וַתֹּֽאמְרִי֙ כִּ֣י נִקֵּ֔יתִי אַ֛ךְ שָׁ֥ב אַפּ֖וֹ מִמֶּ֑נִּי הִנְנִי֙ נִשְׁפָּ֣ט אוֹתָ֔ךְ עַל־אָמְרֵ֖ךְ לֹ֥א חָטָֽאתִי׃
Namun engkau berkata: “Aku tidak bersalah; pastilah murka-Nya telah surut dariku.” Sesungguhnya, Aku akan berperkara dengan engkau karena engkau berkata: “Aku tidak berdosa.”
Hakhsharat HaAvrekhim
Not a man in the midst of a cheshbon nefesh should do it in a rushed, off handed way. He should feel as if he is standing trial before the court. That is to say, he needs to reach a real awareness that his body, desires, and very soul292Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama, deepening levels of soul. are all standing in judgment. They are not being judged by the Heavenly Court, but by man himself. The more honest he is in his introspection, and according to the degree to which he bows his head before the Almighty whose life is in His hands, the more the One who sits in Judgment will be lenient in His ruling. This is an explanation of what God meant when He said, “Behold I will bring you to judgment for saying, I have not sinned.”293Yirmiyahu, 2:35 Simply put, when there is judgment below, (and man is honest with himself and his relationship to God’s Law), then there is no judgment above, (for He will suspend the sentence.) 294In my ignorance of Divine court procedure, I ask myself, “could the sentence sometimes be suspended conditionally, and at other times unconditionally?” But regardless of Divine calculations that are hidden from us, it seems that God said to Yirmiyahu that if we claim our innocence, He will then not only have to punish us for negligent actions, but also for lying – to God and to ourselves. However, if we judge ourselves honesty, for better or worse, we know what is incumbent upon us to do, then the Merciful Judge will suspend judgment and give us time to make amends.
The man is taking a candid look at himself and asking himself certain questions. The proceedings of his own evaluation require that he first confronts and accepts his true feelings so as to gain a clear view of his merits and mistakes. He asks himself where he is standing with God. “I know we all accepted the Torah, and continue to do so in every generation, but what about me? Have God and I really come to an agreement concerning … ?” And if he feels he is at all negligent, then he needs humility and bravery. He needs the humility to bow his head before the Almighty One who gives him life and the bravery to take it upon himself to mend his ways.
If you consider the historical context, you can clearly see why the Rebbe was writing this book with such passion. It was and still is in order to save us from punishment.
The man is taking a candid look at himself and asking himself certain questions. The proceedings of his own evaluation require that he first confronts and accepts his true feelings so as to gain a clear view of his merits and mistakes. He asks himself where he is standing with God. “I know we all accepted the Torah, and continue to do so in every generation, but what about me? Have God and I really come to an agreement concerning … ?” And if he feels he is at all negligent, then he needs humility and bravery. He needs the humility to bow his head before the Almighty One who gives him life and the bravery to take it upon himself to mend his ways.
If you consider the historical context, you can clearly see why the Rebbe was writing this book with such passion. It was and still is in order to save us from punishment.