Repentance - The Divine Startup that Elevates Us

"Our Rabbis taught that seven things were created before the creation of the world: the throne of glory, the Torah, the Temple, the patriarchs, Israel, the name of the Messiah, and repentance... And from where do we learn of repentance? As it is said (Psalms 90), 'Before the mountains were born and you gave birth to the earth and the world, and from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. You turn man back into dust and say, return, children of man.'" (Tanchuma, Parashat Nasso, Siman 11).

Repentance - A Divine Startup

The concept of repentance reflects the premise that man, in his essence and nature is truly good. When a person is aware of this essential goodness, it allows him to trust in the opportunity to repair, regardless of his failings.

Repentance proposes a solution to sin before it is born. It allows a person to return to himself, with the understanding that his misconduct is external and not a result of his inner nature, just as Bruria, the wife of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, instructed: "May sins be destroyed from the earth" - sins, not sinners.

Repentance? Only for Those Who See Themselves as Worthy

For a person to repent, they must believe that they are worthy and recognize that they possess a divine spark. They must believe in the good within themselves, so that if they mistakenly sin, they will trust in their ability to correct their ways.

The recognition of sin for someone who feels unworthy can cause them to be confronted with intense frustration, guilt, and worthlessness. As a defense mechanism, they must come up with excuses for why they acted as they did, even justifying their actions, because admitting them would be acknowledging how unworthy they truly feel.

The first step in repentance is to admit the sin, to take responsibility for the action, thereby allowing for the possibility of correction. Mistakenly thinking that I am unworthy prevents me from recognizing my failure and facing it head-on, thereby making it impossible to repent! The sin then remains lurking at my doorstep, increases the bad feelings and enforces how not okay I truly am.

A person who believes that they are a worthy divine creation has the ability to accept that sometimes they may stumble. However, this does not break them, because they understand that there is always a way to return to their innate goodness. They do not criticize themselves, but their actions.

If You Believe in the Breakdown, Believe in the Repair

The month of Elul is a month of "repairs." Elul, when the letters are reversed, forms Lule:"If I did not believe to see the goodness of Hashem" (Psalms 27:13). Elul symbolizes hope, the ability to understand that what was has passed, and it is possible and necessary to start anew. Repentance is a gift that enables the building of the future, based on and because of failures of the past. The knowledge that there is hope and the ability to change belongs to those who believe in themselves, those who feel worthy in their own eyes, and in the good within them. It belongs to those who know how to forgive themselves and not judge themselves, and therefore believe in the ability to repair, even if they momentarily experience estrangement from themselves.

G-d created opposing forces- just as there is a reality of failure – so is there a reality of repair, and if we believe in failure we must also believe in the capacity for repair, as both are expressions of the soul; to fail is external, and to repair is internal.

Those who believe in repair and truly desire it, are aligned with the divine truth that they are fundamentally good: a person can always return to their intrinsic good by seeking it, revealing it, bringing it to fruition, and experiencing it even more profoundly each year.

May we merit to feel worthy and return.

Inbal Elhayani, "M.A., is a certified therapist in NLP, mindfulness, and guided imagery, writer, and lecturer in the field.