Pensée juive sur Isaïe 55:7

Since man's purpose therefore cannot be achieved without valiant effort on his part, and we observe more people regressing rather than progressing, the Lord, in His infinite wisdom created the vehicle of repentance. This will give those who have erred along the way a chance to return to the proper path. Each group of people,- in accordance with their respective characteristics,- is given a chance to do repentance accordingly. The best kind of baal teshuvah, penitent sinner, is the person or group of persons who is constantly worried about having committed a sin, and who therefore repents instantly, as soon as he becomes aware of an error committed. Such people seek to prove their having repented by exposing themselves to circumstances similar to the ones in which they had previously failed. In this fashion they can prove the viability of their repentance. Another type of baal teshuvah is the sinner who is aware of errors committed, but who lacks a sense of urgency and needs to be prodded into active repentance. Such people call on the Priests and the Levites for guidance in order to find the way back to Hashem. Then there is the third group of sinners, who do not consider repentance until the consequences of their sins have caught up with them, and they have discovered that the path they had chosen for themselves was useless.

Shemot Rabbah 7 states that G-d revealed the course of events to Moses so that the latter would not be dumbfounded by the apparently counterproductive results of his mission to Pharaoh. Even so, Moses was appalled, asking G-d: "Why have You caused things to get worse since I have come to Pharaoh?" This is what Solomon meant in Kohelet 7,7, "Oppression causes the wise to become foolish." Even a Moses can become confused in his faith when confronted by excessive oppression and apparent injustice. At any rate, G-d ascribes Pharaoh's obstinacy to Pharaoh himself, not to Divine interference. Maimonides's reason for Sichon King of the Emorites having been denied the exercise of free will when he denied the Israelites passage through his country seems inadequate. Why was his sin worse than that of the kings of Edom and Moab who did not have their freedom of choice interfered with according to Maimonides (compare Deuteronomy 2,30)? Most difficult however, is the thought frequently expressed in scriptures that the gates of repentance are never closed (Jeremiah 3, Psalms 25, to quote but a few).

2. Abandonment (of sin) is a sign of his firm faith in reward and punishment, as written: "The wicked shall give up his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts, and let him return to the L-ord, who shall have mercy upon him, and to our G-d, for He abundantly pardons" (Yeshaya 55:7). Of one who persists in his [evil] ways for a long time, the prophet says: "For the iniquity of his covetousness was I angry, and smote him, and he went on forwardly in the way of his heart" (Yeshaya 57:17). Similarly we can observe among human beings, that if one has wronged his fellow, and along with expressing regret, ceases to wrong him, then it will be proper to forgive him and overlook the misdeed.