Maghen Abraham - Thoughts From Mayer Sasson

Let us search our ways

"Let us search our ways and explore and return to You for Your right Hand is outstretched to accept the repenters."(From the Selichot prayers)

Every day in the selichot prayers we say "Let us search our ways…. For Your right Hand is outstretched to accept the repenters". We must understand the depth of the matter in the words "Your right Hand is outstretched to accept the repenters." What is the difference if G-d's Right Hand is outstretched to accept repenters of if it is His Left?

We will preface that which our Sages ob'm said – that it is well known that the name Hashem symbolizes total kindness and mercy while the name Elokim is the name for the trait of justice. Therefore, on the first verse in the Torah where it says "In the beginning Elokim created the Heaven and the Earth" Rashi explains "It says Elokim (the trait of Justice) created and not Hashem (the trait of Mercy) created, for at the beginning G-d as if thought to create the world with Justice but He saw the world would not be sustained and He therefore prefaced the trait of Mercy to the trait of Justice, as it says later, "on the day Hashem Elokim made the Heavens and the Earth" – He put Mercy before Justice.

The holy Baal Shem Tov said that G-d has two ways of arousing a person to repent:

A. By bringing punishments and judgments and thereby a person is aroused to repent completely, B. G-d brings great kindness and mercy upon a mercy and thereby the person is aroused and thinks – I am a great sinner and why does G-d bring me kindness and mercy? He thereby comes to be greatly shameful and is aroused to repent completely and correct the fact that he rebelled against the King of the Kings.

The Baal Shem Tov brings a parable about a great king against whom a servant rebelled. According to the rules of the land he should have been killed, but the King was merciful and good and wanted to do good for the servant and not punish him. He therefore commanded that the servant be raised to a higher level of service. When the servant saw that instead of the king punishing him, he was doing good for him, he became full of shame and subservience and came to the King and fell before him crying terribly, asking him to forgive all he had done against him.

G-d in His mercy brings good to us to arouse us to repent. But we must know that if a person does not have the sense to repent for his sins even though G-d is good to him – there is no choice and He Has to arouse him through judgement and punishments, G-d forbid.

This is what Rashi intended - that at the beginning G-d as if thought to create the world with Justice – to punish a person with justice with suffering in order that he repent but "He saw the world would not be sustained" – for people could not bear the suffering - and He therefore prefaced the trait of Mercy to the trait of Justice. But if a person does not have the sense when G-d is good to him, to be aroused to repentance – that He Has to punish him with judgement for him to be aroused to repent.

Now we understand the verse "Let us search our ways and explore and return … for Your right Hand is outstretched to accept the repenters."

We should not wait, G-d forbid, to be aroused to repent only when G-d punishes us. The main point of "Let us search our ways and explore" – is that we search our ways and explore "and return to You" – repent totally when G-d is good to us. Why? "for Your right Hand is outstretched to accept the repenters." G-d's Right Hand alludes to the trait of Kindness. This is what G-d wants.

SHABBAT SHALOM AND SHANA TOVA !!