Repentance, Atonement And Independence

Candlelighting, Readings:
Shabbat candles: 6:48 p.m.
Torah: Deut. 29:9-30:20
Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10-63:9
Havdalah: 7:45 p.m.

Nitzavim opens, “You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God …” [Deuteronomy 29:9]. Verse 10 lists several different categories of people within the Jewish nation, from the heads of the tribes to the water drawers, who are standing before God. Verse 11 indicates that all of these different types of people are “passing into the Brit (covenant) of the Lord your God.” This asserts that the community must connect to God and the mitzvot of the Torah directly. Moshe (Moses) cannot serve as an intermediary; every person has to enter into the Covenant directly.

The concept of a direct connection to God and the Covenant is further emphasized: “For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in Heaven that you should not say: Who shall go up for us to Heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? [Deut. 30:11-12]” A relationship with God is not far away from you, and every person has the potential to have that relationship without an intermediary.

This idea of standing before God directly also plays out during the upcoming holidays of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik asked the following question at a 1973 lecture at 92nd Street Y: What is the main difference between how kappara (atonement) is achieved today versus the way it was achieved in the times of the Beit Hamikdash, the ancient Temple in Jerusalem?

Rabbi Soloveitchik based his answer on Rambam’s Mishnah Torah, Laws of Repentance Chapter 1, which points out that kappara was accomplished in Temple times through korbanot (sacrifices). However, if the sacrifices weren’t accompanied by teshuvah (repentance), kappara was not attained. Today, without a Temple and sacrifices, the only thing that achieves kappara is repentance. Teshuvah has been transformed from a condition to achieving atonement to the sole means of doing so. As a result, one could argue that today our experience of teshuvah is more intense and direct.

Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel in “Linvuchey Ha-Tekufah” points out that one of the fantastic things about the Jewish approach to repentance and atonement is that it is done directly by the individual. No intermediary stands between the penitent and the person they wronged. or before God. Rabbi Amiel writes: “Repentance originates in the infinite intellect that transcends time and nature. One principle directs it: Nothing stands in the way of the will. … One can instantly transform one’s self, leaping from the deepest pit to the highest Heaven … human beings can transform themselves at any moment, renewing themselves at will to become new people.” He continues in this vein, saying that when we transform ourselves it is akin to being reborn, almost as if we’ve given birth to ourselves.

Both Rabbi Amiel and Rabbi Soloveitchik understood the idea that atonement needs to be achieved without an intermediary. As much as the experience of atonement is more direct today and we are not expecting a Kohen Gadol (High Priest) to make atonement for us. There is sometimes a tendency in some modern day synagogues to replace the intermediary of the Kohen Gadol with the intermediary of a rabbi or cantor. Even in synagogues that are more participatory, where congregants are less dependent on a rabbi and cantor, the service itself can become an intermediary. To be sure the service is integral to helping facilitate teshuvah, and the rabbi and cantor can be excellent guides in our teshuvah process. However, none of this can replace the experience of standing before those whom we have wronged, or to stand before God and asking forgiveness.

It is interesting we live in a DIY (do it yourself) society. People today are more directly involved in every aspect of their lives. We use the self check-out line at the supermarket, make our own investments, and can do our banking online. We can get directly involved in journalism and politics through social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Mashable, etc.

The same direct involvement that people have in shopping, business, journalism, and politics needs to be applied to the teshuvah process on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and to Judaism in general. As we engage in the process of repentance, let us do so directly, without any intermediaries.

It is my blessing that this approach of direct involvement spills over into every aspect of our spiritual experiences in life.

Shabbat Shalom and Shanah Tovah.

Rabbi David Kalb is the director of Jewish education at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Life at the 92nd Street Y. You can view more of his writings at www.rabbidavidkalb.com