Vayelech
What is the profound message of the Days of Teshuvah?
Reflection by Avigail Beeri-Harel, Or HaLev Teacher:
"A few days before his passing, Moses stood before the people of Israel. God revealed to him that this nation, which had witnessed so many miracles, would turn its back, sin, and abandon the path of Torah. The divine response:
ְאָנֹכִי הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עַל כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה
`And I will surely hide My face on that day because of all the evil that they have done` (Deuteronomy 31:18) – raises a profound difficulty. How can it be that Hashem, who fills the entire world and is the source of all life and existence, would hide His face from the Jewish people? The Baal Shem Tov addresses this question with a beautiful parable, one that resonates deeply during the Days of Teshuvah:
A beloved king wished to test his sons' love. He built around his palace walls of fire, rivers, and fortifications, but it was all an `illusion` (achimzat eynayim). The moment a son entered the river or the fire, they vanished as if they had never been: `And behold, whoever was wise paid heed to the matter: how is it possible that his compassionate father would not desire to show his face to his beloved sons? It is nothing but an illusion, for the father wishes to test if the son will strive to come to him, and in truth, there is no hiding` (Baal Shem Tov, Vayelech 5:1).
The purpose of these partitions is not truly to hide, but to spur us on to discover the love within us and to return. This is the profound message of the Days of Teshuvah:
שׁוּבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ
`Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.`
Teshuvah is not merely a return from a specific transgression, but a constant, daily movement of re-turning to the Divine presence within us. It is returning again and again from the distractions of daily life, from worries that seem like rivers and fire, and from everything that pulls us away from being present with ourselves and with Existence.
Yet sometimes we encounter more difficult partitions, like the feeling that things simply cannot change. For instance, you're working on an important project and suddenly realize you've been scrolling social media for twenty minutes. The initial reaction might be disappointment, frustration, and even self-anger. But is this teshuvah 'to the Lord your God?' A deeper teshuvah would be to bring a different and surprising emotion to this partition and sense of hiddenness: love. To thank yourself for returning. To recognize that even though you strayed from the path and was in other places, now, just for a moment, you are here.
When we approach difficulty or a place that feels stuck with compassion and love, we surprisingly stop creating rigid perceptions about it. Love is not merely a pleasant emotion dependent on chance. A deep understanding of this process leads to the insight that how things appear before us depends on the measure of love and acceptance we hold in our hearts or have managed to cultivate. It is the struggling itself that gives the difficulty its solid, seemingly unchangeable existence, whereas love and acceptance allow it to soften and dissipate. This is precisely the King's desire in the parable: to reveal the love and devotion in his sons' hearts, because the more love there is, the closer one can come to the King and return to Him."