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***                      The Power and the Purpose                     ***
***                              of Tshuvah                            ***
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***  Uploaded by                                                       ***
***  a student of the Kabbalah Centre/NY                               ***
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    This month of Elul is unique among all other months because of its
inherent power of Tshuvah. To understand its uniqueness, one has to
know the true meaning of Tshuvah and its immense power. Commonly, it
is translated as "repentance" suggesting more of an apologetic nature
of that process, as if one were sorry for his deeds and asks God for
forgiveness. For example when A accidentally injures B, and A is
deeply sorry and wants for-giveness, how does it affect B? And what
kind of power does that have? While forgiving makes us feel very good,
surely it removes or lessens feelings of guilt. But beyond that there
is hardly anything happening on a larger scale. Clearly the concept of
Tshuvah has to be far wider reaching.

    But before we look at its actual meaning, it is really important
to understand why there is Tshuvah altogether. What is the real
purpose of Tshuvah?

    Each action in this world does create an effect in our overall
quantum connection. There are no isolated actions, everything is
interconnected. Hence, if God forbid we have committed an Averah (a
transgression), negative energy will have been injected into the
quantum connection which encompasses not only the individual but the
whole of humankind, even the whole Universe. This injection of
negativity dramatically creates a ripple effect throughout the quantum
connection. Even more, the cumulative effect of each negative action
stemming from different individuals undoubtedly will create negativity
and chaos on a large scale, such as wars, famine, etc. Therefore, it
should be well understood that any transgression and its resultant
transfer of Light to the wrong channel, namely to that of the "other
side," not only affects the individual alone, but also the whole
Universe.

    What does that mean in "real" life? Let's see. A steals from B:
clearly we have an action of theft, but at the same time on a
metaphysical level, negativity was injected into the Cosmos and this
charge akin to ammunition is very much "alive." If not diffused, this
negative charge will surely create havoc, not only for the thief in
one form or another may it be in this lifetime or the next but also
this charge strengthens the overall Cosmic negativity, causing other
people to be much more inclined to commit the same act.

    As stated in the Pirkei Avot: "One Mitzvah leads to another
Mitzvah, one transgression leads to another transgression." Assuming
that thief A now repents, feels sorry for his deed, and decides to
return the stolen item maybe in addition he wants to add another item
of value for compensation, so that owner B will get more than he
originally lost how does that effect the negative charge created? Not
at all, it is still alive and very much active. Only  through the
powerful act of Tshuvah can this charge be removed. Needless to say,
that without physical restitution by A to B, Tshuvah on a metaphysical
level is virtually impossible. Therefore, the main purpose of Tshuvah
is not to make us feel better or ask for apologies, but for removing
the negative charge without having to undergo a complex Tikune or
painful cleansing process.

    The uniqueness of Elul is characterized by its ruling planet
Mercury, created with the letter Resh and the sign Virgo, created with
the letter Yud. Elul stands for  Ani le Dodi ve le Dodi li  (Song of
Songs, 6:3), the literal translation of which is "I to the beloved,
the beloved to me." One may  ask, what does that have to do with
Tshuvah? "Ani"       the me stands for the Malkhut our physical level
whereas "Dodi"  stands for of Zeir Anpin, the metaphysical realm where
time does not exist. The inherent power of the planet Mercury, which
is the closest to the Sun representing Zeir Anpin, is the metaphysical
realm where time does not exist. Therefore, this inherent power of the
planet Mercury  allows us to virtually travel in time.

    Using the power of Mercury and the sign of Virgo like a spring
board we propel forward or rather backward to the point of time where
the negative charge was created, and with our consciousness "uncreate"
the action at its seed level which caused the negative charge. Without
this process, Tshuvah has not taken place and nothing has been
accomplished. Furthermore, Tshuvah can be understood as TaShuv Hei,
translated as the Return of the Hei of Malkhut.

    Briefly, the Tetragrammaton YKVK, contains four letters,
representing four levels. The last letter Hei defines our physical
realm. Any negative action automatically creates a space, a separation
of our realm of Malkhut from the higher levels. The [satan] "Dark
Lord" enters this empty space and wreaks havoc by bringing chaos and
misfortune in our lives. The act of Tshuvah then nullifies the
negative action, the empty space disappears, and the Hei of Malkhut is
restored to its original place, unified with the whole.

    The Zohar states "Nothing can stand before the power of Tshuvah,"
(Zohar II, 106a). As Rabbi Naman of Bratzlav, the great-grandson of
the Baal Shem Tov, puts it:

          The great power of Tshuvah is that it can
          transform a person's transgression into merits.
          What was damaged can be restored. The
          reason for this is that the essence of the
          transgression itself is to draw down the
          Divine Light into gross and lowly places. The
          Light then becomes enclosed and concealed
          within thick Vessels. But through Tshuvah it
          is possible to refine and purify these thick
          Vessels so that they will be capable of holding
          a new radiation of Light... and now the
          Light can be radiated to places where it
          would never have been able to shine before."
          (Likutei Halakhot 30).

    This is the reason why the Zohar states, "In the place where the
Baal Tshuvah [person who mastered the process of Tshuvah] stands, even
perfect Tzadikim cannot stand." (Zohar I, 39a). Because through the
process of Tshuvah, Light has been revealed in places where we would
never find Tzadikim.

    The process of Tshuvah requires three stages:
(1) the insight that a wrong has been committed,
(2) the firm resolve not to commit this action anymore, and,
(3) when the opportunity arises to repeat the transgression not to do
    it.

    Without these three components, Tshuvah is not complete. Each act
of Tshuvah does not only reveal Light for ourselves but also adds
Light for all mankind. Especially in the month of Elul we have all the
support necessary to do this process. May  we all have the Z'khut
(merit) and strength to be able to do Tshuvah during Elul. Not only
can we remove chaos from our own individual lives, but also
collectively for the whole world, removing negativity, restoring
balance, thereby hastening redemption and allowing the collective
Mashiah consciousness to emerge.

    Shanah Tovah!  A Student of the Kabblah Centre/NY