Sha’arei Teshuva of Rabbeinu Yonah lists six occasions or circumstances that can, that should arouse a person to teshuva. He says though in the introduction to Sha’ar Sheni before he proceeds to enumerate these six times or circumstances, he says ויותר מהמה בני הזהר לשוב בכל יום בנפשך לטהר בלעדי תחזה סיבה מעוררת וילד יום יקוצון מחשבותיך.
That in truth a person shouldn’t wait for, shouldn’t rely upon any or all of these six stimuli, but without any of those a person should do teshuva. And it should be bechol yom. לשוב בכל יום בנפשך לטהר. What are the six? So Rabbeinu Yonah proceeds to enumerate Rachmana litzlan yissurim, Rachmana litzlan that we should need them, old age, Aseres Yemei Teshuva, hearing a mussar shmuze, learning divrei mussar in Tanach, and the sixth of the times or circumstances, this is a time, is that a person should contemplate רחמנא ליצלן יום המיתה and the unpredictability thereof. And he explains how, again with the Mishna in Pirkei Avos and the Gemara in Shabbos, הדרך השישי כל עת ייכון לקראת אלוהיו. At every moment a person should be prepared as it were to meet Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to come before the Kiseh Hakavod, כי לא ידע האדם את עתו. Actuarial tables notwithstanding, a person doesn’t know. And therefore על כן כליותיו ישתוננו ובצדקה יכוננו להשיב רוחו בטהרה אל האלוקים אשר נתנה.
A person should be ever alert in a state of red alert, high alert, to return his neshama in the pure state in which it was given to him. ויחפש דרכיו ומעלליו בכל יום יפקדם לבקרים ולרגעים יבחנם. And constantly, constantly assessing, critiquing. ואמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה רבי אליעזר אומר שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך. אמרו לו תלמידיו רבינו וכי אדם יודע באיזה יום ימות? אמר להם כל שכן ישוב היום שמא ימות למחר ונמצא כל ימיו בתשובה.
So it’s interesting, effectively the derech hashishi also prompts or stimulates that daily teshuva that Rabbeinu Yonah was telling us about in the hakdama. So in the hakdama, Rabbeinu Yonah, the hakdama here to Sha’ar Sheni, the beginning of Sha’ar Sheni, Rabbeinu Yonah says don’t rely on any of these six that I’m about to enumerate, but instead you should be doing teshuva again ויותר מהמה בני הזהר. He’s addressing us and telling us that we should be doing teshuva daily. considerations, circumstances, occasions, the sixth of those is one which exactly has that effect. So is that, is it just redundancy there? I mean clearly there's a difference that in the beginning he's talking about that there's an internal impulse. In the end it's an external impulse in the sense that one is contemplating the tenuousness of life, but is it just a question of impulse or does the difference run deeper? So it's clear from Rabbeinu Yonah's presentation that the difference, that there is a profound difference not just in terms of where the impulse comes from but in terms of the content, the substance, the essence of the teshuva, of the daily teshuva that he's urging upon us in the beginning of Sha'ar Sheni as opposed to that daily teshuva which can be triggered by contemplating the tenuousness of life. A teshuva which is catalyzed by contemplating Yom HaMisa and its unpredictability is a teshuva that's focused on attaining mechila, selicha, v'kapara. It's a teshuva which is focused on cleansing and purging, all of which are extraordinary goals and when achieved extraordinary accomplishments. But that's as far as the teshuva goes. Even if a person will begin at a young age and for 75 years, for 80 years, 90 years, 100 years daily he'll be engaged in this constant teshuva, but if the teshuva again is stimulated by contemplating Yom HaMisa and the tenuousness of life, it won't go beyond the goals of mechila, selicha, v'kapara, of removing stains, of cleansing. And what Rabbeinu Yonah is telling us at the beginning of Sha'ar Sheni and what he's urging upon us is that if a person aspires to live a life of aliyah, if a person aspires to live a life of continuous growth, so it's absolutely imperative that he be involved, engaged with, preoccupied with teshuva on a daily basis. ויותר מהמה בני הזהר לשוב בכל יום ונפשך לטהר בלעדי זכר סיבה מעוררת וילד יום יקושון מחשבותיך כי תזכור בוראך
skipping two lines ומיראת השם ואהבתו והבושה מלפניו תוסיף מעלה תמיד. If a person is doing teshuva daily, not because maybe it's יום אחד לפני מיתתו. No, yavo Eliyahu v'yomar he has another 50 years, l'chol hapachos. He's... doing teshuva daily, it's a different the substance, the tochen of that teshuva is a different teshuva that than the teshuva which is occasioned, which is triggered by maybe rachmana litzlan, it's יום אחד לפני מיתתו. And emes is that this idea of Rabbeinu Yonah that teshuva has to be a fixture, a daily presence in a life of aliyah, the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah inserted that into the Amidah. When when at Mincha we say hashiveinu avinu lesorasecha, it's not rachmana litzlan predicated upon an assumption or even a chashash necessarily that when we said the same bakasha a few hours ago that that bakasha wasn't fulfilled. And when we say hashiveinu avinu lesorasecha again a few hours later when we daven Maariv, again the renewal and the repetition of the bakasha is not presuming and not even being choshesh that that the bakasha wasn't fulfilled. No, itachen that itachen that this morning's bakasha was fulfilled and this afternoon's bakasha was fulfilled, again a person needs to ask hashiveinu avinu lesorasecha. Why is it that that teshuva has to be a fixture of a life of aliyah, of tosef maala tamid? So we'll mention four perspectives, mistanma the be-vchinas tano ve-shiyre. When Shlomo HaMelech tells us that אדם אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא, halevai that when I looked in the mirror I would think that the timeframe for that statement was over the course of a lifetime. Halevai that when I looked in the mirror I could think that the timeframe for that statement was every year, halevai that I could think the timeframe for that statement was a month, was a week. I'm not sure it's even a minute. I think I think I think I have to define it in terms of seconds. One perspective. A second perspective: Rabbeinu Yonah says, כי תזכור את בוראך again, יותר מהמה בני הזהר לשוב בכל יום ונפשך לטהר, בלא עדי סיבה מעוררת,
even without seeing some external cause that that should arouse you, וילדי יום יקושון מחשבותיך and not you don't need any happenings of the day, any developments to be banging and knocking to to get your attention, but rather כי תזכור את בוראך, you should remember Hakadosh Baruch Hu synonymous with teshuva, ve-haya lecha zichro and the remembrance of Hakadosh Baruch Hu will serve for you, will function for you lemeshiv nefesh, something that will restore your nefesh מדרכי תולדות גוש עפר. Rabbeinu Yonah is not using the the imagery that that that comes to mind for all of us from Ramchal in the beginning of Mesillas Yesharim about the constant milchama, but the point is very much the same. That we're constantly pulled, we're constantly drawn by the physical side of our existence, the material, the materialistic side and there needs to be a pushback, there needs to be a stronger counterforce and Rabbeinu Yonah says the strongest counterforce is that a person is always preoccupied with Teshuva. So perspective number one was that Teshuva is a fixture in a person's life or needs to be because of the all too sad reality of אדם אין צדיק בארץ אשר יעשה טוב ולא יחטא. A reality that some of us magnify. Perspective number two is that the preoccupation with Teshuva is the best preemptive measure to cheit. Perspective number three Chovos HaLevavos has a beautiful profound depiction of chasidim where he says that chasidim do Teshuva on their Teshuva. When a person does Teshuva so the degree of remorse and shame nichamti uvoshti bema'asai the degree of remorse and shame that he feels, that he experiences is a function of where he's holding. To constantly be doing Teshuva means to constantly to deepen one's hakaras hacheit of what a cheit means. Where a person's holding today at this minute he has a certain sensitivity to what cheit means rachmana litzlan to what tumas hacheit involves rachmana litzlan. A person who's constantly involved in Teshuva is deepening that hakaras hacheit and the constant involvement with Teshuva allows him to to be improving and upgrading the previous Teshuva. And yet a fourth perspective on why Rabbeinu Yonah is telling us that to live a life of aliya Teshuva can't be a seasonal pursuit. משל למה הדבר דומה. Let's say you have rachmana litzlan a father and son who were alienated. Rachmana litzlan siblings who were alienated. Childhood friends who for decades had been close and then rachmana litzlan they become alienated. The moment of reconciliation is one which is so powerful. It's one of unparalleled intensity and what what can be accomplished in that moment far far exceeds. exceeds and surpasses what's accomplished at other times. Every time a person engages in a genuine teshuva, that reconciliation, that rapprochement happens and it becomes such a moment of tremendous power and tremendous force, and the effect it has in elevating a person, uplifting a person is ein lesha'er. Chodesh Elul is a time not only to be mekabel upon ourselves extra hanhagos for the forty-day period until Yom Kippurim, but Chodesh Elul is also a time to look to introduce into our daily schedules, into our daily routine things that will remain a part of that routine on Yud Alef Tishrei and beyond as well. And the preoccupation which we all have with teshuva in these yemei harachamim veharatzon should be in that vein. It shouldn't only be a teshuva focused on the impending Yom HaDin. It should be a teshuva which expresses that constant, constant desire for aliya, a teshuva that both reflects and helps generate a sense of tzama nafshi le'elokim.