesson of this season is that this is the time to ask forgiveness from anyone we might have offended.  We must seek to repair our relationships with those people who are most important in our lives and we must do so sincerely and openly.    

The short Torah portion we will read tomorrow on Shabbat Shuvah is called VaYelech from the book of Deuteronomy, quite near the end of this last of the five books of the Torah.  The phrase Chazak v’amatz, meaning “be strong and courageous,” appears three times in two different forms in this portion.  The first is the collective, addressed to the people of Israel, “All of you be strong and courageous.”  The second and third time the phrase occurs Moses is addressing his successor, Joshua, directly: “Be strong and courageous in leading this people.”

Soldiers are sent into battle with the exhortation “Chazak v’amatz, be strong and courageous!” for the tasks they are forced to fulfill will undoubtedly take them into life-threatening danger.  In a larger sense, that phrase has become a kind of byword in Judaism for moral courage.  We tell people who are enduring great challenges chazak v’amatz, be strong and courageous, meaning hang in there, bear up under the strain, keep a stiff upper lip.  Rak chazak v’amatz Joshua is told—just be brave and courageous and everything will work out for the best.  Do your best to stand the strain, work hard against the forces of doubt or despair, and God will reinforce your strength and redouble your commitment.  

It’s good advice, not only for future leaders of the Jewish people like Joshua, but for everyone—even bar and bat mitzvah boys and girls.  Be brave and courageous.  Face your fears and your challenges openly.  Don’t pretend that hard tasks don’t await you but know that if you are resolute and committed you can accomplish them.  Chizku v’imtzu—chazak v’amatz.  Be strong and courageous and you will overcome.

Whenever I hear that phrase, chazak v’amatz, I think of my late mother, Claire S. Cohon, of blessed memory.  She frequently quoted that to her children, or at least to me, when we were going through challenging times.  And of course, we all go through challenging times.  Knowing that if you persevere, with God’s help you can not only survive but emerge into a new, better reality—that is a powerful thing indeed.  Be strong, have courage can also mean: have faith.

That phrase, chazak v’amatz, applies to our own teshuvah, our efforts at repentance, as well.  Are there those to whom you are uncomfortable apologizing for mistakes you made in the past?  Take courage, Vayelech teaches, and in this week of Shabbat Shuvah find the strength to ask them to forgive you.  Are there those you do not wish to forgive?  Be brave and let those resentments go, take the initiative and forgive those who have wronged you.  

Mind you, this doesn’t mean forgiving those who keep on wronging you.  Judaism does not council forgiving people who are actively hurting you.  That isn’t teshuvah; it is co-dependence.  But for anyone who hurt you in the past, who damaged you in some way but isn’t doing so now, being able to let it go is crucial to growing from it and moving on into that new, cleaner reality.  Ask forgiveness, and grant forgiveness.  Be bold about both, for only when you can do both of these can your teshuvah be complete.  Only then can you truly emerge whole.

If we can each be brave about our teshuvah, if we can do this now we will help heal our own damaged relationships, and mend the torn fabric of our community.  Perhaps we can then truly begin to heal this very damaged world of ours, and begin the new year in the right way.

May you each find your own teshuvah over this Shabbat and on Yom Kippur this coming week and help to begin 5783 with clean hands and a pure heart, boldly free of the mistakes and the pain of the past, courageously embracing the future with hope, energy and life.

Shabbat Shalom and G’mar Chatimah Tovah, may you be sealed in the book of life for a good year!