Moshe's teshuvah forges a new path

בפסוק ועתה יגדל נא כח ה'.

On the pasuk: "And now, may the power of Hashem be magnified."

After the sin of the meraglim (spies), Moshe Rabbeinu pleads (Bamidbar 14:17) that Hashem's strength be shown through forgiveness.

ועתה לשון תשובה.

"And now" is a term of teshuvah.

Chazal teach that the word "ve'atah" ("and now") signals a moment of return and renewal.

כי מרע"ה עשה תשובה בעבור כל בנ"י ותיקן דרך חדש בעולם.

For Moshe Rabbeinu did teshuvah on behalf of all Bnei Yisrael and established a new path in the world.

Moshe's intervention was itself an act of teshuvah for the entire nation, opening up a fresh avenue of return that had not existed before.

לכן ועתה לשון תשובה שמשתנה לעת רצון.

Therefore "and now" is a term of teshuvah, for [the moment] is transformed into an eis ratzon (a time of favor).

The word "now" marks the very turning point at which a moment of judgment is converted into a moment of Divine favor.

כי הקב"ה רוצה בתשובה פי' מתרצה בתשובה ונמשך דרך חדש בעולם.

For the Holy One, blessed be He, desires teshuvah - meaning He is appeased through teshuvah - and a new path is drawn down into the world.

Hashem not only permits teshuvah but actively wants it; our return appeases Him and pulls a new spiritual pathway into reality.

ולכן אמרו במד' לך אכול בשמחה לחמך כו' כי כבר רצה.

Therefore the Midrash said: "Go, eat your bread with joy... for [Hashem] has already accepted [your deeds]."

Quoting Koheles 9:7, the Midrash teaches that once teshuvah is accepted, a person may rejoice, because the favor has already been granted.

שכבר תיקן מרע"ה החטא ונתקן הדרך שיבואו בנ"י לארץ.

For Moshe Rabbeinu had already rectified the sin, and the path was set in order for Bnei Yisrael to come to the Land.

The repair Moshe achieved cleared the way that would eventually bring Bnei Yisrael into Eretz Yisrael despite the sin of the spies.

וכן אמרו חז"ל בגמ' ואולם חי אני אמר הקב"ה למשה החייתני בדבריך ע"ש.

And so Chazal said in the Gemara: "But as I live" - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "You have revived Me with your words." See there.

The Gemara reads Hashem's response to Moshe (Bamidbar 14:21) as praise: Moshe's plea, as it were, "gave life" to the Divine attribute of mercy.

ונראה ע"י שהוטב הדבר בעיני מרע"ה כמ"ש וייטב הדבר בעיני וע"ז עשה תשובה ובזה נתקן הדרך החדש:

And it appears [this came about] because the matter was good in the eyes of Moshe Rabbeinu, as it is written "and the matter was good in my eyes," and upon this he did teshuvah, and through this the new path was rectified.

Because Moshe truly delighted in Hashem's will and found it "good," his teshuvah was wholehearted, and that genuine inner alignment with the ratzon Hashem is what fixed the new path of return for all generations.

Summary: The word "ve'atah" ("and now") signals teshuvah - the turning point where judgment becomes favor. Through Moshe Rabbeinu's heartfelt return on behalf of all Bnei Yisrael, accepted with joy by Hashem, a wholly new pathway of teshuvah was carved into the world for every generation.