„The streams of repentance, private and general, flow on; their likene…”
„The streams of repentance, private and general, flow on; their likeness is as waves of flame upon the body of the sun, which, like an eternal war, burst forth and rise, and they give life to a multitude of worlds and to countless creatures. There is no capacity to absorb the great multitude of the many colors of this great sun that illuminates all worlds — the sun of repentance — because of their flow and their multitude, because of their wondrous speed, because they come from the source of life itself, of which time itself is but one of its constricted forms.”
Repentance is something immense, something inconceivable. It encompasses all of our life, our private world and the general world, all of humanity and all of the universe.
Repentance is progress, and the whole world is progressing. The whole world moves and lifts itself up all the time, repairing its errors — returning and falling, returning and rising.
A great injustice has been done to repentance, in that it is grasped only in a certain connotation — "becoming religious" (chazarah bi'teshuvah). In truth, repentance is progress and development, in the particular and in the general.
Have a pleasant rest of the evening, everyone!
In memory of Michael ben David.
From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.