Teshuvah as Returning Root

בפרשת התשובה כי המצוה הזאת כו'

In the passage dealing with teshuvah, the Torah states, "For this mitzvah which I command you this day" (Devarim 30:11), and so forth.

The Sfas Emes opens by noting that the Torah's teaching about teshuvah is framed by the verse "For this mitzvah which I command you this day." He will explain how this verse defines what teshuvah truly is.

כי הנה עיקר התשובה אינו על עבירה דווקא אך שצריך האדם לשוב להתדבק בשורשו

For behold, the essence of teshuvah is not specifically over a sin; rather, a person must return to cleave to his root.

He establishes his central point: teshuvah is not only about correcting sins. Its core is a person returning to reconnect with his spiritual root.

וע"ז אמרו חז"ל שמגעת עד כה"כ כלומר שצריכין לשוב אל החלק שיש לכל איש נשמת אלקי ממעל כמ"ש עד ה' אלקיך

Concerning this, Chazal said that teshuvah reaches all the way up to the Kisei HaKavod, the Throne of Glory — meaning that one must return to the portion that every individual possesses, a part of a Divine soul from Above, as it is written, "until Hashem your God" (Devarim 30:2).

Chazal's statement that teshuvah reaches the Throne of Glory teaches that one returns to the Divine portion within himself — the part of a soul from Above, hinted at in the words "until Hashem your God."

והענין הוא דמקודם כ' כריתות הברית שכרת אתנו הקב"ה וכתיב הנסתרות לה"א כו'

The matter is as follows: first the Torah wrote of the cutting of the covenant which the Holy One, Blessed is He, sealed with us, and it is written, "The hidden things belong to Hashem our God" (Devarim 29:28), and so forth.

He turns to the surrounding verses about the covenant Hashem cut with Bnei Yisrael, including "the hidden things belong to Hashem," to build his explanation.

והוא דאיתא קוב"ה סתים וגלי' אורייתא וישראל סתים וגליא

And this accords with what is brought down: the Holy One, Blessed is He, is hidden and revealed; the Torah is hidden and revealed; and Bnei Yisrael are hidden and revealed.

He cites the teaching that Hashem, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael each have a hidden dimension and a revealed dimension. This threefold parallel is the key to the whole piece.

וזה הברית שיש לבנ"י התקשרות וכביכול המציא לו הש"י חלק בגלי' בעבור בנ"י ונתן לבנ"י חלק במקום הסתום

And this is the covenant which Bnei Yisrael possess — a binding connection — for, as it were, Hashem brought into being for Himself a portion in the revealed realm for the sake of Bnei Yisrael, and He granted to Bnei Yisrael a portion in the hidden realm.

The covenant is a mutual binding: Hashem placed a portion of Himself in the revealed world for the sake of Bnei Yisrael, and in turn gave them a portion in the hidden realm.

ובנ"י צריכין לראות לברר מציאותו ית' בעולם הזה הנגלה

And Bnei Yisrael must take care to clarify and make manifest His Presence, blessed is He, in this revealed world.

Bnei Yisrael's task in the revealed dimension is to clarify and reveal Hashem's Presence within this visible world.

וז"ש הנגלות לנו כו' לעשות את כ"ד התורה הזאת לברר חלק התורה בעשי'

And this is the meaning of "The revealed things belong to us... to fulfill all the words of this Torah" (Devarim 29:28) — to clarify the portion of the Torah that lies in action and deed.

The phrase "the revealed things belong to us... to fulfill all the words of this Torah" refers to this avodah: bringing out the Torah's revealed portion through concrete action.

והנסתרות לה"א לגלות לנו החלק שיש לנו בתורתו במקום הנסתר ונעלם וע"ד זה נכרת ברית

And "the hidden things belong to Hashem our God" — for Him to reveal to us the portion that we have in His Torah in the hidden and concealed place; and it was upon this basis that the covenant was cut.

The phrase "the hidden things belong to Hashem" means that Hashem reveals to Bnei Yisrael their hidden portion in His Torah, and this mutual giving is the very basis of the covenant.

ולכן כ' לא נפלאת היא ממך כמ"ש במדרש ונעלמה מעיני כל חי ולבנ"י קרוב הדבר

Therefore it is written, "It is not hidden from you" (Devarim 30:11), as the Midrash expounds, "and it is concealed from the eyes of all living" (Iyov 28:21) — yet for Bnei Yisrael the matter is close.

Even though wisdom is described as "concealed from the eyes of all living," the verse "It is not hidden from you" teaches that for Bnei Yisrael this hidden portion is in fact close and attainable.

ולכן כשאדם רואה שהוא רחוק מזה הדביקות כמ"ש ז"ל ואם רק נפלאת היא ממך צריכין ע"ז לשוב בתשובה

Therefore, when a person sees that he is distant from this dveikus — as Chazal expounded, and if indeed "it is hidden from you" (Devarim 30:11) — upon this he must return in teshuvah.

When a person feels distant from this dveikus, the verse hints "and if it is hidden from you" — that very sense of distance is precisely what calls for teshuvah.

וזה הנתינת טעם על התשובה שידע האדם כי המצוה הזאת לא נפלאת כו' ולכן צריכין לשוב לזה הדביקות כנ"ל:

And this is the reason given for teshuvah: that a person should know that "this mitzvah is not hidden" and so forth, and therefore one must return to this dveikus, as explained above.

This is the reason the Torah gives for teshuvah: knowing that the mitzvah is "not hidden" but close, a person is obligated to return and reconnect to this dveikus.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the essence of teshuvah is not merely atoning for specific sins but returning to cleave to one's root — the Divine portion of soul that every Jew carries from Above, which is why Chazal say teshuvah reaches the Throne of Glory. He grounds this in the covenant of Parshas Nitzavim, drawing on the principle that Hashem, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael each have a revealed and a hidden dimension. In the revealed realm, Bnei Yisrael are charged "to fulfill all the words of this Torah," clarifying Hashem's Presence in this world through action; in the hidden realm, Hashem reveals to them their portion in His Torah, and this mutual giving is the substance of the covenant. Because of this bond, the Torah declares that the mitzvah "is not hidden from you" — though concealed from all living, it remains close to Bnei Yisrael. Therefore, when a person feels distant from this dveikus, that very distance is the call to do teshuvah and return to his root.