Ashes

9 Teves 5782

“Why am I afraid in times of trouble? [Because] the sins I trod upon surround me.” (Tehillim 49:6)

The Gemara in Rosh Hashannah 17a states that part of the reward for the righetous in the coming world is that the ashes of the wicked are scattered beneath their feet. Why would the righteous want to see the ashes of the wicked under their feet? Rav Mizrachi explains that part of the reward of the righteous is the constant reminder what would have happened had they not done teshuvah.

“This is achieved through ‘repentance out of love (of G-d),’ coming from the depths of the heart, with great love and fervor, and from a soul passionately desiring to cleave to the blessed G-d, and thirsting for G-d, like a parched and barren soil thirsts desperately for water.” (Lessons in Tanya, Likutei Amarim, middle of Chapter 7)

How does one do teshuvah to such an extent that even one’s “premeditated sins become transmuted into veritable merits?” By repenting “out of love”, not out of fear.

It is important to keep in mind the permanent punishment that awaits those who don’t fulfill what is expected of them in this world, however, making this our driving force limits the extent of our teshuvah. Only pure teshuvah, out of yearning and love for Hashem, can truly restore our soul to its rightful place.

“And Israel said to Joseph, ‘I had not expected to see [even] your face, and behold, G-d has shown me your children too.’” (Bereishis 48:11)

The Rebbe explains, “Jacob intimated why he considered Ephraim and Manasseh his own sons by referring to them as ‘your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before I came to you.’ Even though Ephraim and Manasseh were born and raised in Egypt before Jacob’s arrival, they grew up true to their grandfather’s ideals. Therefore, Jacob considered them as loyal to him and his ideals as his own children.” When we return to Hashem with passion, becoming loyal to his command and fulfilling it with joy, even though we were “born and raised in Egypt,” we are fully restored in His eyes. It is as if we are His very children, on par with the righteous in our generation and those of the previous generations.