Because this Mitzvah which I am commanding you today, it is not covered from you but very close to you to perform, it is done with your mouth and heart” (Devarim 30:14)
The commentators explain that this verse refers to the Mitzvah of Teshuvah – returning to Hashem. There is a special Mitzvah to return to the right path; and regrading this the verse continues – “it is very close to you” i.e. easy to perform.
The question is; how does this fit with our perspective of Teshuvah – repentance? Most of us consider ‘new Year Resolutions’ of change for the better a very difficult challenge; often very hard to achieve. Bettering our ways is perhaps one of the hardest Mitzvahs of the entire Torah. Yet the Torah tells us that this Mitzvah is apparently right near us, we just have to open our mouths and hearts. Do we not know from experience that Teshuvah is a much harder challenge?
Just a mere few weeks ago a local Jewish family went out for an outing to the beach. One of the boys – a nine year old – was swimming out at sea when he suddenly found himself in extreme difficulty. He was being sucked out and under by an undercurrent. An alert bystander saw that the young boy was in trouble and he swam out to try and rescue him from the water. Unfortunately while helping keep the boy afloat the man himself got into trouble and by the time emergency services arrived they rescued the boy and a now unconscious ‘life-saver’. The man was taken to the local hospital.
When the saviour awoke he was greeted by the parents of the young boy who were overwhelmed with gratitude and had come to express their thanks to him. After inquiring about the well-being of the boy the man then asked them, “What does ‘shem’ mean? When I reached your young son, in between his gasps for air he was shouting and crying out ‘Shem save me! Shem save me – I want to live!’”
The parents explained that what the boy was referring to was “Hashem” – the name we Jews use to refer to G-d. An amazing story.
At a time of distress this boy – a regular Jewish boy, not a boy who was necessarily a ‘holy kid’ – managed to access what he knew deep inside his core being, that it is the Almighty Hashem who is in charge of everything – life and death. In his moment of despair what sprung from his mouth from his inner soul was simply the words, “Hashem save me!”.
This could be an answer to explain the commandment of Teshuvah – returning. It is within the power of our hearts and mouth – all we need to do is to open up our hearts, our real selves, release our inner strength for a moment over the High Holidays and tell Hashem that all we really want is closeness to Him, to perform his commandments.
Good Shabbos, Elchonon