We must resist the temptation of underestimating the
importance, in Rabbinic literature, of Adam’s sin. In modern Jewish apologetic
writings there is a tendency to soft-pedal the “fall.” This is done with one
eye on Christianity and with the other on modern religious existentialism. This
tendency is untrue to the facts. Adam’s sin, admittedly, does not play the role
in Judaism which it plays in Christianity. Nevertheless, it and its dire
consequences figure quite prominently, either. The fact that Adam sinned did
not make it impossible for Cain to do teshubhah after Cain himself had
committed a grievous sin. This is brought out quite clearly in a midrash
found in Leviticus Rabbah 10:5:
“Cain left the presence of the LORD” (Genesis 4:16). . .
. R. Huna said, in the name of Rabbi ḥaninah
bar Isaac: He went forth in a joyful mood—the word yaza ‘being used here
in the same sense in which it occurs in
Exodus 4:14, “Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will he be happy
to see you.” When Cain went forth, Adam Harishon met him and asked him: “What happened
at your trial?” He answered: “I did teshubhah, and a compromise was made
on my behalf.” When Adam heard this, he gave himself a slap on the fact and
said: “So great is the power of teshubhah, and I did not know it!” At
that time, Adam composed Psalm 92 (of which verse 2, tobh lehodoth . .
., can be understood as “It is good to make confession to the Lord”).
Whatever else we may learn from this midrash, the
point to be made in this connection is that Cain was able to do teshubhah
even though Adam, apparently, had not yet done so. Adam’s “fall” did not
prevent his offspring from righting their own relations with God. Nor did it
make impossible, some generations later, the rise of such complete ẓaddikim (righteous
men) as Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. IN short, man’s “natural state” is to walk
with God; sin is a departure from that state (but a departure which is not
inherited, and which the sinner makes on his own); and teshubhah is
man’s return to his pristine state of walking with God. (Jackob J. Petuchowski,
"The Concept of Teshubhah in the Bible and the Talmud," in Studies
in Modern Theology and Prayer [JSP Scholar of Distinction Series;
Philadelphia: The Jewish Publications Society, 1998], 17-18)
THE ROLES OF GOD AND MAN IN TESHUBHAH
If Resh Lakish can say, “Great is teshubhah!” it
is not only on account of the consequences of teshubhah, but also
becomes teshubhah one of the most difficult things to accomplish. God
may have built teshubhah into HIs scheme of the universe. But the
question remains: Is man really able to avail himself of the opportunity? Torah
and Prophets do indeed appeal to man to do teshubhah. But are the
appeals successful? Can sinful man pull himself up by his own bootstraps? Or
does teshubhah require active divine intervention? Who initiaties the
process of teshubhah—man or God?
It would stand to reason that sinners themselves should
initiate the process of teshubhah, and there are many passages in Bible
and Talmud which tends to support such a view. There are, however, also other
passages which tell a different story. Chapter 36 in Ezekiel, for example,
shows that the prophet had despaired of Israel’s ability to do teshubhah
through their own efforts. God is going to purify and redeem Israel—not
because Israel deserves such redemption, but for the sake of God’s Holy Name.
To accomplish this, it is God who has to change the personality of Israel.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be
clean: I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your fetishes.
And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit into you: I will remove
the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh; and I will put
My spirit into you. Thus I will cause you to follow My laws and faithfully to
observe My rules. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)
Man or God? The dialectics of the problem did not escape
the Rabbis.
“Take us back, O LORD, to Yourself, / And let us come
back” (Lamentations 5:21). The Community of Israel spoke before the Holy One,
blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, it depends upon You, so ‘Take us back
to Yourself.’” He said to them: “It depends upon you, as it is said (Malachi
3:7), ‘Turn back to ME, and I will turn back to you—said the LORD of Hosts.’”
The Community of Israel said before Him: “Master of the Universe, it depends
upon You, as it is said (Psalm 85:5), ‘Restore us, O God, our helper.’”
Therefore it is said: “Turn us to You, O LORD, and we shall be turned.” (Lamentations
Rabbah 5:21, end)
Did Israel or God have the last word in this argument? In
a parallel midrash they reach a compromise:
When the children of Israel said to You, “You return
first,” as it is said (Psalm 90:13): “Turn, O LORD! / How long?,” You replied:
“NO, but let Israel returns first.” Since You will not return alone, and since
we will not return alone, let us both return together, as it is said (Psalm
85:5), “Return (both of) us, O God, our helper.” (Midrash Tehillim 85:3,
ed. Buber, p. 186b)
God and man are in this together. The picture we get is
one of man reaching out for God, and of God reaching out for man, at one and
the same time. In practice, however, there remains a difference. God, reaching
out for man, cannot always be sure of man’s response. That is why, in the final
analysis, it is God who helps man to teshubhah; but it is man who has to
call out to God first. Lamentations 5:21 remains paradigmatic: “Take us back, O
LORD, to Yourself, / And let us come back; / Renew our days as of old!” In
fact, in the old Palestinian version of the ‘Amidah prayer this verse
alone, followed by the ḥathimah (formal conclusion), made up the entire
benediction of forgiveness, birkath hateshubhah (Joseph Heinemann, Tephilloth
Yisrael Vetoledothehen, Jerusalem, 5726, p. 24). Man’s “turning” becomes
possible only when God “turns” man [back]. Ezekiel was right: it takes God to
invest man with a new heart and a new spirit; man cannot completely remake
himself.
But, when all is said and sone, it is the human being who
utters the prayer, hashibhenu vanashubhah: “Take us back, and let us
come back”; it is the human being who feels the need for regeneration;
and it is the human being who, in a state of remorse, calls out for
divine assistance in the process of teshubhah which he or she wants to
undergo.
To get human beings to the stage where they want to
do teshubhah, where they become aware of their need for God’s
assistance—that seems to be the whole burden of what the Bible and Talmud have
to say on the subject of teshubhah. (Jackob J. Petuchowski, "The
Concept of Teshubhah in the Bible and the Talmud," in Studies in
Modern Theology and Prayer [JSP Scholar of Distinction Series;
Philadelphia: The Jewish Publications Society, 1998], 23-24)