Teshuvah reveals the hidden good above nature

בפסוק שובה ישראל כו' כל תשא עון וקח טוב פרש"י למדנו דרך טוב ע"ש עוד פירושים.

On the pasuk, "Return, O Yisrael… take all sin away and accept the good" (Hoshea 14:2-3) — Rashi explains: "Teach us a good way"; see there for further explanations.

The Sefas Emes opens with the haftarah of Shabbos Shuvah, focusing on the phrase "kach tov" (accept the good), which Rashi reads as a plea that Hashem teach us the good path of teshuvah.

והכל ענין אחד דכתיב וירא אלקים את כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד.

And it is all one matter, for it is written, "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Bereishis 1:31).

All the explanations point to a single idea, rooted in the pasuk that Creation as a whole was declared "very good" — tov me'od.

וזה הי' אחר תיקון אדם הראשון ששב בתשובה.

And this was after the rectification of Adam HaRishon, who returned in teshuvah.

The Sefas Emes notes that the verdict "very good" came after Adam's tikkun through teshuvah — implying that "very good" includes the dimension that teshuvah adds.

והנה טוב הוא בחי' צדיקים גמורים. טוב מאוד הוא בחי' בעלי תשובות שאמרו חז"ל שבמקום שהן עומדין אין צדיקים גמורים יכולין לעמוד.

"Behold, it is good" is the aspect of the perfectly righteous (tzaddikim gemurim); "very good" is the aspect of the baalei teshuvah, of whom Chazal said that in the place where they stand, perfectly righteous people cannot stand (Berachos 34b).

"Good" alone corresponds to complete tzaddikim, but the higher praise "very good" corresponds to baalei teshuvah — penitents — who reach a level even the perfectly righteous cannot attain, since they transform past sin into merit.

וז"ש כל אשר עשה היינו שהקב"ה צופה ומביט עד סוף כל הדורות וראה שבסוף יהי' מתוקן הכל.

And this is the meaning of "all that He had made" — that the Holy One gazes and looks until the end of all the generations, and saw that in the end everything would be rectified.

"All that He made" means Hashem's vision encompasses all of history at once; He already saw that, ultimately, everything — even sin — would be brought to its tikkun, which is why the whole was "very good."

ובכח זה יש לכל בעל תשובה להתחזק ולומר קח טוב.

And by virtue of this, every baal teshuvah has the strength to take courage and say "accept the good."

Knowing that Hashem foresaw the eventual rectification of everything gives every penitent the chizuk to plead "kach tov" — to draw out the good hidden even within his failings.

הואיל והכל הי' צפוי לפניו ית' וראה שיש בזה ג"כ טוב הצפון.

Since everything was foreseen before Him, and He saw that in this too there is a hidden good.

Because all was within Hashem's foresight, even a person's lapse contains a "hidden good" (tov hatzafun) waiting to be revealed through teshuvah.

ולכן לעולם יש תקנה.

Therefore there is always a remedy.

No situation is ever beyond repair; teshuvah is always available because the hidden good can always be reclaimed.

רק שצריכין רחמים שיתגלה הדרך איך למצוא הטוב אחר החטא.

It is only that one needs rachamim (mercy) that the way should be revealed — how to find the good after the sin.

What a person must pray for is the Divine mercy to be shown the path: how to uncover the good that lies even after a sin has been committed.

וזה הבקשה שיורנו דרך הטוב.

And this is the request, that He should teach us the good way.

This is exactly Rashi's reading of "kach tov" — the plea that Hashem teach us the derech hatov, the way to return.

ולכן בימים אלו נפתח שערי תשובה ע"י שפעל אדם הראשון במה ששב בתשובה.

Therefore in these days the gates of teshuvah are opened, through what Adam HaRishon accomplished when he returned in teshuvah.

The gates of teshuvah stand open during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah because Adam, by being the first to do teshuvah, embedded that power of return into the world for all generations.

דכמו שע"י חטא האדם נשאר המיתה לכל באי עולם.

For just as through the sin of Adam, death remained for all who come into the world,

Adam's sin left a permanent imprint — mortality — upon all of mankind.

מכש"כ שבכח תשובתו נשאר התעוררות תשובה בכל הדורות.

all the more so, through the power of his teshuvah, an awakening of teshuvah remained for all the generations.

By a kal vachomer: if Adam's sin left a lasting effect, then surely his teshuvah — a force for good — left an even more enduring legacy: an arousal to return that is accessible in every generation.

וחז"ל דרשו עשרה לשונות רחצו הזכו כו' על עשי"ת.

And Chazal expounded ten expressions — "wash yourselves, purify yourselves…" (Yeshayah 1:16) — as corresponding to the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.

Chazal connect the ten phrases of the navi's call to repentance with the ten days of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah (the Ten Days of Repentance).

פי' שכל יום מאיר ומסייע לאלה העשרה תיקונים רחצו הזכו כו'.

The explanation is that each day illuminates and assists one of these ten rectifications — "wash, purify…".

Each of the ten days carries the unique light and Heavenly assistance to accomplish one of those ten stages of cleansing and tikkun.

ולכן ביום העשירי לכו כו' ונוכחה כו' כשלג ילבינו והוא ביוה"כ שהוא למעלה מן הטבע.

Therefore on the tenth day — "Come now, let us reason together… though [your sins] be as scarlet, they shall become white as snow" (Yeshayah 1:18) — and this is on Yom Kippur, which is above nature.

The climactic tenth phrase ("white as snow") falls on the tenth day, Yom Kippur, when sins are wholly purified — a day that transcends the natural order entirely.

ולכן מתענין להיות כמלאכי השרת דאיתא תשובה קדמה לבריאת עולם.

Therefore we fast, to be like the ministering angels, for it is taught that teshuvah preceded the creation of the world.

On Yom Kippur we abstain from physical needs to resemble the malachim, because teshuvah itself predates Creation — it belongs to a reality higher than the natural world.

והיא הכנה שיוכל בעל תשובה לבטל כל הטבע ולא יעכב הטבע למי שבא לשוב בתשובה.

And it is a preparation so that the baal teshuvah can nullify all of nature, and that nature should not hold back one who comes to return in teshuvah.

Because teshuvah is above nature, it empowers the penitent to override the constraints of the natural order; the "laws" of cause and consequence cannot block one who sincerely returns.

וכן הרמז עשרת ימי תשובה וימי הבריאה הם רק ז' ימים ואלה העשרה ימים הם הנהגה למעלה מהנהגת שבעה ימי בראשית.

And so is the hint: the Ten Days of Teshuvah — whereas the days of Creation are only seven days — these ten days are a governance above the conduct of the seven days of Creation.

Creation operates on a cycle of seven days (nature), but teshuvah spans ten days — a mode of Divine governance that stands above the natural seven-day order.

ולכן צריך בע"ת עזר עליון כמ"ש יעזוב רשע דרכו היינו עזיבת המעשים לשנות מעשיו לטובה אח"כ לשוב על המחשבות כמ"ש ואיש און מחשבותיו.

Therefore the baal teshuvah needs supernal help, as it is written, "let the wicked forsake his way" (Yeshayah 55:7) — meaning the abandoning of his deeds, to change his actions for the good; and afterward to return regarding the thoughts, as it is written, "and the man of iniquity his thoughts."

Since teshuvah transcends nature, it requires help from Above. The process has stages: first "forsake his way" — change one's actions for the better; then turn to rectify one's machshavos (thoughts), as the pasuk continues with "and the man of iniquity his thoughts."

אח"כ וישוב אל ה' אח"כ וירחמהו:

Afterward, "and let him return to Hashem," and afterward, "and He will have mercy upon him" (Yeshayah 55:7).

The final stages of the pasuk complete the path: after rectifying deeds and thoughts, one "returns to Hashem" Himself, and then Hashem responds with mercy — the full arc of teshuvah.

Summary: Creation was called "very good" only after Adam HaRishon's teshuvah, because "very good" is the level of baalei teshuvah, who stand where even complete tzaddikim cannot. Hashem foresaw that everything — even sin — would ultimately be rectified, so within every failing lies a "hidden good"; this is the meaning of "kach tov," the plea to be shown the way to find the good after sin. Because Adam embedded the power of return into the world, the gates of teshuvah open during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, whose ten days correspond to the ten expressions of purification and climax on Yom Kippur — a day above nature. Teshuvah, which preceded Creation, empowers the penitent to override nature itself, ascending in stages: forsaking wrong deeds, rectifying thoughts, returning to Hashem, and receiving His mercy.