Teshuvah of the soul through inner shame on Shabbos

כמו שהחטא הוא בשיתוף הגוף והנפש כן צריך להיות התשובה.

Just as the cheit (sin) is committed through the partnership of body and soul, so too the teshuvah must be.

Since sin involves both the guf (body) and the nefesh (soul) together, repentance must likewise address both dimensions of a person.

ותשובת הגוף בסיגוף תענית ותשובת הנפש ע"י הבושת.

The teshuvah of the body is through affliction and fasting, and the teshuvah of the soul is through shame (bushah).

The body returns through self-denial like ta'anis (fasting), while the soul returns through bushah — the inner sense of shame before Hashem.

והוא התשובה בשבת כדאיתא ירא שבת ירא בשת.

And this is the teshuvah of Shabbos, as is brought: "one who fears Shabbos" — "one who fears shame" (yarei Shabbos, yarei boshes).

Shabbos, on which fasting is forbidden, is the venue for the teshuvah of the soul through bushah — hinted in the wordplay linking awe of Shabbos with the fear of shame.

ואיתא בגמ' מי שאין לו בושה בידוע שלא עמדו רגלי אבותיו על הר סיני כדכ' למען תהי' יראתו על פניכם לבלתי תחטאו.

And it is brought in the Gemara: whoever has no shame — it is certain that his ancestors did not stand at Har Sinai, as it is written, "so that His awe be upon your faces, that you not sin" (Shemos 20:17).

The capacity for bushah is a trait planted in Bnei Yisrael at Sinai; a total absence of shame would betray that one's forebears never received that imprint of yiras Shomayim.

א"כ נראה כי זה הבושת א"י לפגום אפילו ע"י חטאים ועונות וז"ש תהי' יראתו כו' לבלתי תחטאו שלא יפגמו זה הבושת. לעולם.

If so, it appears that this shame cannot be blemished even through sins and transgressions, and this is the meaning of "His awe shall be… that you not sin" — that they should not blemish this shame, ever.

This inner bushah is indestructible; sins cannot truly erase it. The pasuk means that the Sinai-given awe remains forever intact beneath one's wrongdoing.

רק הגוף מכסה זה הבושת ע"י החטאים ובשבת שבו ניתנה תורה יכולין לשוב ע"י הבושת הנטוע בתוכינו.

Only that the body covers over this shame through the sins; and on Shabbos, on which the Torah was given, one can return through the shame that is implanted within us.

Sin merely buries the bushah under the demands of the guf. On Shabbos — the day Torah was given — the soul can uncover and draw on that buried inner shame to do teshuvah.

והנה השבת מסייע לתשובה שהוא רומז ליום שכולו שבת ואז יתוקן הכל.

Now, Shabbos assists teshuvah, for it alludes to the day that is wholly Shabbos, when everything will be rectified.

Shabbos points toward the future world "that is wholly Shabbos," when all will be set right — and that future light empowers teshuvah in the present.

וכתיב אמרו אליו כו' קח טוב פרש"י תודה דכ' טוב להודות.

And it is written, "Say to Him… accept good (kach tov)"; Rashi explains "thanksgiving (todah)," as it is written, "It is good to give thanks" (Tehillim 92:1).

The pasuk in Hoshea, read by Rashi as referring to the todah offering of thanks, ties into the Shabbos psalm "It is good to give thanks."

פי' לך נאה להודות כי כל הדברים שנראין תמוהים בעוה"ז ולעתיד יתברר הכל כי הי' הכל הכנה ועצה לטובה דכ' מגיד מראשית אחרית כו' עצתי תקום.

The meaning: "It is fitting to give You thanks," for all the things that appear puzzling in this world will in the future be clarified — that it was all a preparation and counsel for good, as it is written, "He declares the end from the beginning… My counsel shall stand" (Yeshayahu 46:10).

Everything that seems baffling or unjust in olam hazeh will ultimately be revealed as part of Hashem's plan for good; in the end His "counsel" — the good purpose behind all events — will be seen to stand.

ואיתא במד' וארא חפצי אעשה שחפץ להצדיק בריותיו ה' חפץ למען צדקו כו'.

And it is brought in the Midrash (Va'eira): "I will do My desire" — that He desires to make His creatures righteous, "Hashem desires for the sake of his righteousness…" (Yeshayahu 42:21).

Hashem's deepest will is to vindicate and justify His creations — to bring every person to merit, never to condemn.

ולבסוף יחזירו כולם לטובה כדכתיב אז אהפוך כו' שפה ברורה כו'.

And in the end all will be turned to the good, as it is written, "Then I will transform… [the nations to] a clear speech…" (Tzefaniah 3:9).

Ultimately everything will be turned toward good, until all the world recognizes Hashem with a "clear speech."

ולכן שיר של יום השבת טוב להודות כי ביום שכולו שבת יתוקן הכל ובנ"י מאמינים גם עתה זאת ובכח זה יכולין לשוב.

Therefore the song of the Shabbos day is "It is good to give thanks," for on the day that is wholly Shabbos all will be rectified; and Bnei Yisrael believe this even now, and through this power they are able to return.

The Shabbos psalm of thanksgiving expresses faith in that final tikkun. Because Bnei Yisrael already trust now that all will turn to good, that very emunah gives them the strength to do teshuvah.

וכן הפסוק עצמו מביא זה לתשובה כמ"ש כאשר ירד הגשם כו' ושמה לא ישוב כו' עשה כו' אשר שלחתיו כו' פי' שכל רצונו ית' יתקיים בודאי וסוף הכל ישובו.

And the pasuk itself brings one to teshuvah, as it is written, "As the rain comes down… and does not return there… [until] it has accomplished… that for which I sent it" (Yeshayahu 55:10-11) — meaning that all of His will shall certainly be fulfilled, and in the end all will return.

Just as rain never returns to heaven without accomplishing its purpose, so Hashem's will to bring His people to teshuvah will surely be realized — in the end everyone will return.

לכן בכח הזה יכול אדם לעורר בתשובה כי העומד להיות כאלו עשה. זה וקח טוב:

Therefore, with this power a person can arouse himself to teshuvah, for that which is destined to be is as though already done — this is "accept good."

Since the final return is guaranteed by Hashem's will, a person can already draw on it now: what is certain to occur counts as already accomplished, giving him the strength to repent — and to "accept the good."

Summary: Because sin engages both body and soul, teshuvah must too — the body through fasting, the soul through bushah, the indestructible inner shame implanted at Sinai. Shabbos, when fasting is barred, is the day for teshuvah of the soul, and it points to the future "day that is wholly Shabbos" when all the world's puzzles will be revealed as Hashem's plan for good. Trusting now that Hashem's will to bring everyone to return is certain, a person can draw on that guaranteed future to arouse himself to teshuvah — to "accept the good."