Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year) is coming very soon. This is a time for all Jewish people to reflect and seek forgiveness for deeds of the past year. Repentance is the goal of every Jewish person during this time of the year. One can repent out of fear or out of love for the Holy One, blessed be He.

Repentance Out of Love

The rabbis of old taught that (Yoma 86b):

“Great is repentance out of love, for it turns sins into merits.”

Explaining the lofty level of repentance that is motivated by love of the Holy One, Blessed be He and why it is preferable to repentance motivated by fear of the Holy One, blessed be He is indeed a difficult task. It is brought down that once:

A thief came upon the idea to steal from the king’s treasury, and he spent many days figuring out how he could dig a tunnel beneath it. Having completed his passageway, he would enter and fill his sacks with the many treasures that lay inside the vast room. He finally worked out a plan and, one night, dug a tunnel.

His planning had not been exact enough, and instead of leading to the king’s treasury, the tunnel led into the great hall next to it. The thief entered the dark corridor and felt around, but did not find any riches at all. He was very disappointed and so he turned around and escaped before the sun came up.

That very same night, a different thief attempted to break into the king’s treasury as well. He, too, dug a tunnel, but unlike the first thief, he managed to successfully enter the treasury and fill his sacks with the king’s treasures. Before he left, however, he stopped for a moment and thought,

“How could I be so bold as to steal from the king himself? Why, I am obligated to honor him”

The thief emptied his bags completely and escaped to his home. When day broke, the king’s subjects noticed that there were two openings that were dug into the palace walls, but the careful investigation revealed that not a thing was missing from the treasury.

The king very much wanted to know the reason behind this strange occurrence, so he ordered that a full investigation be made by his trusted sheriff. In a very short time, the king’s sheriff brought the two thieves before him, and the king interrogated them, asking them to explain their actions. “I will not deny it,” said the first thief. “I entered the king’s treasury but did not find a thing. Since I feared that daybreak was near, I escaped in order to save myself.” The king immediately ordered that the thief be taken to the dungeon.

“I,” confessed the second thief, “entered the treasury and even took whatever I could. Suddenly I realized and understood that what I was about to do was a very bad thing which was an insult to the king’s honor. Out of love for the king, I decided on the spot to not follow through with this wicked deed.” When the king heard this, he sent the man home and even granted him many gifts.

So, too, in relation to repentance, it is a great honor to the King of the World when a person repents out of love!

LaShanah Tovah

Rosh HaShanah is just a few days away. People all around the world are trying to make amends for mistakes of the past year.

May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)

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Rachmiel Tobesman is a motivational speaker and Maggid (spiritual Storyteller). He is available for speaking engagements or storytelling, Click here to contact us

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