The process of anguish, depression, catharsis, and joy which Rabbi Kook describes in his writings on the phenomena of T’shuva is far deeper than the psychiatric journey of modern times and all other quests for happiness. Vast numbers of people are depressed and unhappy. The world’s pleasures can only bring people a few fleeting moments of delight. Lives are plagued by darkness, anxiety, and inner despair.
Modern psychiatry, and all of the popular books on the subject, offer a gamut of explanations, solutions, treatments, and cures. They too promise psychic release and joy. But all too often, after some initial relief, the patient is back on the couch, or back in the bookstore searching for the newest bestseller.
In Rabbi Kook’s explanation of T’shuva what strikes us is his understanding of human psychology. Unlike all other psychic disciplines, Rabbi Kook reveals that the real cause of humanity’s malaise stems from mankind’s severance from G-d. The solution, he teaches, is T’shuva:
“How downtrodden was the soul when the burden of sin, its darkness, vulgarity, and horrible suffering lay upon it. How lowly and oppressed the soul was, even if external riches and honor fell in its portion. What good is there in wealth if life’s inner substance is poor and stale? How joyful the soul is now with the inner conviction that its iniquity has been forgiven, that God’s nearness is living and glowing inside it, that its inner burden has been lightened, that its debt (of atonement) has already been paid, and that it is no longer anguished by inner turmoil and oppression. The soul is filled with rest and rightful tranquility. ‘Return to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee’” (Tehillim, 116:7. “Orot HaT’shuva, Chs. 2 and 3).
As we study Rabbi Kook’s explanation of T’shuva, how remarkably it sounds like a description of the anxiety and spiritual darkness of our age:
“There is another type of T’shuva, not the penitence over specific sins, but a T’shuva aroused by a vague inner anxiety. Past sin or sins do not weigh on a person’s heart. Rather he has a general feeling of profound inner depression, that he is filled with sin, that G-d’s light does not shine on him, that there is nothing noble in his being. He senses that his heart is sealed, and that his personality and traits are not on the straight and desirable path that is worthy of gracing a pure soul with a wholesome life. He feels that his intellectual insights are primitive, and that his emotions are mixed with darkness and lusts which awake within him a spiritual repulsion.
"He is ashamed of himself; he knows that G-d is not within him; and this is his greatest anguish, his most frightening sin. He is embittered with himself; he can find no escape from his snare which involves no specific wrongdoing – rather it is as if his entire being is imprisoned in dungeon locks.”
This description of depression, darkness, inner shame and despair is an exact description of modern man’s psychic condition. Whether it is termed psychological neurosis by Sigmund Freud, primal angst by Carl Jung, anxiety by Rollo May, or feeling not-OK by Thomas Harris, the symptoms are the same.
What is the solution? T’shuva.
“From out of this psychic bitterness, T’shuva comes as a healing medicine from an expert physician. The feeling of T’shuva — with a deep insight into its working and its deep foundation in the recesses of the soul, in the hidden realms of nature, in all the chambers of Torah, faith and tradition — with all of its power, comes and streams into his soul. A mighty confidence in its healing, the encompassing rebirth which T’shuva affords to all who cling to it, surrounds the person with a spirit of grace and mercy.
“With each passing day, powered by this lofty general T’shuva, his feeling becomes more secure, clearer, more enlightened with the light of intellect, and more clarified according to the foundations of Torah. His demeanor becomes brighter, his anger subsides, the light of grace shines on him. He becomes filled with strength; his eyes are filled with a holy fire; his heart is completely immersed in springs of pleasure; holiness and purity envelop him. A boundless loves fills all of his spirit; his soul thirsts for G-d, and this very thirst satiates all of his being.
"The holy spirit rings before him like a bell, and he is informed that all of his willful transgressions, the known and the unknown, have been erased; that he has been reborn as a new being; that all of the world and all of Creation are reborn with him; that all of existence calls out in song, and that the joyous spirit of G-d infuses all. Great is T’shuva for it brings healing to the world. When even one individual who repents is forgiven, the whole world is forgiven with him’” (Yoma 86B. “Orot HaT’shuva,” 3).
Thus, when Joe Cohen walks gloomily into a bookstore looking for a paperback bestseller on how to be happy, he should also look for a book on T’shuva.
To help people prepare for the Days of Awe, Rabbi Samson has filmed a series of short videos on the T’shuva process which can be found of the Machon Meir TV Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOYtUTayKDs