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Nitzavim: Wake Up Call

The Torah tells us that כי יבואו עליך… הברכה והקללה, after we have experienced both the blessings that come as a result of doing what we should and the punishments that result from the opposite, Klal Yisroel will ultimately do Teshuva.

And yet, points out the נודע ביהודה, the Gemora indicates that the Parsha is referring to תשובה מאהבה, Teshuva that is done out of love for Hashem. If the impetus for the Teshuva was the punishments, how can this be תשובה מאהבה?

The נודע ביהודה explains that there are two ways suffering can cause a person to return to Hashem. The first is comparable to a servant who is beaten for disobeying his master – going forward, he will do what he has to do going forward to avoid further punishment.

The other is like a son who is castigated by his father. If the son apologies to his father, he doesn’t do so only to make the “punishment” stop. Rather, the pain he experiences serves as a wake-up call which makes him realize that he’s hurt his father. The decision to make things right may have been sparked by the pain of separation, but it is really the product of a genuine desire to reconnect.

Writes the נודע ביהודה, this should be our reaction to misfortune. We should not do Teshuva merely to make the troubles stop. Rather, it ought to make us think:
‎הלא כי אין אלקי בקרבי מצאוני הרעות האלה, is it not because my G-d is not with me that these troubles have befallen me? The suffering should make us realize that we have disappointed Hashem, and make us genuinely want to reconnect and bring Him back into our lives.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום