Pre-Selichos 5784

אמר שמואל בעניין משמיה דרב מניין לגזר דין של ציבור שאינו נחתם. אינו נחתם והכתיב נכתם עוונך לפניי אלא אף על גב שנחתם נקרע.

What's the source that the appeal process for a gzar din against the tzibur is never closed? The gzar din is never finally sealed, שנאמר כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו. We can call out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu in tefillah at any time. והכתיב דרשו השם בהימצאו? Apparently, there's a season when Hakadosh Baruch Hu is behimatzo, kir'uhu behyoto karov. There's a time when he's karov. hatam beyachid. The pasuk in Yeshayahu is referring to the access, kavyachol, that an individual has to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. hacha, the pasuk in V'etchanan, k'Hashem Elokeinu, is referring to the tzibur.

ביחיד אימת? אמר רבה בר אבוה אלו עשרה ימים שבין ראש השנה ליום הכיפורים.

When the Rambam presents this gemara in Perek Bet of Hilchos Teshuva, the Rambam writes: אף על פי שהתשובה והצעקה יפה לעולם. There's no season for teshuva on one level. It's always timely. It's always appropriate. But nevertheless,

בעשרה הימים שבין ראש השנה ליום הכיפורים היא יפה ביותר ומתקבלת היא מיד.

It's especially timely and appropriate during Aseres Yimei Teshuva,

שנאמר דרשו השם בהימצאו קראוהו בהיותו קרוב. במה דברים אמורים ביחיד? אבל ציבור כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם הם נענין.

But when the community, when the tzibur engage in teshuva and cry out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu wholeheartedly, so hem ne'anin regardless of the season of the year. Now the pasuk in Chumash speaks of כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו, that we can always call out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu in tefillah. There's no mention of teshuva. The Rambam stipulates כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם. That guarantee that the Torah gives us of כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו is only when the tefillah is linked to, is an outgrowth of, is an expression of teshuva. I've had the impression over the course of this past, I think probably for all of us, unprecedented year within our lifespans, that whereas there has been some focus on tefillah, that the focus on the teshuva of the עושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם, perhaps hasn't been adequate. But where does the Rambam know that from? k'Hashem Elokeinu, the pasuk, כי מי גוי גדול, the pasuk in V'etchanan,

כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו

speaks of the koach of tefillas hatzibur. And this isn't an isolated instance in the Rambam. The Torah has in Parshas Behaalosecha the mitzvah of blowing the chatzotzros, the trumpets, in event of a milchama or any other peril,

וכי תבואו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצרר אתכם והרעתם בחצצרות ונזכרתם לפני השם. ונזכרתם לפני יהוה אלהיכם ונושעתם מאיביכם.

The Rambam interprets and identifies the mitzvah of blowing the chatzotzros with tfila. His introduction to Hilchos Tanios is

מצות עשה אחת והיא לזעוק לפני השם בכל עת צרה גדולה שלא תבוא על הציבור.

In the Halachos, in the body of the Halachos,

מצות עשה מן התורה לזעוק ולהריע בחצוצרות על כל צרה שתבוא על הציבור שנאמר על הצר הצורר אתכם והרעותם בחצצרות כלומר כל דבר שיצר לכם,

and anything which is, which is threatening you, any, any circumstance which results in your being in dire straits כגון בצורת ודבר וארבה, it, it can be an enemy attacking or it can be a, a threat of a natural calamity, a plague or the like, rachmana litzlan, בחצצרות זעקו עליהן והריעו. So the Rambam is clear that the mitzvah which the Torah mandated is a mitzvah of tfila, albeit in the special form of chatzotzros. And yet the Rambam continues and says ודבר זה מדרכי התשובה הוא. This isn't tfila isolated, but this is rather tfila as part of a reaction of teshuva. The same nexus that, that we, that we observed earlier in Hilchos Teshuva of וציבור כל זמן שעושין תשובה וצועקין בלב שלם. The osin teshuva is the context for the, for the koach hatfila, the, as it were, irresistible koach hatfila, the same is here too, the Torah is promising ונזכרתם לפני יהוה אלהיכם. The same as כה' אלהינו בכל קראנו אליו, there's a guarantee that the Torah is giving, and the Rambam says the tfila here is not isolated, it's in context of and an outgrowth of teshuva. Let's try to understand what that connection is. Let's perhaps begin initially just by noting a pattern that, that emerges from a few halachos in Hilchos Teshuva. Rambam begins Hilchos Teshuva that

כל מצות שבתורה בין עשה בין לא תעשה, אם עבר אדם על אחת מהן בין בזדון בין בשגגה,

for any of the mitzvos hatorah, whether intentional or unintentional violation,

כשיעשה תשובה וישוב מחטאו חייב להתוודות לפני האל ברוך הוא.

So the Rambam again defines the mitzvah of viduy of articulating the teshuva as lifnei hakeil. In פרק ב הלכה ד, when the Rambam describes teshuva not as a moment of teshuva but as a process, and therefore there's a lifestyle that, that the individual adopts during that teshuva process, מדרכי התשובה להיות השב צועק תמיד לפני השם. The Rambam in the next halacha, based on a Gemara in Yuma, distinguishes the teshuva for an עבירה בין אדם לחברו as opposed to a תשובה בין אדם למקום in terms of whether or not one publicly asks for mechila. That by bein adam lachaveiro part of mollifying one's, one's friend is the public element of it. That's gratuitous and therefore inappropriate by תשובה בין אדם למקום. And the Rambam writes

אבל בעבירה שבין אדם למקום אינו צריך לפרסם עצמו ועזות פנים היא לו אם גילם,

it's, it's brazenness if a person gratuitously reveals his sins bein adam lamakom אלא שב לפני האל ברוך הוא. But perhaps the most powerful expression of teshuvah lifnei hakel is here in פרק ב הלכה ב. Rambam writes: Umah hi hateshuvah? What is teshuvah? הוא שיעזוב החוטא חטאו. The sinner distances himself, he abandons his chet. Veyisirenu mimachshavto. It’s no longer a potential course of action. ויגמור בלבו שלא יעשהו עוד. He resolves not to repeat the chet,

שנאמר יעזוב רשע דרכו ואיש און מחשבותיו. וכן ינחם על שעבר.

He also experiences remorse over the past, שנאמר כי אחרי שובי נחמתי. ויעיד עליו יודע תעלומות. The meforshei haRambam explain here that vaya’id alav means that the chotei, the one engaging in teshuvah calls Hakadosh Baruch Hu to serve as his witness, as in the pasuk that we had today I think, ואעידה בם את השמים ואת הארץ. That leha’id can mean to give testimony, or it can mean to call someone to testify. And here the Rambam’s using it in that latter sense, ויעיד עליו יודע תעלומות, that the shav, that the penitent calls Hakadosh Baruch Hu who knows a person’s thoughts to attest that his resolve, his determination are such שלא ישוב לזה החטא לעולם, that he’ll never repeat this chet, שנאמר ולא נאמר עוד אלהינו למעשה ידינו. So the Rambam here has the kabbalah lehaba. He splits it into two stages. ויגמור בלבו שלא יעשהו עוד. Then the Rambam inserts the veyinachem al she’avar. And then the Rambam once again talks about that resolve and determination שלא ישוב לזה החטא לעולם. What’s added at the second stage of that resolve and that determination? Two things. Number one, initially ויגמור בלבו שלא יעשהו עוד translates, I’m not going to do this again. שלא ישוב לזה החטא לעולם, I will never ever ever ever regress and repeat the chet. There’s an absoluteness at the second stage which is not there in the first stage. The first stage is I’m not going to do it. The second is it’s an absolute categorical commitment regardless of the provocation, regardless of how trying circumstances may be. And the absoluteness is such, and here comes the second difference between the two stages of kabbalah lehaba, that the first one, as it were, is just between a person and himself. ויגמור בלבו שלא יעשהו עוד. He’s not inviting Hakadosh Baruch Hu to attest to that. He’s not ready at this stage. At the second stage where the kabbalah is absolute and categorical, so then the person invites Hakadosh Baruch Hu but let’s reflect on that for a moment, rabosai. There’s a intimacy here at this ultimate stage of the teshuvah. The teshuvah clearly here is not simply that the person has changed a habit, has has corrected a flaw has strategized how not to repeat the Cheit. All of that is true. But at this point the person is engaging with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The initial stages of Teshuva a person is engaging with himself. A person is hearing the voice of his conscience. A person is recognizing shortcoming, flaw and looking to affect change. The culmination of Teshuva however is when the person engages with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The difference between the two was not only in how absolute and categorical the commitment is, it's that now as the Teshuva peaks, the person's engaging with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So much so that Yodeiah Taalumos, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, you're right here, you know, you know that I mean it, you know how deep the resolve runs, ויעיד עליו יודע תעלומות שלא ישוב לזה החטא לעולם. In fact, if you look at the context of the pasuk that the Rambam quotes for as the prooftext ולא נאמר עוד אלהינו למעשי ידינו, so the pesukim come from this week's the Haftorah for Shabbat Shuva. So it's pasuk four that the Rambam's quoting. But if you see in context, so the Navi says

שובה ישראל עד ה' אלהיך כי כשלת בעונך. קחו עמכם דברים ושובו אל ה'

there's an oral, verbal dimension to Teshuva as well, קחו עמכם דברים ושובו אל ה'. So ולא נאמר עוד אלהינו למעשי ידינו is in the context of שובה ישראל עד ה' אלהיך. What does it mean שובה ישראל עד ה' אלהיך? The Rambam tells us in Perek Zayin of Hilchot Teshuva, גדולה תשובה שמקרבת את האדם לשכינה. Maybe to understand a little bit more what this hiskarvus to Hakadosh Baruch Hu involves, let's look at two other Rambams. Af al pi says the Rambam שתקיעת שופר בראש השנה gezeirat hakatuv. Ultimately every mitzvah is inscrutable, we don't presume to assign an absolute reason for any mitzvah. But nevertheless remez yesh bo. But we are able to glean what the religious content of a mitzvah is. And in the case of shofar, the message of the kol shofar, כלומר עורו עורו ישנים משנתכם. The Rambam has the word uru twice, there's a sense of urgency. עורו עורו ישנים משנתכם, it's Rosh Hashanah, there's a sense of urgency in doing the Teshuva. Awaken from your sleep, venirdamim hakitsu mitardamaschem, if it's a deeper sleep, if it's a slumber, so even from that be aroused. וחפשו במעשיכם וחזרו בתשובה. And what's the culmination? The culmination is vezichru borachem. Ultimately the essence of Teshuva is that a person becomes God-conscious, focused on Hakadosh Baruch Hu, knowing Hakadosh Baruch Hu and thereby connected to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. When the Rambam paraphrases the Gemara in Yoma illustrating, giving us a snapshot of Teshuva, so the Rambam, the caption is as follows: איזו היא תשובה גמורה, this is the Rambam's painting a picture for us with words. It's a snapshot.

איזו היא תשובה גמורה זה שבאה לידו דבר שעבר בו ואפשר בידו לעשות ולעשותו ופירש ולא עשה מפני התשובה.

Circumstances are repeat. He finds himself in the same situation where previously he had sinned, and this time he doesn't, and the only thing that's changed is the Teshuva. לא מיראה ולא מכשלון כוח. Not from fear of some human agency, not because of lack of physical stamina. Keitzad?

הרי שבאה אשה בעבירה לאחר זמן ונתייחד עמה והוא עומד באהבתו בה ובכוח גופו ובמדינה שעבר בה,

all the circumstances are the same, but this time uperash velo avar זהו בעל תשובה גמורה, hu sheShlomo omer וזכור את בוראך בימי בחורותיך. So what did the Teshuva consist of? What is it that resulted in the fact that this ba'al teshuva gemura resisted the temptation, didn't succumb to cheit? He was zocheir es boro. Teshuva means that we move to a different level in terms of our awareness, our consciousness of, our focus upon HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Perhaps it's for this reason that the Rambam has an absolutely remarkable comment in the Moreh about Teshuva. The Rambam writes as follows: שאי אפשר לאדם שלא יחטא ויפשע. Cheit is inevitable. אם שיסכל ביסכל בדעת שיבחרהו, maybe a person will foolishly adopt a certain belief, או מידה והיא בלתי נבחרת באמת, or a person will cultivate a certain character trait which is really unwelcome, o letigbores ta'ava, maybe the cheit will result from an overwhelming desire, o kaas, the overwhelming desire, o kaas, or a person will become angry and lose the self-control as a result. ולא יאמין האדם שלא יוכל לתקן זה המעוות לעולם, if a person would erroneously believe that he could not correct that and that the blemish, the fact that he's sullied, was irreversible, היה מתמיד על טעותו, he would continue, he would persist in his error. ואפשר שהיה מוסיף במריו אחר שלא נשאר לו תחבולה. And maybe out of a sense of ye'ush, he would even compound his cheit. Ach me'emunas hateshuva, but when a person recognizes the belief in Teshuva,

יתקן וישוב אל הטוב שבעניינים ויותר שלם ממה שהיה קודם שיחטא.

After Teshuva, it's not just that a person gets back to the status quo ante. It's not just that a person is able to return to where he was before he fell. A person is יותר שלם ממה שהיה קודם שיחטא. He achieves a madreiga which is higher than the one they had before the cheit. The intensification, the deepening of his awareness of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, HaKadosh Baruch Hu's presence in his life increases, is magnified, and ultimately that's what Teshuva is. When when in פרק ב הלכה א when the person finds himself in that circumstance of cheit, so what happens? V'zocher Boro. When does Hakadosh Baruch Hu answer tefillah? How is Hakadosh Baruch Hu being poised to accept and answer tefillah depicted? So if you go back to the pasuk in Va'etchanan that Chazal were commenting on,

כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu responding to, accepting our tefillos is a function of kirvah. It's a function of that connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We say the pasuk three times a day when we speak of Hakadosh Baruch Hu being ready to answer tefillah, קרוב ה' לכל קוראיו. For tefillah to be accepted, there has to be kirvah. For a guarantee that tefillah is going to be accepted, there has to be kirvah. Says the Rambam,

כי מי גוי גדול אשר לו אלוהים קרובים אליו כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו.

There's a circumstance where Hakadosh Baruch Hu is going to be קרוב בכל קראנו אליו, but kirvah results from teshuva. And yitachen that the correct translation, if we come back to the Rambam with which we began in פרק ב הלכה ו, that the correct translation of הציבור כל זמן שעושים תשובה וצועקים בלב שלם, it's not a sequence, there's a simultaneity. כל זמן שעושים תשובה, they're in the midst of teshuva, there's an acute awareness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is close to us when we're close to Him. The Rambam writes, if you take a look in page three in the Moreh Perek Nun Alef,

הלא בארתי לך שזה השכל אשר שפע עלינו מהשם יתעלה הוא הדיבוק אשר בינינו ובינו.

How do we come close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu? Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not physical. There isn't physical proximity. How do we become close to Hakadosh Baruch Hu? The Rambam says with the sechel. Emuna ba'Hashem, yedias Hashem, focus upon Hakadosh Baruch Hu, הוא הדיבוק אשר בינינו ובינו. And that's the ultimate stage and attainment of teshuva where we forge that kirvah. We forge that kirvah, that's the basis of the כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו. That's what the Rambam says. If you find the Torah guaranteeing, as it does, guaranteeing that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will answer the tefillah, כה' אלוהינו בכל קראנו אליו, v'hareosem bachatzotzros v'nizkartem. The guarantee, not maybe, ונזכרתם לפני ה' אלוהיכם ונושעתם מאויביכם. It must be that the tefillah is an outgrowth of, is an expression of the teshuva. When a tefillah emerges from that v'zocher Boro which forges that kirvah, so then Hakadosh Baruch Hu guarantees, Hakadosh Baruch Hu guarantees that He responds to our tefillah. When the Rambam, you have it here on the top of page two, gives us the quintessential Nusach Havidui, so the Rambam says,

כיצד מתוודים אומר אנא השם חטאתי עויתי פשעתי לפניך ועשיתי כך וכך והרי ניחמתי ובושתי במעשי.

A person expresses his shame and embarrassment over Chait. The Rambam's Makor we know, we say the Pasuk in Selichos, I think it's

עזרא הסופר אמר לפניך אלוקי בשתי וגם נכלמתי להרים פני אליך.

What's expressed? And why is the person embarrassed? Embarrassment is a function of exposure. If a person does something improper, but no one catches him in it, his misdeed is not publicized, he's not exposed, there's no embarrassment, there's no shame. If a person acts foolishly, but no one witnesses it, so there's no shame. If I walk into an empty room and I clumsily trip over my own feet, but no one's there to witness it, I don't feel any shame. If I walk into a room which is full of people, so then the same act induces shame. So why is it that there's always Busha associated with Chait? I think most of us, most of us, because as Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai told his Talmidim, because Mora Basar Vadam, we relate to more than Mora Shamayim, most of us are careful to do our Chata'im in private. That's the way I, that's my modus operandi. So what's the Busha? What's the Busha? No one knows about it. No one knows about it. So apparently when a person is Misvadeh, there's such an acute feeling of the presence of Hakodesh Baruch Hu that he's embarrassed before Hakodesh Baruch Hu. And that's, again, כשיעשה תשובה וישוב מחטאו, again, so what's, how does it culminate? It culminates with החייב להתוודות לפני האל, that the person can say Nichamti Uvoshti, Ribbono Shel Olam, I feel Your presence. It's so real to me. I'm attuned to the reality of the presence of Your presence, so that Boshti. Sufficiently so that I experience, I experience shame, I'm ashamed, I'm embarrassed to stand before You and acknowledge Chatati Aviti Pashati. A person who reaches that stage, and that's the stage that we work towards in our Teshuvah, there's a Hiskarvus, גדולה תשובה שמקרבת האדם לשכינה, and then Mimeila, Mimeila, with the Teshuvah, so then there's a, that's what guarantees the response to Tfillah. Teshuvah all year long, sometimes it has to be waited to be accepted, until עשרת ימי תשובה מתקבלת מיד, so Hakodesh Baruch Hu, so the Yachid also has this Koach, and the Tzibbur, it's כאשר אלקינו בכל קראנו אליו, but it has to be an outgrowth of Tfillah. Just wanted to share one other idea before we begin Selichos. We saw the Psukim in Parshas Behaaloscha. About what our reaction to milchama is

וכי תבוא מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצרר אתכם והרעותם בחצצרות.

Tefilla which again as the Rambam explains, tefilla in context of, as an outgrowth of, as an expression of teshuva. That's one parsha in the Torah. Then the Torah has another parsha here on the bottom of page three.

כי תצא למלחמה על איביך וראית סוס ורכב עם רב ממך לא תירא מהם.

You'll see that you're going against a force which is more powerful than you, nevertheless don't fear them כי ה' אלהיך עמך המעלך מארץ מצרים. Cuz Hakadosh Baruch Hu is with you. והיה כקרבכם אל המלחמה ונגש הכהן ודבר אל העם, the kohen moshuach milchama speaks to the people

ואמר אליהם שמע ישראל אתם קרבים היום למלחמה על אויביכם.

Al yeirach levavchem, don't be timid, al tir'u, don't be afraid, אל תחפזו ואל תערצו מפניהם, don't be broken,

כי ה' אלהיכם ההלך עמכם להלחם לכם עם איביכם להושיע אתכם.

So two very different reactions to milchama. Parshas Behaalosecha the Torah speaks of the need for teshuva u'tefilla and in Parshas Shoftim there's no hint to it. Especially if you follow the view in the Tannaim that מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב is k'pshuto, that doesn't mean because of aveira she'beyado. So that means that amongst the armed forces there are ba'alei aveira and yet the moshuach milchama doesn't say anything about teshuva. The Torah doesn't integrate the two parshiyos. The Torah doesn't integrate the v'hareiosem bachatzotzrot with the kohen moshuach milchama. We would have expected that part of the kohen moshuach milchama that in addition to כי ה' אלהיכם ההלך עמכם would be the divrei mussar, divrei hisorerus. No, the two are disjointed as it were. Torah doesn't integrate them. The Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim:

מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב כמשמעו שאין בלבו כח לעמד בקשרי המלחמה.

He's afraid of war. ומאחר שיכנס בקשרי המלחמה, when the chayal does enter battle ישען על מקוה ישראל ומושיעו בעת צרה. He should rely upon Hakadosh Baruch Hu in whom we place our hope and who saves us in an eis tzara. וידע שעל יחוד השם הוא עושה מלחמה. He should know that this isn't a battle over territory, it's a battle over yichud Hashem. The Rambam again towards the end of this halacha reflects that same understanding and says how the kavana of the chayal should be l'kadesh shem Shamayim. The background to this, the understanding of history the Rambam provides in Iggeres Teiman, that from the time Hakadosh Baruch Hu by giving us the Torah singled us out from all the other nations of the world, so we've been the victims of their deep hatred. Kinunu, they're jealous o'er the avodah zarah כלם על דתנו קנאה גדולה. Ve'ein lecha zman, three lines from the end of this excerpt, מאז שנתנה לנו תורה זו עד זמננו זה, right from the time the Torah was given, the Rambam says until the 12th century, it hasn't changed since then,

שכל מלך עובד עבודה זרה גובר ומכריח ומתגבר באונס שאין תחילת כוונתו ודעתו לסתור תורתנו ולהפוך דתנו באונס ובניצחון ובחרב כמו עמלק וסיסרא וסנחריב ונבוכדנצר וטיטוס ואדריאנוס והרבה כיוצא בהם.

The reason that every milchama is al yichud Hashem and why the chayal appropriately can have and should have a kavana lekadeish Hashem is because sinas Yisrael is rejection of bechiras Yisrael. It's really milchama being waged against Hakadosh Baruch Hu, denying Hakadosh Baruch Hu's prerogative to engage in bechira, and because of that every milchama is a milchama of yichud Hashem. So apparently when a person goes to fight al yichud Hashem, that in and of itself elevates him. He doesn't need teshuva. Parshas Behaaloscha is for those who are not yotzei lamilchama. Those who are not engaged in yichud Hashem, in kiddush Hashem, so they have the chiyuv of teshuva and tefilla. And lich'ora it's not coincidental that the Rambam in the same halacha has the מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב כמשמעו and then he segues to ידע שעל ייחוד השם עושה מלחמה. What's the connection? So the connection perhaps is this: by saying mi ha'ish hayarei verach haleivav is like its simple meaning, the Rambam says that means there are baalei aveira in the ranks of our forces. But nevertheless, since the person is על ייחוד השם הוא עושה מלחמה, so that in and of itself, is there a teshuva greater than that? It doesn't conform with the nusach viduy, it doesn't parallel the specific elements of the normal track of teshuva, but is there a greater teshuva than that, שעל ייחוד השם עושה מלחמה? Is there a greater teshuva than that, that the person is שם נפשו בכפו לקדש השם? And the truth is that we have a parallel phenomenon in Rosh Hashanah. The paradox of Rosh Hashanah is Rosh Hashanah yom hadin, Rosh Hashanah the first day of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. The Rambam says that in order for teshuva to be mechaperes, viduy is indispensable, and we're not misvadei on Rosh Hashanah. So we understand why there's no viduy on Rosh Hashanah, because the mere mention of cheit contradicts malchuyos. Even in the context of teshuva, even in the context of viduy, to mention cheit, right, as the machzorim indicate that the Arizal used to skip the first Avinu Malkeinu on Rosh Hashanah, even in that context not to mention cheit. The mere mention of cheit contradicts malchuyos. משל למה הדבר דומה: Imagine there's a coronation and in the midst of the coronation when everyone's pledging their absolute loyalty and obedience to the king, so a villager comes over and says, "Remember when you were the prince? Remember how you once visited this village and someone threw eggs at you? Well, that was me and I want you to know that I really feel remorse." So obviously that's totally inappropriate. In the midst of a coronation there can't be any mention of any dishonor for the king. So in Rosh Hashanah we can't tolerate mention of cheit. We understand that. But where does that leave us? That leaves us handicapped in terms of the yom hadin, it leaves us handicapped in terms of the first of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. So obviously it's something to be aware of before Rosh Hashanah when we don't have that constraint and we don't have that limitation. But lich'ora the answer is as follows, that the malchuyos of Rosh Hashanah, if a person genuinely, genuinely is imlu lefanai... אמרו לפני מלכויות כדי שתמליכוני עליכם, so that's again, it doesn't parallel the specific elements of the normal track of teshuva. But

אין לך תשובה גדולה מזו. אין לך תשובה גדולה מזו.

A person really is mamlitch Hakadosh Baruch Hu with all its implications of what it means to recognize malchus shamayim, to commit oneself to malchus shamayim, to to pray for the universality of malchus shamayim, אין לך תשובה גדולה מזו. The same way, the same way the chayal, he doesn't in parshas Behaaloscha. The fact that על ייחוד השם הוא עושה מלחמה and

ותהא כוונתו לקדש את השם, אין לך תשובה גדולה מזו.

There, it could be that he's a person who has aveiros beyado, because מי האיש הירא ורך הלבב כמשמעו? The ba'al aveiros wasn't sent home, he wasn't, he wasn't discharged. But the fact that it's al yichad Hashem, that's אין לך תשובה גדולה מזו. On Rosh Hashanah, if a person genuinely, knowingly, with a depth, אמרו לפני מלכויות כדי שתמליכוני עליכם is אין לך תשובה גדולה מזו and in that zechus he's nichtav venechtam.