“You shall designate cities for yourselves; they shall be cities of refuge for you…” (Bamidbar 35:11)
The Baal Chiddushei HaRim says that this pasuk guides us in our approach to one who has killed someone unintentionally and is now being pursued. The individual is understandably bitter; he cannot find a place for himself in the world. Hashem assures him that all hope is not lost, and a refuge is available for him where he can be safe from his pursuers.
In fact, this principle is applicable in general to those who have sinned in any way – not to give up hope and not to despair. We should not abandon these souls, nor should we let them regress or decline further. Rather, we should reach out to such individuals and guide them to come closer to Hashem.
The Maharam M’Lublin (1558-1616, well known for his commentary on the Talmud) comments in a similar vein on the pasuk (Devarim 30:4), “If your dispersed will be at the ends of heaven, from there Hashem will gather you…. “Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say that those who are dispersed at the ends of earth will be gathered?
The Maharam M’Lublin explains that this refers to those Jewish souls who have become so distanced from Hashem that they are at the furthest point before completely severing any and all connection to G-dliness. Even from there, Hashem will corral them and return them.
This corresponds with a fundamental dictum cited in Shmuel II (14:14), “Hashem devises means whereby man may be banished, but is not permanently cast away from Him.” That is to say, no Jewish soul is ever totally lost or obliterated; he can always reappear to follow the righteous path of Torah and mitzvos.
The Ishbitzer Rebbe, too, makes reference to this concept with the pasuk in Vayikra (6:4): “… he shall remove the ash to the outside of the camp, to a pure place.” He explains that just as the ashes of the sacrifice, which do not have even one remaining burning ember, are brought to a pure place, so too the expatriate can still achieve rectification. Although the Jew has abandoned the ways of Torah, he can always repent and return to Hashem.
We read in the haftara (Yirmiyah 2:19), “Your evil will chastise you; your waywardness will admonish you; realize and understand that your forsaking of Hashem is evil and bitter….” The sin and its retribution serve to rebuke the individual who has done wrong. It is only after one has spiritually descended to the lowest level and is feeling its repercussions that he begins to comprehend the error of his ways. His eyes are opened, he understands what has led to his downfall, and he is inspired to do teshuva.
The Talmud (Brachos 34b) states, “In the place where ba’alei teshuva stand, even the most righteous do not stand.” The Rambam explains that this is so because the repentant is superior to the tzaddik who never sinned in his lifetime. The person who sinned and has now repented had to fight harder to conquer his Evil Inclination than the righteous individual.
About seventy years ago, the P’eylim organization was dedicated to inspiring irreligious Sefardic families in Israel to send their children to Torah schools. A promising young bachur from Tel Aviv who was doing very well was eventually sent to the Gateshead Yeshiva in England, the largest yeshiva in Europe and one of the most prestigious in the Orthodox world. In those years it was under the leadership of Rabbis Leib Lopian and Leib Gurwicz. The bachur was, indeed, an outstanding student, beloved by the roshei yeshiva, and ostensibly destined for greatness.
After a few years, the bachur returned to Eretz Yisrael seeking admission to the Ponevezh Yeshiva. Rav Shach, the rosh yeshiva, spoke with him for a long time and was awed by the depth and breadth of his knowledge. He recommended to the Ponevezher Rav that the young man should be accepted, despite certain challenges that he sensed.
Indeed, within a short period of time the young man totally cast off the yoke of Torah and mitzvos. He left the yeshiva without his kippah and returned to his parents’ home in Tel Aviv.
R’ Yonah Yosef Ehrentrau, a good friend of the bachur who had learned with him in Gateshead during that time, was contacted. He was quite perturbed and said that everything must be done to save him.
On erev Shabbos, R’ Yonah Yosef went to the home of R’ Shach and told him what had happened. R’ Shach began to tremble and he left the room for ten minutes. When he returned he instructed R’ Yonah Yosef to immediately order a taxi that could take them to Tel Aviv, to the bachur’s home.
When they arrived, R’ Shach, the gadol hador, went in by himself. He came out about one hour later, broken in spirit. “I can’t believe it. The young man is very stubborn, and I was not able to accomplish anything,” he said, devastated.
“We now have to find a bus to return to Bnei Brak,” said R’ Shach.
“It would be better if we summon a taxi,” suggested R’ Yonah Yosef, “like we took on the way here. “
“I have no money to pay,” said R’ Shach. “You should know that it has been months since I last received my wages from the yeshiva. It has caused me much financial difficulty. However, when I heard what had happened, I borrowed money for the taxi so that we could go immediately, without wasting any time, and save the bachur. For that one has to sell even the shirt off his back.
“However, now there is no urgency whatsoever, and we can take the bus to return to Bnei Brak.”
