The Power of Compassion: The True Path to Bring the Distant Closer and Merit the Holiness of the Land

Lesson No. 2011 | Cassette 2011, 18 Nissan 5740, Disc A

True teshuvah (repentance) is not achieved by force or by forcing the hour, but rather by preceding every word with compassion and supplications. The article explains how patience in bringing the distant closer prevents spiritual falls, and how the holiness of the Land of Israel and the blowing of the shofar work together to awaken souls to complete teshuvah (repentance).

A person should not be alarmed when speaking with another and encountering laughter or mockery. If the other person laughs, it is a sign that the words have entered deep inside him. A truly indifferent person does not laugh; laughter indicates that the words have penetrated his heart. Therefore, leave him with his laughter, continue speaking further, and you will see that specifically he—the one who laughed—will return in teshuvah (repentance). This is true zealotry, the zealotry of bringing others to teshuvah (repentance).

Rabbeinu [Rebbe Nachman] said not to fear anyone and to speak with everyone, but the secret is not to force the hour. Before a person preaches or speaks with his friend, he must precede it with compassion and supplications in order to connect to the souls of the listeners. When a person prays before he speaks, he has the power to subdue the most evil of the evil. The prayer that precedes the sermon helps to bring closer even those who oppose him. With words alone, it is difficult to bring people closer, because they might laugh at the words, but prayer is such an immense power that it causes the words to enter them against their will, and awakens them without them even knowing what awakened them.

On the other hand, there are situations where firmness is required. When a wicked person is put in his place and told exactly who he is and what his situation is, it shocks him, because he did not believe he was in such a lowly state. Therefore, the preparation through prayer and hitbodedut (personal prayer) is critical—it is what guides a person as to which words to express from his mouth at any given moment, according to the situation and the listeners, whether to speak softly or with firmness.

The Danger of Forcing the Hour

If a person, before any action of bringing the distant closer, goes and practices hitbodedut and begs for mercy, he cannot imagine how many tens, hundreds, and thousands he can bring back in teshuvah (repentance). He can awaken such loving-kindness that even the most distant will draw closer to Hashem, may He be blessed. And if, nevertheless, he sees that he has not yet succeeded in bringing them closer, it is necessary to wait longer. Perhaps he will be able to accomplish his request another time. If he becomes accustomed to praying before every action, he is guaranteed, as Rabbi Natan says, that slowly but surely he will merit to bring everyone closer.

But the great danger is when a person forces the hour. If he wants to bring everyone closer immediately, and becomes agitated or regrets it when it does not happen as he expected—this agitation causes him to fall from his spiritual level. A person is forbidden to force the hour and expect that they will immediately be enthusiastic about his words. He must say to himself: "I am happy that I did my part and spoke. Whether they accepted it or not—it does not matter, the main thing is that I spoke." Waiting and patience, together with prior prayer, are the key to success.

Practical Guidance: Building Gradually

Sometimes there is a desire to bring people closer quickly and invite them immediately to yeshivas, but one must remember that even with Moshe Rabbeinu, bringing the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude) closer at the wrong time created a blemish. When people are brought closer and there is no suitable framework to absorb them, they are liable to be rejected and broken. From this, we must learn from the tale of "The Seven Beggars" by Rabbeinu [Rebbe Nachman], where the children wanted to run after the beggars into the forest, but they told them: "Do not run after us now, we will meet again."

So too in bringing people closer—one must guide those drawing near gradually. One should tell them: "Start strengthening yourselves on your own, keep Shabbat, find a synagogue in your neighborhood, ask the religious council or local rabbis for evening classes." They need to be directed in the right way, to organize themselves in their own place and ask for books. At the same time, the community must provide the infrastructure—sending avreichim (Torah scholars) to the neighborhoods, giving classes to teachers and students, and slowly accustoming them to keeping Shabbat and putting on tefillin, until suitable frameworks are established for them. If we had practiced hitbodedut properly, we would have solved all these problems.

The Holiness of the Land of Israel and the Ingathering of the Outcasts

It turns out that the ingathering of the outcasts and the lost, meaning bringing the distant closer, is accomplished through the Torah that is drawn down with compassion and supplications. And the main ingathering of all the outcasts is to the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel has an intrinsic power to bring people back in teshuvah (repentance). Therefore, Rabbi Natan says: Make aliyah (ascend) to the Land before assimilation begins; the Land will protect you and bring you back in teshuvah (repentance).

The more a person prays with compassion, the more he merits to reveal the holiness of the Land of Israel, and merits that the Land itself will bring everyone back in teshuvah (repentance). The entire teshuvah (repentance) movement in the world comes from the power of the Land of Israel, which influences the whole world. As Rabbeinu [Rebbe Nachman], of blessed memory, said, whoever wants to be an "Ish Yisraeli" (a man of Israel) and ascend from level to level—which is the matter of his own return in teshuvah (repentance) and that of others—it is impossible to merit this except through the Land of Israel.

The Sound of the Shofar and the Eyes of Providence

For this reason, the Torah was given with the sound of a shofar, and this is the secret of blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. The sound of the shofar is the aspect of the ingathering of the outcasts, as it is stated:

"And it shall come to pass on that day, that a great shofar shall be blown; and they shall come who were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt, and they shall bow down to Hashem on the holy mountain in Jerusalem" (Isaiah 27:13).

The shofar is like a trumpet of war, a global proclamation calling everyone to return in teshuvah (repentance). Rosh Hashanah is a day of teshuvah (repentance) for the entire world, an opportunity when it is proclaimed that one can return. On Rosh Hashanah, we draw down the holiness of the Land of Israel, which is the aspect of:

"The eyes of Hashem your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year" (Deuteronomy 11:12).

The Divine Providence of the entire year begins on Rosh Hashanah, and its ultimate purpose is to bring each and every one back in teshuvah (repentance). What are those "eyes of Hashem"? They are the tzaddikim. The tzaddikim grant a person the 'eyes of Hashem,' through which he can truly see where he stands and what requires tikkun (rectification). Sometimes a person says to himself: "I am a tzaddik, I pray, study, keep Shabbat, and put on tefillin; what am I lacking?" But suddenly, when he receives the illumination of the "eyes of Hashem," he sees that he has not even begun, and then he merits to return in complete teshuvah (repentance).

May Hashem help us all to return in complete teshuvah (repentance), and may the complete Geulah (Redemption) come speedily in our days, Amen.

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