yehoshua: barred from teshuva
sholem aleichem
Happy chanukah y'all!
We're halfway done with Yehoshua, thank goodness. Let's go:
This week: Yehoshua 11-12
Summary: More kings ally against the Israelites. They are destroyed and all their people are put to the sword. We receive a long list of kings and their territories that the Israelites conquered during this period.
There's an interesting note partway through Chapter 11:
כִּי מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה הָיְתָה לְחַזֵּק אֶת־לִבָּם לִקְרַאת הַמִּלְחָמָה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמַעַן הַחֲרִימָם
for their hearts were strengthened by haShem to wage war with Israel, so that they would be completely destroyed
You might recognize this phrase from the Exodus story, when haShem strengthens Pharaoh's heart so that the plagues will continue.
I don't want to talk too much about the specifics of Yehoshua this week, but I do want to dig into this idea a bit.
The Rambam comments on both stories
וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁיֶּחְטָא אָדָם חֵטְא גָּדוֹל אוֹ חֲטָאִים רַבִּים עַד שֶׁיִּתֵּן הַדִּין לִפְנֵי דַּיַן הָאֱמֶת
and it is possible that a human will sin a great sin or many sins until he is given judgement before the true judge
שֶׁיְּהֵא הַפֵּרָעוֹן מִזֶּה הַחוֹטֵא עַל חֲטָאִים אֵלּוּ שֶׁעָשָׂה בִּרְצוֹנוֹ וּמִדַּעְתּוֹ שֶׁמּוֹנְעִין מִמֶּנּוּ הַתְּשׁוּבָה
the repayment for the sinner of these sins that he did with his will and his knowledge will be that his teshuva is witheld from him
וְאֵין מַנִּיחִין לוֹ רְשׁוּת לָשׁוּב מֵרִשְׁעוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁיָּמוּת וְיֹאבַד בְּחֶטְאוֹ שֶׁעָשָׂה
and there is no permission for him to return, so that he will die and perish in his sin that he did
This is disturbing, and it also raises a problem when we consider the following from Devarim Rabbah:
רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בַּר פָּפָּא שָׁאַל לְרַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן מַהוּ דִּכְתִיב וַאֲנִי תְפִלָּתִי לְךָ ה' עֵת רָצוֹן, אָמַר לוֹ שַׁעֲרֵי תְּפִלָּה פְּעָמִים פְּתוּחִים פְּעָמִים נְעוּלִים, אֲבָל שַׁעֲרֵי תְּשׁוּבָה לְעוֹלָם פְּתוּחִים
Rabbi Chanina bar Papa asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman: what is the meaning of the verse: "my prayer to you haShem [at] a desireable time". Rabbi Shmuel said to him: the gates of prayer are open at some times and closed at other times, but the gates of teshuva are always open.
אָמַר לוֹ מִנַּיִן
Rabbi Chanina bar Papa replied: from where [do we know this]?
דִּכְתִיב (תהלים סה, ו): נוֹרָאוֹת בְּצֶדֶק תַּעֲנֵנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵנוּ מִבְטָח כָּל קַצְוֵי אֶרֶץ וְיָם רְחוֹקִים
it is written: with justice and awesomeness you will answer us, god of our salvation, trust of all the ends of the earth, and of the distant seas
מַה הַמִּקְוֶה הַזֶּה פְּעָמִים פָּתוּחַ פְּעָמִים נָעוּל, אַף שַׁעֲרֵי תְּפִלָּה פְּעָמִים פְּתוּחִים פְּעָמִים נְעוּלִים, אֲבָל הַיָּם הַזֶּה לְעוֹלָם פָּתוּחַ, כָּךְ יָדוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְעוֹלָם פְּתוּחָה לְקַבֵּל שָׁבִים
As this mikvah is sometimes open and sometimes closed, also the gates of prayer are sometimes open and sometimes closed, but this sea is always open: therefore the hand of the holy one of blessings is always open to receive returners
There's a difficulty with this midrash, as we learn in the mishnah:
כָּל הַיַּמִּים כְּמִקְוֶה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית א), וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם קָרָא יַמִּים, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר
All seas are like a mikvah, as it is said: and he called the gathering/mikvah of waters "seas" -- the words of Rabbi Meir.
If all seas are like a mikvah, then how can the sea be always open but the mivahs are sometimes open and sometimes closed? One way to resolve this difficulty is to say: Rabbi Meir is referring to all [nearby] seas, while our midrash talks only about "the distant seas". The distance is important!
Let's bring back our Rambam. The Rambam says that someone who sins greatly enough has no permission to return, not that it is impossible to return. The witholding of teshuva is so that he will experience retribution for his sins. And what is that retribution? To die and to perish.
But if the person is already dead, then how does he perish? One answer: the word for perish (אבד) can also mean "to be beyond recognition."
The gate of teshuvah is not closed, but neither is it wide open: it is housed in the distant seas. The person in this situation cannot simply return and be free of retribution.
כִּי בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָדָם אוֹמֵר: חָטָאתִי, עָוִיתִי, פָּשַׁעְתִּי – אֲפִלּוּ זֶה אִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר בְּבַר לֵבָב בְּלִי פְּנִיָּה
even in a moment when a person says: i have sinned, i have transgressed, i have rebeled - even then it is impossible to say so with a pure heart without motivation
even the more so when someone has sinned so greatly! it is impossible at first to do teshuvah with a pure heart that is not motivated by a desire to avoid retribution. but this does not mean that the gates of teshuvah are closed!
it merely means that for such great transgressions, the retribution is that one must become unrecognizable: who you were has to die and you must become someone utterly different before you can reach those distant seas of teshuvah. you must
לַעֲשׂוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה עַל הַתְּשׁוּבָה הָרִאשׁוֹנָה, הַיְנוּ עַל "חָטָאתִי, עָוִיתִי, פָּשַׁעְתִּי" שֶׁאָמַר
do teshuvah on the first teshuvah, i.e. do teshuvah for saying "i have sinned, i have transgressed, i have rebeled"
perhaps the idea of "strengthening/hardening the heart" is to not allow that initial misplaced attempt at teshuvah that comes only from fear of retribution....
This is more a collection of texts than a coherent idea -- as always, deeply interested in your thoughts.
good shabbos,
ada