Levels of Teshuva

Found 7 Search results

  1. Navot's Vineyard (Part 6)

    The Significance of Ahav's Submission

    Rabbi Elchanan Samet

    While the text explicitly states that God mitigates Ahav’s punishment as a result of his repentance, various opinions exist as to the depth of the repentance. His repentance is evaluated in the actual description of his humbled reaction, in God’s response to Eliyahu and in Ahav’s behavior in the subsequent chapter.

  2. Confrontation, Punishment, Submission

    Rabbi Alex Israel

    There are two dimensions to Ahav's demise. On a personal level, Ahav is worse than all of his predecessors. However, the House of Omri, Ahav's royal lineage, is just another chapter in the dismal succession of kings of the Northern kingdom. 

    One might argue that the most severe of Ahav's crimes was idolatry, a sin on a national scale, whereas the murder of Navot was a personal crime, which didn't affect the national temper and did not influence wider ethical norms in ancient Israel. The Rambam insists, however, that murder is at the top of the pyramid, as it causes “the destruction of civilization,” the disintegration of society, undermining its cohesion and trust.

    On this backdrop, Ahav's sudden teshuva is disconcerting, arousing a sense of astonishment. Can one make amends so easily? Both in the subsequent texts and in the Midrash the degree and depth of Ahav's teshuva remains an open topic.

     

  3. The Power of Repentance - Ahav's Teshuva

    Rabbi Elchanan Samet

  4. Does Teshuva Diminish Free Will?

    HaTanakh.com Staff

  5. Sefer Yonah - Everyman's Teshuva

    Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

    תאריך פרסום: תשע"ה | |

    Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein analyzes the “pshat“ storyline of Sefer Yona and brings midrashic sources, too, to tease out the big ideas about teshuva that come to the fore in this short book. What is the nature of teshuva? What is teshuva all about? What is considered legitimate teshuva and what is not? A pattern of teshuva of some sort, Divine salvation, and a dialogue between God and Yona ensues. Yona may yearn for strict judgment, but God takes account of human fallibility and tempers justice with mercy. On Yom Kippur afternoon, we plead for God to have mercy regardless of whether our teshuva is human and flawed, or objectively ideal.

  6. The Hope of Israel is God

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky

  7. …and you will return to the Lord your God

    Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky