Covenant That Guarantees Teshuvah

הקדים ברית התוכחה קודם פרשת התשובה

The Torah placed the covenant of rebuke before the parsha of teshuvah.

The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah deliberately positioned the covenant of rebuke just before the section dealing with teshuvah.

שע"י שקיבלו בנ"י הברית ברכות וקללות לכן מובטחין שלבסוף ישובו בתשובה ז"ש והי' כי יבואו כו' והשבות

Because Bnei Yisrael accepted the covenant of berachos and kelalos, they are therefore assured that in the end they will return in teshuvah. This is the meaning of the pasuk, "And it will be when all these things come upon you... and you will return" (Devarim 30:1-2).

Once Bnei Yisrael accepted upon themselves the covenant with its blessings and curses, that very acceptance guarantees that they will ultimately do teshuvah, as the pasuk states that after these things come upon them, they will return.

וכמו שכ' ברשע שאומר בשרירות לבי אלך ואינו מקבל הברית ואלה לכן ספות הרוה כו' שאפי' שוגג נחשב לו כמזיד

And it is comparable to what is written regarding the wicked one who says "in the stubbornness of my heart I will go" and does not accept the covenant and these things upon himself, that therefore "the watered will be swept away with the thirsty" (Devarim 29:18-19) — for even an unintentional sin is reckoned to him as a deliberate one.

Just as the rasha who refuses to accept the covenant is judged so severely that even his accidental sins count against him as intentional ones, the binding nature of the covenant works in the direction of strictness for one who rejects it.

מכ"ש מדה טובה המרובה ע"י קבלת הברית זוכין לתשובה ומתהפך גם זדונות לשגגות

All the more so, then, with the attribute of good, which is the greater one: through accepting the covenant a person merits teshuvah, and even deliberate sins are transformed into unintentional ones.

If the measure of strictness extends so far, then certainly the measure of good, which Hashem applies more abundantly, extends even further: accepting the covenant brings one to teshuvah, and through it even willful sins become reckoned as mere accidents.

לכן מקדימין פ' התוכחות קודם ר"ה ועשי"ת שבזכות קבלת הברית נזכה לתשובה:

Therefore we read the parsha of the tochachos before Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, for in the merit of accepting the covenant we will be worthy of teshuvah.

This is why the parsha of the tochachos is read right before Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, since accepting the covenant is precisely what enables us to merit teshuvah at this season.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah places the covenant of rebuke immediately before the parsha of teshuvah, and answers that the very acceptance of the covenant by Bnei Yisrael is what guarantees their eventual return. He draws a kal vachomer from the rasha who rejects the covenant: since one who refuses it is judged so strictly that even his unintentional sins are counted as deliberate, certainly the attribute of good, which Hashem applies in greater measure, ensures that one who accepts the covenant will be brought to teshuvah, with his deliberate sins transformed into accidental ones. This is the deeper reason that the parsha of the tochachos is read before Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. By accepting the covenant, Bnei Yisrael become worthy of the teshuvah of these holy days.