(17) And the LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have asked; for you have truly gained My favor and I have singled you out by name.” (18) He said, “Oh, let me behold Your Presence!” (19) And He answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name LORD, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show. (20) But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live.” (21) And the LORD said, “See, there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock (22) and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand until I have passed by. (23) Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
What did Moses see? It is said: “And I will remove My hand, and you will see My back, but My face you will not see” (Exodus 33:23). Rav Ḥana bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida, the expression: “And you will see My back,” should be understood as follows: This teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who, as mentioned above, wears phylacteries, showed him the knot of the phylacteries of His head, which is worn on the back of the head.
(9) The LORD will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
(כה) ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לה' (שמות יב, כז). והנה יש להבין שאנו קורין את יום טוב המכונה בתורה בשם חג המצות אנו קורין אותו פסח, והיכן רמז זה בתורה לקרוא יום טוב זה בשם פסח, והלא בכל התורה נקרא יום טוב זה בשם חג המצות. והנה כתיב (שיר השירים ו, ג) אני לדודי ודודי לי, היינו שאנו מספרים שבחו של הקדוש ברוך הוא והקדוש ברוך הוא מספר שבח של ישראל. וכן הוא שאנו מניחין תפילין וכתיב בהן שבח של הקדוש ברוך הוא והקדוש ברוך הוא מניח תפילין שכתוב בהן שבח ישראל. ובזה יובן מה שכתוב בתנא דבי אליהו דמצוה לספר שבחן של ישראל ויש להשם יתברך נחת רוח מזה שמספר בשבחן של ישראל. ונראה הטעם, משום דאסור להסיח דעת מתפילין ומצוה על כל אדם לעסוק תמיד בתפילין, דהיינו או לספר השבח של ישראל דהיינו תפילין דמארי עלמא שכתוב בהן שבח של ישראל כדאמרינן בגמרא (ברכות ו.) תפילין דמארי עלמא מה כתיב בהו מי כעמך ישראל כו'. או לספר בשבח של הקדוש ברוך הוא דהוא תפילין של ישראל שכתוב בהם שבח השם יתברך, דהיינו שמע, קדש, והיה כי יביאך. ונמצא תמיד אנו מספרים שבח השם יתברך והשם יתברך מספר שבח ישראל. והנה חג המצות נקרא על שבח ישראל. ועיין ברש"י על פסוק ויאפו את הבצק עוגות מצות גו' וגם צדה גו'. ועיין ברש"י מגיד שבחן של ישראל כו', שמפורש בקבלה זכרתי לך כו', עיין שם. ונמצא נקרא חג המצות על שם שבח ישראל שאפו את הבצק עוגות מצות. ולזה בתורה נקרא יום טוב זה בשם חג המצות כביכו"ל השם יתברך מספר שבח של ישראל. ואנו קורין היום טוב בשם פסח על שם שבח השם יתברך ואמרתם זבח פסח הוא לה' אשר פסחכו', שהוא שבח השם יתברך על דרך הפסוק אני לדודי ודודי לי:
(25) Exodus 12,27. “you will say (answer) ‘it is a Passover offering for the Lord, etc.’” We need to examine why when the Torah has called this festival חג המצות, “the festival of unleavened breads,” we, the people, are in the habit of calling it first and foremost חג הפסח, a name that does not occur in the Torah at all.
In Song of Songs 6,3 we read: אני לדודי ודודי לי, “I alone am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.” In this verse Solomon describes the relationship between the Jewish people and its G’d and vice versa in the most flattering terms. This is demonstrated by the Jewish people in practice every time they put on phylacteries in which the praises of the Almighty are spelled out on parchment. In the Talmud B’rachot 6, we are told that G’d Himself also puts on phylacteries and that the verses contained in His phylacteries contain the praises of His people, the Jewish people. When we keep this in mind we can understand a statement recorded in Tanna de bey Eliyahu that it is a positive commandment to recite the praises of the Jewish people. In other words, G’d enjoys hearing the praises and virtues of His people being mentioned and appreciated.
The Talmud Menachot 36 advises that while wearing the phylacteries one should touch them intermittently. This is in line with the prohibition to turn one’s attention to other matters while wearing the phylacteries. [This explains why nowadays we do not wear the phylacteries except during prayer as it is too easy to violate the commandments surrounding the manner in which we are to conduct ourselves if we were to wear them all day long. Ed.] When the Talmud forbids turning one’s attention away from the phylacteries on one’s head or one’s arm, this is not to be understood literally, but it means that while wearing phylacteries one must either concentrate on the praises of the Lord or the praises of Israel. The praises of the Lord are spelled out in the Torah sections inscribed on parchment inside our phylacteries. The author quotes Rashi on 12,39 where the Torah reports that the unleavened breads of the Israelites actually were baked by the sun while the dough was slung over the women’s shoulders. The people’s faith in the Lord at that time was demonstrated by their not insisting that they wait in Egypt while their dough would bake into bread so that they would have something to eat while on the way. The term חג המצות, originated at that time. This is one example of how G’d publicises the virtues of the Jewish people. On the other hand, by calling this festival חג הפסח, we, in turn, tell the praises of the Lord Who, at that time, had deliberately passed over the houses of the Jewish people when He killed all the firstborn in Egypt. This mutually complimentary relationship between G’d and His favourite people is what Solomon referred to in Song of Songs 6,3.
Another [rather revolutionary facet Ed.] method of understanding the above verse is that the word פסח may be understood phonetically, i.e. פה סח, “when the mouth speaks,” i.e. explains the nature of the Passover to your children in the future, then the הוא, the hidden aspects of G’d.
A person is required to wear tfillin at every hour, even more than the Tzitz. A tzitz does not have even one of the remembrances and the Torah says that when it is on your head you cannot turn your thoughts away from the fact that it is on your head. How much more so can we not turn our thoughts away from the fact that we are wearing tefillin which contain many of the remembrances.
(ה) יְכַוֵּן בַּהֲנָחָתָם שֶׁצִּוָּנוּ הָקָּבָּ''ה לְהָנִיחַ אַרְבַּע פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת אֵלּוּ, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם יִחוּד שְׁמוֹ וִיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם עַל הַזְּרוֹעַ כְּנֶגֶד הַלֵּב, וְעַל הָרֹאשׁ כְּנֶגֶד הַמֹּחַ, כְּדֵי שֶׁנִּזְכֹּר נִסִים וְנִפְלָאוֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה עִמָּנוּ, שֶׁהֵם מוֹרִים עַל יִחוּדוֹ וַאֲשֶׁר לוֹ הַכֹּחַ וְהַמֶּמְשָׁלָה בָּעֶלְיוֹנִים וּבַתַּחְתּוֹנִים לַעֲשׂוֹת בָּהֶם כִּרְצוֹנוֹ, וִישַׁעְבֵּד לְהָקָּבָּ''ה הַנְּשָׁמָה שֶׁהִיא בַּמֹּחַ וְגַם הַלֵּב שֶׁהוּא עִקַּר הַתַּאֲווֹת וְהַמַּחְשָׁבוֹת, וּבָזֶה יִזְכֹּר הַבּוֹרֵא וְיַמְעִיט הֲנָאוֹתָיו וְיָנִיחַ שֶׁל יָד תְּחִלָּה וִיבָרֵךְ לְהָנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין, וְאַחַר כָּךְ יָנִיחַ שֶׁל רֹאשׁ וְלֹא יְבָרֵךְ כִּי אִם בְּרָכָה אַחַת לִשְׁתֵּיהֶם: הַגָּה: וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים לְבָרֵךְ עַל שֶׁל רֹאשׁ עַל מִצְוַת תְּפִלִּין אֲפִלּוּ לֹא הִפְסִיק בֵּינְתַיִם (הָרֹא''שׁ הל' תְּפִלִּין) וְכֵן פָּשַׁט הַמִּנְהָג בִּבְנֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז שֶׁמְּבָרְכִין ב' בְּרָכוֹת וְטוֹב לוֹמַר תָּמִיד אַחַר הַבְּרָכָה הַשְּׁנִיָּה בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד (מַהֲרִ''י בֵּן חָבִיב אָגוּר סי' ל''ח).
(5) When putting them on, have in mind that God commanded us to "put these four passages which contain [the principle of] monotheism and the Exodus on the arm opposite the heart and the head opposite the brain so that we may remember the miracles and wonders that He did for us which indicate His Unity and that He is omnipotent in heaven and on earth." And to submit to God his soul, which resides in the brain as well as his heart which represents physical desire. Through this he will remember the Creator and moderate is pleasure[-seeking]. He should put on the arm-tefillin first and say the blessing "... to place the tefillin" and afterwards put on the head tefillin without a second blessing. Note: Some say to make a second blessing on the head tefillin "...on the mitzvah of teffillin" and this is the Ashkenazic custom.
(יג) כָּל הַפָּטוּר מִקְּרִיאַת שְׁמַע פָּטוּר מִתְּפִלִּין. קָטָן שֶׁיּוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁמֹר תְּפִלָּיו אָבִיו לוֹקֵחַ לוֹ תְּפִלִּין כְּדֵי לְחַנְּכוֹ בְּמִצְוֹת. חוֹלֵי מֵעַיִם וְכָל מִי שֶׁלֹּא יָכוֹל לִשְׁמֹר אֶת נְקָבָיו אֶלָּא בְּצַעַר פָּטוּר מִן הַתְּפִלִּין. וְכָל הַטְּמֵאִים כֻּלָּן חַיָּבִין בִּתְפִלִּין כִּטְהוֹרִים. מִצְטַעֵר וּמִי שֶׁאֵין דַּעְתּוֹ מְיֻשֶּׁבֶת וּנְכוֹנָה עָלָיו פָּטוּר מִן הַתְּפִלִּין שֶׁהַמֵּנִיחַ תְּפִלִּין אָסוּר לוֹ לְהַסִּיחַ דַּעְתּוֹ מֵהֶן. כֹּהֲנִים בִּשְׁעַת הָעֲבוֹדָה וְהַלְוִיִּם בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאוֹמְרִים הַשִּׁיר עַל הַדּוּכָן וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעוֹמְדִים בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ פְּטוּרִין מִן הַתְּפִלָּה וּמִן הַתְּפִלִּין:
All those who are free from the obligation to recite the Shema are free from the obligation to wear Tfillin. If a minor knows the importance of guarding his tefillin, his father should obtain them for him to educate him in matters regarding the performance of the Mitzvah. A person with stomach problems and anyone who can control his excretory functions only with difficulty are free from the obligation to wear tfillin. In contrast, all those ritually impure are obligated to wear tfillin as if they were pure. A person who is in pain, or someone who is disturbed and cannot focus his thoughts, is free from the obligation to wear tfillin, since a person who wears his tifillin is forbidden from diverting his attention from them. Priests who are in the midst of the Temple service, Leviites who sing on the platform and Israelites while they are attending the temple ceremonies are free from the obligation to pray and wear tfillin.
(א) השמר (א) לך פן תשכח את ה' אלהיך אזהרה שלא יתגאו בני ישראל כשהקדוש ברוך הוא משפיע להם טובה ויאמרו שבריוח שלהם ועמלם הרויחו כל זה ולא יחזיקו טובה להקב"ה
The Jews should not be proud when God bestows bounty upon them, and they should not say that it is through their labors that they have attained all of this, and shall then they not be grateful to God as a result of their pride.
(ג) וְכֵיצַד הִיא הָאַהֲבָה הָרְאוּיָה. הוּא שֶׁיֹּאהַב אֶת ה' אַהֲבָה גְּדוֹלָה יְתֵרָה עַזָּה מְאֹד עַד שֶׁתְּהֵא נַפְשׁוֹ קְשׁוּרָה בְּאַהֲבַת ה' וְנִמְצָא שׁוֹגֶה בָּהּ תָּמִיד כְּאִלּוּ חוֹלֶה חֳלִי הָאַהֲבָה שֶׁאֵין דַּעְתּוֹ פְּנוּיָה מֵאַהֲבַת אוֹתָהּ אִשָּׁה וְהוּא שׁוֹגֶה בָּהּ תָּמִיד בֵּין בְּשִׁבְתּוֹ בֵּין בְּקוּמוֹ בֵּין בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה. יֶתֶר מִזֶּה תִּהְיֶה אַהֲבַת ה' בְּלֵב אוֹהֲבָיו שׁוֹגִים בָּהּ תָּמִיד כְּמוֹ שֶׁצִּוָּנוּ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ. וְהוּא שֶׁשְּׁלֹמֹה אָמַר דֶּרֶךְ מָשָׁל (שיר השירים ב ה) "כִּי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי". וְכָל שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים מָשָׁל הוּא לְעִנְיָן זֶה:
(3) What is the appropriate Love? It is that a person should love God with a great and very excessive love, until his souls is bound up in love of God and he focuses on it constantly as if he were lovesick and could not take his mind off of some woman, whether sitting, standing, even when he eats and drinks. Beyond this, love of God should be in their hearts constantly, as we were commanded: with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 6:5). Thus [King] Solomon said, as a metaphor, for I am lovesick (Song of Songs 2:5), for all of Song of Songs is a metaphor for this matter.
(י) מַהוּ זֶה שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ לְהַשִּׂיג כְּשֶׁאָמַר (שמות לג יח) "הַרְאֵנִי נָא אֶת כְּבֹדֶךָ". בִּקֵּשׁ לֵידַע אֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַד שֶׁיִּהְיֶה יָדוּעַ בְּלִבּוֹ כְּמוֹ יְדִיעַת אֶחָד מִן הָאֲנָשִׁים שֶׁרָאָה פָּנָיו וְנֶחְקְקָה צוּרָתוֹ בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁנִּמְצָא אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ נִפְרָד בְּדַעְתּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר הָאֲנָשִׁים. כָּךְ בִּקֵּשׁ משֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ לִהְיוֹת מְצִיאוּת הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נִפְרֶדֶת בְּלִבּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר הַנִּמְצָאִים עַד שֶׁיֵּדַע אֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר הִיא. וֶהֱשִׁיבוֹ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֵין כֹּחַ בְּדַעַת הָאָדָם הַחַי שֶׁהוּא מְחֻבָּר מִגּוּף וְנֶפֶשׁ לְהַשִּׂיג אֲמִתַּת דָּבָר זֶה עַל בֻּרְיוֹ. וְהוֹדִיעוֹ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַה שֶּׁלֹּא יָדַע אָדָם לְפָנָיו וְלֹא יֵדַע לְאַחֲרָיו. עַד שֶׁהִשִּׂיג מֵאֲמִתַּת הִמָּצְאוֹ דָּבָר שֶׁנִּפְרָד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּדַעְתּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר הַנִּמְצָאִים. כְּמוֹ שֶׁיִּפָּרֵד אֶחָד מִן הָאֲנָשִׁים שֶׁרָאָה אֲחוֹרָיו וְהִשִּׂיג כָּל גּוּפוֹ וּמַלְבּוּשׁוֹ בְּדַעְתּוֹ מִשְּׁאָר גּוּפֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים. וְעַל דָּבָר זֶה רָמַז הַכָּתוּב וְאָמַר (שמות לג כג) "וְרָאִיתָ אֶת אֲחֹרָי וּפָנַי לֹא יֵרָאוּ":
(10) What did Moses our teacher request to investigate when he said "Show me, please, Your glory" (Ex. 33:18)? He requested to know the truth of the existence of the Holy One, blessed be He, until He would be known in Moses' mind. [This is] like the knowledge of a man who sees a face and then that image becomes etched in his mind, so that that man is distinct in his mind from all other men. Thus Moses our teacher requested that the existence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, be distinct in his mind from the existence of everything else that exists, until he know the truth of His existence as it is. And the Holy One answered that the knowledge of mortal man does not have the strength, since his body and soul are connected, to investigate the truth of this matter to completion. And the Holy One made known what man did not know before him and what he did not know after him, until he investigated from the truth of His existence the matter that the Holy One, blessed is He, was distinct in [Moses'] mind from everything else that exists, as one man will be distinct from a group of men when he only sees his back and becomes aware of his entire body and clothing in his mind from all the other bodies of other men. And that which is written hints at this matter and says, "And you shall see My back, but My face will not be seen" (Ex. 33:23).
(א) הָאֵל הַנִּכְבָּד וְהַנּוֹרָא הַזֶּה מִצְוָה לְאָהֳבוֹ וּלְיִרְאָה אוֹתוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו ה) "וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ". וְנֶאֱמַר (דברים ו יג) "אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ תִּירָא":
(1) It is a mitzvah to love and fear this glorious and awesome God, as [Deuteronomy 6:5] states: "And you shall love God, your Lord" and, as [Deuteronomy 6:13] states: "Fear God, your Lord."What is the path [to attain] love and fear of Him? When a person contemplates His wondrous and great deeds and creations and appreciates His infinite wisdom that surpasses all comparison, he will immediately love, praise, and glorify [Him], yearning with tremendous desire to know [God's] great name, as David stated: "My soul thirsts for the Lord, for the living God" [Psalms 42:3].
Rav Aharon Lichtenstein
"SIN CROUCHES AT THE DOOR"
I have spoken heretofore in general, universal terms or, if you want to narrow it somewhat, in terms which address themselves specifically to klal Yisrael. I want to add something with respect to the particular segment of klal Yisrael sitting before me tonight. The verse (Bereishit 4:7) says: "Sin crouches at the door." But presumably not the same sin at every door. Each door, each domicile, each community with its particular sin, with a particular spiritual danger indigenous to it, endemic to that group or that individual. The Chafetz Chayim once commented that different generations have different pitfalls. There are generations that succumb particularly to idolatry, others to desecration of Shabbat, some to sins between man and his Maker, and others to interpersonal sins. Each community, each individual has his own "door" and his own sin to which he is susceptible. What might be regarded as the "sin that crouches at the door" of this assembly?
In one's relationship to God, there are two preeminent spiritual dangers. First, there is avoda zara (foreign worship, or idolatry) and, broadly speaking, whatever relates to it -- superstition and misguided conceptions of God. There is also a second danger: kefira, atheism -- not that a person misconstrues and misconceives God, but that he does not worship altogether.
There have been debates as to which should be regarded as being worse. Bacon opens his essay "On Atheism" by quoting Plutarch's remark that superstition is worse than atheism because -- referring to Greek mythology -- he would prefer that people say that Plutarch had never existed, to stating that he had existed but ate his children. The eighteenth century, more rational in its thinking, by and large accepted Plutarch's and Bacon's judgements. Better to deny the existence of God, better to be removed from Him, than to be caught up in narrow, ignorant, superstitious worship.
The nineteenth century, by and large, particularly in its Romantic religious thought, disagreed. It felt that the groping for some kind of spiritual reality, giving expression to spirituality in various modes -- however primitive, narrow or misguided -- was to be preferred to the kind of rarefied religiosity (or non-religiosity) which the eighteenth century left as a legacy to the Romantics. Newman, in a celebrated passage, wrote that "What this country [i.e. England in the 1830's and 40's] needs is not less superstition, but more superstition" -- out of a sense that for all its faults, it nevertheless entails an awareness of spiritual reality and a quest for it.
If pressed to the wall, I would opt for Newman without . But of course we ought not, we cannot, allow ourselves to be pressed to the wall. We need to be sensitive to both dangers. Which is more threatening? To a certain extent, that is a function of a given historical and sociological situation, depending upon the era, depending upon the community.
What is the danger that lurks for this community? Of what does it need to be particularly wary because its inclination lies in that direction?
I believe that the sin lurking at the door of the Modern Orthodox or Religious Zionist community, the danger which confronts us and of which we need to be fully aware, is precisely the danger of shikhecha. Unlike other communities, this is a community which is not so susceptible to avoda zara in its extension -- attitudes the Rambam battled against, such as superstition and gross or primitive conceptions of God -- because it is more sophisticated intellectually, religiously, and philosophically. Unfortunately, however, it is very, very susceptible to extended kefira or shikhecha, lacking the immanent sense of God felt so deeply, keenly, and pervasively in other parts of the halakhically-committed Jewish world.....
NEARNESS TO GOD
We might single out a particular sin from the “Al chet,” the litany of sins we recite, which (at least as some have interpreted) relates to this particular situation: “Al chet she-chatanu lefanekha bi-veli da’at, for the sin which we have sinned before You without knowledge.” The viddui contains two kinds of confessions. There are those which are themselves sins, and others which are not inherently sins, but are either areas of experience or activity within which the sin takes place, or a kind of quality or mind-set which attends upon the sin. “Bi-veli da’at” can be understood in two ways. Some, perhaps most, would be inclined to understand it in the second sense: it is that which enables us to be sinners. We were not sufficiently heedful, and as a result a particular sin ensued.
But some have understood “bi-veli da’at” as being itself a sin. A certain mindlessness is a failing inasmuch as we do not then fully realize the tzelem E-lokim (image of God) within us—to the extent that one accepts the Rambam’s view that tzelem E-lokim is da’at, knowledge. Even if one does not subscribe to that view, surely da’at is one aspect of tzelem E-lokim. To the extent, then, that our da’at is not maximized, we fail to realize our potential tzelem Elokim. Quite apart from that, inasmuch as the “beli da’at,” the lack of focus and concentration, defines our relationship to God, we are not “perpetually dwelling upon God.” When some quantitative or qualitative shikhecha intrudes, that “bi-veli da’at” is a sin in its own right. And, I repeat, this is a particular sin which confronts and afflicts this sector of the religious community.
That being the case, the teshuva which is specifically incumbent upon us is the teshuva of return, of narrowing the distance, of no longer forgetting, of intensifying our awareness, of bridging the gap. At one level, that entails genuinely sensing and understanding with the totality of our being—not simply in our intellectual formulations, but with the whole fiber of our existence— that indeed obliterating the distance is our ultimate good, our summum bonum. We must fully identify with King David when he says (Tehillim 73:27): “As for me, nearness to God is good”— that is good, and only that is good. Secondly, it entails making the effort—both personally and communally—to close that gap, to bring ourselves closer to God and hopefully, therefore, God closer to us.
These are days during which He is close already; Chazal say, on the verse in Yeshayahu (55:6), “Seek God when He is present, call Him when He is near,” that this refers to the ten days from Rosh Ha-shana to Yom Kippur. These are days in which one hears the message of the prophet calling those from afar and those who are close (Yeshayahu 57:19). As Chazal say: “‘To the near and far’—to the far that he should be near” (Sanhedrin 99a). This is a call to one who is not necessarily a sinner in the ordinary sense, but simply distant, his mind engaged in other concerns, with God somewhere on the periphery.
These are days when God, being so near, calls for the determination and resolve that we, on our part, shall go towards Him—as He has extended Himself and His hand to us—transcending the sin that lurks at our door, the sin of shikhecha, of distance, of dissociation. These are days during which the effort needs to be made and during which, we hope, when the effort is made, it shall be crowned at a personal and communal level with success: that God should accept our return with love. As we say in the Zikhronot prayer of Rosh Ha-shana:
Happy is the man who does not forget You, who gains courage in You, for those who seek You shall never stumble, nor shall those who trust in You ever be disgraced.