Parshas Chayei Sarah
1. The Zohar on our parshah[1] explains one of the advantages of baalei teshuvah over (complete) tzaddikim. With (complete) tzaddikim, their service ascends in order and by stages, from day to day, from level to level (as it says in our parshah[2], “And Avraham was old, advanced in days…,” and similarly in the week’s haftorah[3], “And King David was old, advanced in days…”), until in their service they reach the ultimate closeness to and cleaving with the Holy One, blessed be He. Baalei teshuvah, however, “in one hour, in one day[4], in one moment[5][6], draw close to the Holy One, blessed be He.”
My father, in his notes[7], dwells on this and asks: “Seemingly this is out of order, for it should have said ‘day, hour, moment,’ each a greater novelty than the one before, in the manner of ‘not only this, but also that.’ Also, if [one can draw close] in one moment, why did he need to say ‘hour’ and ‘day’[8]?”
And he explains: “It may be said that there are three levels of teshuvah, reaching Malchus, Z’eir Anpin and Binah, as explained in Likkutei Torah in the discourse beginning Mah Tovu[9]; see there” [that is: there is a level of teshuvah whose substance is “turn away from evil”[10], and it reaches Malchus; there is a higher level of teshuvah whose substance is “and do good”[10], and it reaches Z’eir Anpin; and there is a still higher teshuvah whose substance is “seek peace”[10] (Torah study), and it reaches Binah]. “This is: ‘in one hour’ — in Malchus, which is called ‘hour’; ‘in one day’ — in Z’eir Anpin, which is called ‘day’; ‘in one moment’ — in Binah.”
2. At first glance it appears that, according to my father’s explanation, the three expressions “in one hour, in one day, in one moment” mainly mean (not to denote three different measures of time in the simple sense, but) the three levels of teshuvah as they are alluded to in “hour” (Malchus), “day” (Z’eir Anpin) and “moment” (Binah). And therefore it is fitting that they appear in the Zohar in this order, because this is the order of the levels from below upward.
It is not, however, smooth to learn it so, for no matter departs from its plain meaning. We must therefore assume that the three kinds of teshuvah mentioned above — which “reach Malchus, Z’eir Anpin and Binah” — are each connected with the specific time in its plain sense: the teshuvah of “turn away from evil,” which reaches Malchus, is accomplished “in one hour”; the higher level of teshuvah, “and do good,” which reaches Z’eir Anpin, in the time of “one day”; and the highest level — “seek peace” (Torah), which reaches Binah — in “one moment.”
We must then understand:
A baal teshuvah “immediately enters and cleaves to the Holy One, blessed be He”[11] because the movement of teshuvah, in its very nature, is above order and stages. Having previously been in a state that was not good, through teshuvah he crosses over by way of a leap and a bound, from one extreme to the other (from an opposite state to the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos and cleaving to the Holy One, blessed be He). And since this comes from a movement of the soul that is not limited by order and stages, it is not bound up with a span of time; rather, “immediately he enters and cleaves etc.”
According to this, however, it is not understood: how is it that the higher level of teshuvah, “and do good” (which comes through a deeper arousal of teshuvah), should indeed be bound up with an extension in time?
The same question applies also to the Sefiros above. It is known[12] that all matters of this world are drawn down and descend (and are therefore analogous to) the worlds above (more than that: the intent and purpose of the “upper worlds” is — “this lowest world”[13][*]). How, then, does it fit that the higher level (Z’eir Anpin) is called “day,” and the lower level (Malchus) “hour,” when “day” is a longer measure of time (and thus drawn further down into time and further from what is above time) than “hour”?
3. This will be understood by first noting that between “brevity” and “length” (in an intellectual matter) — which of them is “higher” — we seemingly find reasons on both sides:
Brevity has an advantage over length. As the Rambam[14] writes regarding the words of the Mishnah, they are arranged in the manner of “a short statement that includes many matters,” unlike the Gemara, whose language is lengthy. So too it is said[15] regarding the Acharonim (relative to the Rishonim) that their way is to explain, in other words: as a line of reasoning stands at its source, it is (more) concise; length comes when one must bring it down from its source to the level of the recipient (from the Mishnah into the Gemara, and from the Gemara to the scholars and authors who came after).
On the other hand, our Sages say[16]: “A person should always teach his student in a concise way.” The simple reason for this[17] is that the student will not be able to take in the length and breadth of the reasoning and the subject; therefore one must give the student only a concise version, suited to his capacity for understanding. That is, brevity is bound up with the student’s being lower than the teacher.
4. It may be said that the explanation is this: it depends on which level is being spoken of.
When the discussion concerns the relation between two “worlds,” levels of intellectual understanding of which one is far higher than the other — like the difference between (the masters of the) Mishnah and the Gemara, the Gemara and the Rishonim, the Rishonim and the Acharonim, and the like — then the higher the intellect, the more concise is the way it stands there[18], because there the essence of the reasoning is revealed (one sees the truth at once[19]). And the lower the level at which the intellect is found, the more the same reasoning requires explanation and length so that it can be understood.
[It may be said that we see the same thing in the comparison of hearing and sight: something that the sense of sight takes in entirely “in the blink of an eye” takes a length of time to absorb through the sense of hearing.]
When, however, one speaks within the same “world,” the reverse is true: a “higher” (deeper) line of reasoning requires greater length in order to bring out and understand its loftiness (depth), whereas a simpler line of reasoning is explained more briefly — because the reasoning is simple, fewer words of explanation suffice[20].
So too in the examples given above:
In the (level, in the) “world” of the Mishnah relative to the Gemara, the deep lines of reasoning are expressed briefly (compared with the Gemara). But within the “world” of the Gemara itself (and the like), the deep lines of reasoning are set out at greater length, and the simple ones more briefly.
5. From this we will understand our subject as well:
In general[21], the three levels of teshuvah mentioned above divide into two: the first two levels belong to the category of the lower teshuvah, and the third level is the higher teshuvah. So it is also in the plain sense of the matter: the teshuvah of “turn away from evil” and that of “do good” are both in the world of action (doing, and refraining from doing), while the third teshuvah, “seek peace,” is Torah study, in the world of the intellect.
Therefore the teshuvah that belongs to the intellect is more concise (“in one moment”), because in that (higher) world of the intellect matters stand more revealed, so there is no need for length.
With the two kinds of teshuvah that are in the world of action, however, it is the reverse. The teshuvah of “and do good,” which is a higher level, takes a longer span of time, “one day” (like the deep lines of reasoning in the Gemara, which require greater length); whereas the lower level of “turn away from evil” takes no more than “one hour” (like the simple lines of reasoning in the Gemara, for which a short explanation suffices).
It may be noted that this is so in the plain sense too: to do (“and do”) an actual deed one needs a (longer) measure of time, which is not so with refraining from doing (“turn away from evil”).
So too in the Sefiros above. The Sefirah of Binah, which is (the world of the intellect —) higher than the worlds[22], is called “moment,” because the G‑dly light shines there in utterly revealed form, and therefore it is in the utmost brevity (in time) — a “moment.” Whereas the Sefiros of Z’eir Anpin and Malchus, which are connected with the worlds (the world of the emotional attributes)[22], are “day” and “hour” (length — not a “moment”).
But since within the Sefiros themselves (the world of the attributes) Z’eir Anpin is higher than Malchus, Z’eir Anpin is called “day” and Malchus “hour,” as above.
6. According to my father’s explanation above, that the three expressions in the Zohar allude to the three levels of teshuvah mentioned, one can also explain (in the manner of Chassidus) the reading of the Ramak[23], that in this passage of the Zohar there are four expressions — levels: “in one hour, in one day, in one time[24], in one moment”:
In Likkutei Torah there[25] it is explained that although in general there are three levels of teshuvah, in particular there is yet a fourth, higher level, which reaches the Sefirah of Chochmah (and in Divine service this is the matter of “sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you”[26]).
It may be said that this fourth level is alluded to in the fourth expression that is added in the Zohar according to the Ramak’s reading — “in one time.” Although a “moment” is seemingly the smallest unit of time, there is nonetheless the question and answer, “And how long is a moment? … one of five… a moment is as long as it takes to say” three letters[27]: it has a certain measure[28]. “One time,” however, defines no measure of time at all; it expresses only the very existence of time[29].
And according to the continuation of the explanation in Likkutei Torah there[25], that nonetheless in most places only three levels of teshuvah are spoken of explicitly and openly — because Chochmah and Binah are “two companions that never part”[30], so the fourth level is included in the third —
it will also be understood why, according to the widespread and usual reading in the Zohar, there are only three expressions: because generally three levels of teshuvah are spoken of, as above.
But since at times the fourth level of teshuvah is indeed counted, there is also a reading that spells out this level of teshuvah as well — the completeness of teshuvah.
(From a talk of the night following Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah, 5739)
Key Lesson
A baal teshuvah can draw close to G‑d in a single hour, a single day, even a single moment, because teshuvah leaps beyond order and stages. Yet each kind of teshuvah has its own measure: turning away from evil can be done in an hour, while actually doing good, a higher level, takes a whole day, just as a deeper idea needs more words than a simple one. The highest teshuvah, through Torah study, happens in a moment, because in the world of the mind G‑dliness stands revealed. No one is ever too far: one sincere moment of return can bring a Jew closer to G‑d than years of gradual climbing.