Return O Israel and the Far Reach of Repentance

"Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity" (Hosea 14:2). Let our master teach us: one who sins, saying it will be atoned for him by repentance, what of this? Thus our masters taught: one who says, I will sin and repent, I will sin and repent, is not given the opportunity to repent (Mishnah Yoma 8:9). Why? Because if a man repents and returns to his transgressions, it is not repentance. If a man goes down to immerse with a creeping thing in his hand, he has no purification; what shall he do? Let him cast away what is in his hand and afterward immerse and be purified. Scripture said, "let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts, and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him" (Isaiah 55:7), for the Holy One, blessed be He, desires repentance and does not desire to put any creature to death, as it is said, "do I desire the death of the wicked, rather than that the wicked turn from his evil way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11). And the Holy One, blessed be He, calls them to repentance so that, as it were, they may live, and so He says to Israel, "return, O backsliding children" (Jeremiah 3:22). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: repent before I return to the attribute of judgment, for I do not know what to do then; only while I stand in the attribute of mercy, repent and I will accept you. From where? From what they read in the prophet, "to the LORD your God." "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Thus Rabbi Tanchuma son of Abba opened: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways" (Isaiah 55:8). The way of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the way of flesh and blood. The way of flesh and blood: he kindles a lamp from a lamp, for he cannot kindle light from darkness. But the Holy One, blessed be He, may His name be blessed, when He created His world, all was darkness, formless and void, and He brought forth light from darkness, as it is said, "and the earth was formless and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep" (Genesis 1:2); what is written after it? "And God said, let there be light, and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). Flesh and blood, once he issues a verdict, cannot retract it; but the Holy One, blessed be He, retracts after the verdict, as it is said, "Samaria shall bear her guilt, for she has rebelled against her God" (Hosea 14:1); what is written after it? "Return, O Israel." There is no prophet who struck Israel who did not turn back and apply a plaster and heal them; every blow he struck he turned back and healed. Hosea says, "for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel" (Hosea 1:6), and he turned back and said, "and I will have compassion on Lo-ruchamah" (Hosea 2:25). The same mouth that said, "for you are not My people" (Hosea 1:9), turned back and healed and said, "and I will say to Lo-ammi, you are My people" (Hosea 2:25). The same mouth that said, "for she is not My wife" (Hosea 2:4), turned back and healed and said, "you will call Me my husband" (Hosea 2:18). The same mouth that said, "and I will make her like a wilderness" (Hosea 2:5), turned back and healed, "and I will lead her into the wilderness" (Hosea 2:16). The same mouth that said, "they speak mere words, swearing falsely in making covenants" (Hosea 10:4), turned back and healed, "take with you words" (Hosea 14:3). The same mouth that said, "Israel was stubborn like a stubborn heifer" (Hosea 4:16), turned back and healed and said, "and we will render the bulls of our lips" (Hosea 14:3). The same mouth that said, "and they did not return to the LORD their God" (Hosea 7:10), turned back and healed and said, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." The way of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the way of flesh and blood. Flesh and blood writes a harsh bond and exchanges it for much money; but the Holy One, blessed be He, writes a harsh bond and exchanges it for a light thing. And what is the light thing? "Take with you words" (Hosea 14:3). What is written above this passage? "The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up" (Hosea 13:12), "Samaria shall bear her guilt, for she has rebelled against her God" (Hosea 14:1); and after all these things He says to Israel, repent and I will exchange them all. Another interpretation. They say of Hosea and of Elijah that they were cruel — heaven forbid, they were not cruel; the cruel one was in fact saving. To what may the matter be likened? To a prince whom the king sentenced and who was condemned to burning. What did his advocate do? He said to the king, leave him in prison until he starves, and then burn him — and he intended thereby, until your wrath subsides. So when Elijah saw Israel straying after Ahab, Elijah said, better that they be three years in famine and not fall into the pit of destruction. Thus out of love Elijah did this to them. And so Hosea said, "give them, O LORD — what will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts" (Hosea 9:14); out of mercy he said this. To what may the matter be likened? To a man whose property was sentenced to confiscation by the treasury; his friend rose and pleaded for him and appeased the king. The king said, for your sake let only the fields go to the treasury, and let the lands remain in their place. So the Holy One, blessed be He, judged Israel and said, "though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave them till none is left" (Hosea 9:12). Hosea said, please, not so; rather, "they sow the wind and reap the whirlwind; the standing grain has no head" (Hosea 8:7). How, while they raise their children, will You destroy them? "The standing grain has no head." He said to him, I wrote in the Torah, "and your desire shall be for your husband" (Genesis 3:16), and here "the standing grain has no head." Hosea said to Him, if so, please give them a miscarrying womb and not dry breasts, for the pain of the small is not like the pain of the great. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, so I have decreed, "I will bereave them till none is left." When Hosea saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, would not heed him, he came to Israel and said to them, much have I asked and was not heeded; therefore plead for yourselves, for He will not turn you away, "return, O Israel." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Like a prince whose friend said to him, your father is going to strike you and imprison you and hand you over to the slaves and put you to death by starvation, and in the end you will come back and beg of him and he will accept you; rather, if you heed me, make the last things first and go to him and beg of him and he will accept you, and you will be spared the blows. So Hosea said to Israel, know that He is going to strike you, as it is said of them, "I will pour out My wrath like water" (Hosea 5:10), and to hand you over to the kingdom, as it is said, "their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue" (Hosea 7:16), and to put you to death by starvation, as it is said, "and I will take back My grain in its time and My wine in its season" (Hosea 2:11), and afterward in the end you will come and beg of Him; so heed me and call out and repent before you are stricken, and you will be spared the blows. "Return, O Israel." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." All the prophets call Israel to repentance, but none like Hosea. Jeremiah said, "if you return, O Israel, says the LORD, return to Me" (Jeremiah 4:1). Isaiah said, "seek the LORD while He may be found" (Isaiah 55:6). But they do not teach Israel what to say. But Hosea said, repent, and he teaches them how to appease for themselves, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God... and take with you words and return to the LORD and say to Him, You forgive all iniquity and accept what is good" (Hosea 14:2-3). [Another interpretation: "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity."] All the prophets who struck Israel struck them with a fall. Jeremiah said, "therefore their way shall be to them... they shall be driven and fall in it" (Jeremiah 23:12). And Amos said, "fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin of Israel" (Amos 5:2). But Hosea made it only a stumbling, as it is said, "for you have stumbled in your iniquity." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." Repentance is precious before the Holy One, blessed be He, for He sets aside His words for the sake of repentance. How? It is written in the Torah, "when a man takes a wife and marries her, and if she finds no favor in his eyes... and he writes her a bill of divorce... and the latter man hates her and writes [her a bill of divorce]... her former husband who sent her away may not take her again... after she has been defiled" (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so; even though they forsook Him and served another, "and they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him" (Judges 10:6), He said to them, repent and come to Me and I will accept you. Jeremiah explains, saying, "if a man sends away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's, will he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? Yet you have played the harlot with many lovers, and would you return to Me, says the LORD" (Jeremiah 3:1)? Come and I will accept you, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Another interpretation. "Return." And how far does repentance reach? Of all that the Holy One, blessed be He, created, He swears only by the receiving of penitents, for so Ezekiel said, "as I live, says the LORD, do I desire the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 33:11). They said, since He has sworn that He receives penitents, it is just that we go to Him. "Return, O Israel." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." We find that perhaps there was none after Him who was too far off; He said, behold, I will return. Like a prince who was sick. The physician said, if he eats of such-and-such a thing he will be healed. The son was afraid to eat it. His father said to him, know that it will not harm you; behold, I will eat of it. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, are you ashamed to repent? Behold, I will return first, as it is said, "thus says the LORD, behold, I will return" (Jeremiah 30:18). And if One who has no sin nor wrongdoing, heaven forbid, said, "behold, I will return," how much more should human beings need to repent and come to the Holy One, blessed be He. "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." If a person makes complete repentance, even the transgressions he did at first are not counted against him and are not remembered against him. From where? Isaiah explains, "the former things shall not be remembered nor come to mind" (Isaiah 65:17). And repentance is more precious even than sacrifices. Samuel the prophet said, "behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22). Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." Woe to the wicked who die without repentance, for they forfeit their hope of the world to come. For angels are appointed over a person, and every single day they write his deeds, and all is revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, and all is written and sealed. If a person is righteous, they write his righteousness, and if a person acts wickedly, they write his wickedness. Therefore when a righteous person comes, the angels go before him and praise him, "he enters into peace and rests on his couch." But if a wicked person dies who did not repent, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, you have blown out your own soul; how many times did I call you to repent and you did not? "And the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and escape shall be lost to them, and their hope is the blowing out of the soul" (Job 11:20). The discerning said: since it is so, hope is set for penitents; come, let us repent to the LORD our God, "come, let us return to the LORD, for He has torn and He will heal us, He has struck and He will bind us up" (Hosea 6:1). Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." The fools who say, perhaps we will repent and He will not accept us — "behold, we come" — are you not called fools? Many times He says, "return, O backsliding children" (Jeremiah 3:22); you lose nothing, "I will heal your backslidings" (Jeremiah 3:22). And so Isaiah prophesies, "peace, peace to the far and to the near, says the LORD, and I will heal him" (Isaiah 57:19). Of which far one does he speak? Of one who distanced himself, while he is in fact near to the Holy One, blessed be He. What healing does he need? This is a wicked man who was far and repented and drew near to the Holy One, blessed be He. "Peace, peace to the far and to the near." Hosea said to them, since He heals the penitents, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." Five things bring the redemption: out of distress a person is redeemed, "in your distress, when all these things have come upon you" (Deuteronomy 4:30); out of the appointed end, "in the latter days" (Deuteronomy 4:30); out of repentance, "and you return to the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 4:30); out of mercy, "for the LORD your God is a merciful God" (Deuteronomy 4:31); and by the merit of the fathers, "and He will not forget the covenant of your fathers" (Deuteronomy 4:31). And repentance brings about mercy and the merit of the fathers, for so it says, "and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice" (Deuteronomy 4:30), and immediately, "for the LORD your God is a merciful God" (Deuteronomy 4:31). Thus let us return to Him, for we have none like Him, a God who receives us at the moment we turn from transgression. [Another interpretation.] "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Like a prince who was far from his father, a journey of a hundred days. His friends said to him, return to your father. He said to them, I cannot. His father sent and said to him, come as far as you can according to your strength, and I will come to you the rest of the way. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "return to Me and I will return to you" (Malachi 3:7). Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel." Like a prince who had a case before his father. They said to him, ask of your father while he is in his palace, before he sits on the tribunal and the attribute of judgment is stretched out over you. So Hosea said to Israel, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God," while He is set in the attribute of mercy; repent, for the Holy One, blessed be He, is merciful and gracious and desires repentance, before the attribute of judgment is stretched out over you. Flesh and blood is angry at his fellow, and he brings him a gift that he may accept it, and it is doubtful whether it is accepted; but the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so, but is appeased with words, "take with you words" (Hosea 14:3). And not only that, but a person who goes to honor the king goes to him full and returns empty; but the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so, but they go to Him empty and return full. They say to Him, "You forgive all iniquity" (Hosea 14:3), and He says to them, "accept what is good" (Hosea 14:3). Therefore the prophet praises Him for His abundant mercy and says of Him, "who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression" (Micah 7:18). Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Our holy Rabbi expounded: great is the power of repentance, for as soon as a person ponders in his heart to repent, immediately it ascends, not ten miles nor twenty nor a hundred, but a journey of five hundred years; and not to the first firmament, but to the seventh firmament; and not only to the seventh firmament, but it stands before the throne of glory. So Hosea says, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." Another interpretation. "To the LORD your God." They said to Him, Master of the universe, we are afraid because of the iniquities, for they are many. David said, "my iniquities have gone over my head" (Psalms 38:5), and Ezra said, "our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens" (Ezra 9:6). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: do not be afraid of this thing; if they reach to the firmament and you repent, I forgive, and not only to the first firmament nor the second nor the third, but even to the seventh, up to the throne of glory, and you repent, immediately I accept you. "Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God" — even iniquities that reach "to the LORD your God." Another interpretation. "Return, O Israel, to the LORD." Israel said to Him, Master of the universe, if we repent, who will testify that You accepted us? He said to them, your advocate, this is Michael, as it is said, "at that time Michael shall stand up... who stands over the children of your people" (Daniel 12:1). They said to Him, we ask only You. He said to them, go, seek My face, and I will testify for you. And you have whence to learn: which measure is greater, the measure of good or the measure of punishment? You must say, the measure of good. Come and see: it is not the honor of the Holy One, blessed be He, to testify in such matters, yet He in His glory testifies against adulterers and sorcerers, as it is said, "and I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers" (Malachi 3:5). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: and if against one who sins I testify, against one who repents how much more so. Hosea said, "return, O Israel, to the LORD your God." They said to Him, Master of the universe, and what will You do with all our iniquities? He said to them, repent and they are swallowed up out of the world, as it is said, "the iniquity of Israel shall be sought and there shall be none, and the sins of Judah and they shall not be found" (Jeremiah 50:20). They said to Him, and where do You cast them? He said to them, into the sea, as it is said, "He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue our iniquities, and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).