Humility After Spiritual Ascent

סדר פרשת התשובה אחר כל התיקון כ' ואתה תשוב

The placement of the passage of teshuvah after all the rectification, as it is written, "And you shall return" (Devarim 30:8).

The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah sets the passage of teshuvah only after describing the whole process of rectification, hinting that true teshuvah comes after a person has already been set right.

כי בוודאי כל בע"ת הוא נכנע מחמת חטאו ומקודם שרואה שאין לו מקום בעבור החטא אינו הכנעה אמיתית

For certainly every baal teshuvah is brought low because of his sin, but at the outset, when he sees that there is no place for him on account of the sin, this is not true submission.

When a person is crushed by his sin and feels he has no standing because of his guilt, that lowliness is real, but it is not yet the genuine bittul that Hashem desires — it is forced upon him by his failure.

רק כאשר זכה להתקרב לעלות במדרגות ע"י התשובה ואעפ"כ הוא עומד בתשובה והכנעה ע"ז אמרו במקום שבע"ת עומדין כו':

Rather, it is only when one has merited to draw close and ascend through the levels by means of teshuvah, and even so he stands firm in teshuvah and submission — about this they said, "In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, [even completely righteous tzaddikim cannot stand]" (Berachos 34b).

The authentic submission is when a person has already risen through teshuvah and reached lofty levels, yet he still holds himself low and continues in teshuvah; that is the unique standing that even complete tzaddikim cannot reach.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah places the passage of teshuvah only after all the rectification has been described. He explains that the humility a baal teshuvah feels while still mired in his sin — feeling he has no place because of his guilt — is not yet true submission, since it is imposed on him by the sin itself. Genuine bittul is achieved only after a person has merited, through teshuvah, to draw close to Hashem and ascend through lofty levels, and nevertheless continues to stand in teshuvah and humility. About this elevated standing Chazal said that in the place where baalei teshuvah stand, even completely righteous tzaddikim cannot stand.