Hatred Leading To Teshuvah

צרור את המדינים נראה כי הי' זה תיקון על החטא ע"י שמביא החטא שנאה כ"כ ובאין לידי תשובה כראוי:

"Harass the Midianites" (Bamidbar 25:17) — it appears that this was a tikkun for the sin, for through it the sin brings about such intense hatred, and thereby they come to teshuvah in the proper manner.

When Hashem commands Bnei Yisrael to wage war against Midian, the Sfas Emes sees this not merely as punishment but as a means of rectifying the sin that Midian caused. The very hatred kindled against those who led Bnei Yisrael astray drives them to recoil from the sin and to return to Hashem with complete teshuvah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses Hashem's command to harass the Midianites following the sin at Baal Pe'or. He explains that this command served as a tikkun, a rectification, for that very sin. By arousing such powerful hatred toward Midian, who enticed Bnei Yisrael into wrongdoing, the episode pushes Bnei Yisrael to utterly distance themselves from the sin. In this way the intense enmity itself becomes the vehicle through which they are brought to proper and complete teshuvah.