(from Kli Yakar on Devarim 30:11)
You Needn’t Climb to Heaven
There is a four verse section (Devarim 30:11-14) of this week’s Torah portion that opens, “For this commandment that I command you this day, . . . is not beyond you . . . is not far away from you . . . is not in Heaven . . . is not beyond the sea . . . Rather it is very close to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, to do it.” Some of the commentators say that the “commandment” referred to in the verse is Teshuva (= repentance – others say that it refers to Torah; the Kli Yakar develops both possibilities), and that this section is a natural continuation of the previous paragraph that ended (30:10), “When you return to Hashem your G-d with all of your heart and soul.” Those commentators are challenged to read all the details of the whole section as referring to repentance, figuring out the meaning of repentance being not in heaven, beyond the sea, etc. The Kli Yakar takes up the challenge. The following is paraphrased from a small section of his commentary on the verse.
What does the Torah mean when it says that repentance is “not in Heaven”?
The Kli Yakar explains:
The peninent is worried. Even though he mends his ways, he is unsure of the status of his relationship with G-d. Maybe, he says, even though I desire to return to G-d, who says that He desires to return to me? Sin has two ill effects. One, sin affects the person, distancing him from G-dliness. But sin also has an affect on the Divine Presence in the world, causing it to leave the earth, rising up to the Heavens. A man might work at moving in the direction of the Divine, but will the Divine Presence return to the person?
G-d responds to the penitent’s worry and says, “You need not rise up to the Heavens to do Teshuva. When you repent and start to move in the direction of G-dliness, I will descend from the Heavens towards you.”
[prepared by Eliezer Kwass]
