You are standing today… (Devarim 29:9)
Rashi tells us that after Bnei Yisrael heard the Tochacha, they became frightened, and wondered, “How are we going to survive?” Moshe Rabbeinu calmed them down by telling them, “Don’t be so concerned, for even though you have committed many sins, you are still around today!” I can understand the logic of how it could calm down the Bnei Yisrael, but then it would seem to defeat the purpose of the Tochacha, for the Tochacha was said to frighten people into doing the right thing – but wouldn’t Moshe be negating this when he said, “You have nothing to fear!”?
People can endure many different types of difficult circumstances, and still come out unscathed. Sometimes these experiences will be gamechangers, and sometimes people will go on with their regular lives. Sometimes these experiences will reshape the way they live their lives, and other times they will turn into a passing event, and life will move on as if nothing extraordinary has happened. We all understand that the purpose of punishment is to cause the person to take notice and come to the realization that what he has done is incorrect and cause him to change his ways. Yet many times, the only result of the punishment is that the person lives out the sentence or incarceration, and then returns to the folly in which he was previously involved. My chavrusa told me that he once went to the hospital to visit a man who was hit by a car while walking to shul on Shabbos in New York. When he got to the man’s room, he overheard him telling another person: “Many people would think about what happened to them and figure out what they need to change in their life. Not me, I am not going to change a single thing!”
We believe the reason Hakadosh Baruch Hu punishes us is to give us a wakeup call. Hopefully when we receive that call, we change our ways and become better. This gives purpose to the punishment.
Moshe Rabbeinu did not tell Bnei Yisrael “Do not to be afraid of the punishment”, but rather, “See that those punishments which you have received actually changed who you are, and you stand here today in front of Hashem as better people.” An example of this is the famous statement of Chazal that in a place where a baal teshuva stands, even great tzadikim cannot reach. Yes, we have sinned, but hopefully we have actually grown because of that negative moment.
A cousin of mine once explained to me the words of Chazal that when a person who does teshuva out of love, his sins committed intentionally will turn into merits. He asked why should that be so? He answered that since the sin was the catalyst that brought about the recognition that one needs to be become closer to Hashem, therefore the sin becomes a merit.
On Rosh Hashanah itself we do not ask for mechilah. These last few days beforehand, though, not only is it in place, but it shows our true desire to become better people and closer to Hashem. The fact that we are standing today (after reading the Tochacha) in a better place is a reflection of how much Hashem wants us to become closer to him. By trying to perfect ourselves at this time we can truly hope to be blessed with a shanah tova umesukah!
