“Reish Lakish said: “Great is תשובה (repentance) because it transforms זדונות (premeditated sins) into שגגות (inadvertent transgressions)”. Oh Really? Didn’t he also say? “Great is תשובה (repentance) because it transforms premeditated sins into זכויות (merits)”? There is no contradiction. The first one refers to “Teshuva Meyir’ah” (out of fear of G-d), the other refers to “Teshuva Me’ahava” (out of love for G-d)...the other statement of Reish Lakish is pretty puzzling. How can it be that every sin turns into a Mitzva? One can have life of unlimited hedonism, sins and transgressions, and yet, all of the sudden, by doing this ultimate Teshuva, every single sin is considered as a Mitzva. What is the sense of that?...Rabbi Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik discusses this matter in “Al HaTeshuvah.”...In this kind of Teshuva, one does not return but rather continues. Instead of suffocating the fire and desires of the sins, one can uplift and elevate them. Behind every sin there is much negative energy, which was invested in the sin. Sometimes that energy is stronger than the positive energies, which we put in the Mitzvot. The sinner can try to channel and convert that negative energy to Kedusha (sanctity). With the same passion one used to hate, envy and covet, he can now perform the Mitzvot. The evil of transgressions can be transformed into a powerful and steady catalyst for learning Torah [Talmud]. His Torah [Talmud] will be more “juicy” because the strong energies of sin will be now part of his Torah [Talmud]. In that sense, retroactively, every single sin is considered to be a Mitzva because now one knows how to redirect the sinful energy. This method requires one to remember his sins. When a person does Teshuvah, it can bring him closer to Hashem [the Name], more than he ever dreamt...If we are able to do “Teshuva Me’ahava”, we can transform every sin to a merit, as Rabbi Yochanan told Reish Lakish while trying to be Mekarev (reach out to) him : “Your strength should be devoted to Torah [Talmud].” (Bava Metzia 84a) — Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth
“Elul: Transforming Transgressions into Merits”, Beit Hillel (19 August 2015)
The Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was considered a gaon (genius) by The Rav, Yosef Ber Soloveitchik
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