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ViewPoint

Repentance: Mankind's Tool for Survival
January 1999

The following ViewPoint was intended to provoke thought and discussion.

I am frequently asked how Noachides can atone for any trangressions they inadvertently (not intentionally) commit. I have compliled a brief anthology which should satisfactorily address this important issue. Although the term "repentance" is commonly used by non-Jews, it does not adequately explain the concept of teshuvah, as you will soon see (below).

Wisdom was asked: The sinner, what is his destiny?
She said to those who asked: "Evil pursueth sinners" (Proverbs 13:21).

 

Prophecy was asked: The sinner, what is his destiny?
She said to those who asked: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4).

 

The Torah was asked: The sinner, what is his destiny?
She said to those who asked: Let him bring a guilt-offering, and atonement shall be made for him; as it is written: "And it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him" (Leviticus 1:4).

 

The Holy One, blessed be He, was asked: The sinner, what is his destiny?
He said to those who asked: Let him turn in repentance, and atonement shall be made for him; as it is written: "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore doth He instruct sinners in the way" (Psalm 25:8).1

Repentance was rejected on the basis of Wisdom, Prophecy, and Torah — but God decreed that it have an honored place in His scheme of creation.2

Seven things were created before the universe. They are: Torah, repentance . . . 3

Ran explains that they had to be created even before the universe because, without them, creation could not endure.4

Inasmuch as God created man with the evil impulse, by reason of which he is prone to sin, justice demanded that an antidote should likewise be provided for his salvation. If wickedness is a disease to which the human is susceptible, it was necessary for him to have a medium of healing. Such is
to be found in repentance.5

R. Yochanan said, "Great is repentance, for it rends asunder the decree imposed upon a man."6

Teshuvah (repentance) makes atonement for all transgressions; even if a man has transgressed all the days of his life, if he does teshuvah at the end, nothing of his wickedness is remembered unto him, as it is said (Ezekiel 33:12): "And as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not stumble thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness."7 And what is teshuvah? It occurs when the sinner forsakes his sin, and removes it from his thoughts, and concludes in his heart not to do it again, as it is said, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts" (Isaiah 55:7). Let him also regret what has happened, as it is said, "Surely after that I was turned, I repented" (Jeremiah 31:19). And let the sinner call to Him who knows all hidden things to witness that he will never return to sin that sin again.8

The essence of teshuvah is based on recognition of the nature of mankind. Without teshuvah, humanity would sink deeper into sin, without any hope of repairing the damage. If Hashem created man with his nature the way it is, he cannot exist without teshuvah which straightens out his crooked ways. The fact that Hashem gave us teshuvah was not merely an act of magnanimity on His part, but a basic principle in the existence of humanity, and its moral characteristics on earth. It is a tool for the very survival of mankind.9

1. Nahum N. Glatzer, Hammer on the Rock (1948), p. 62; Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 62b.
2. Mesorah Publications, Yonah (1978), pp. xxxviii.
3. Ibid., p. xxxviii; Nedarim 39b.
4. Ibid., p. xxxix.
5. A. Cohen, Everyman's Talmud (1949), p. 104.
6. Ephrain E. Urbach, The Sages (1975), p. 277; T.B. Rosh Hashana 17b.
7. S. Y. Agnon, Days of Awe (1948), p. 119.
8. Ibid.
9. Rabbi Yehudah Nachshoni, Studies in the Weekly Parashah (1989), p.1380.

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