To think that a fresh, one-day-old decision—no matter how passionate—will overpower a decades-old desire is rather foolish and unrealistic. True change comes from something deeper—a hergesh that is strong enough to persist and grow.
Home > Lessons > Holidays > Yamim Noraim > Teshuvah – Ubocharto Bachaim 2022 > – The Power of Hergesh – Teshuva with a New Lev
To think that a fresh, one-day-old decision—no matter how passionate—will overpower a decades-old desire is rather foolish and unrealistic. True change comes from something deeper—a hergesh that is strong enough to persist and grow.
One of the recurring challenges we face when attempting to engage in Teshuvah is the difficulty in maintaining the changes we commit to. We make resolutions that, deep down, we know will not last. Every year, we try to address this issue, yet we repeatedly find that the commitments we make during the Yomim Noraim fade away after just a few weeks. The goal of Teshuvah is not just to make decisions, but to effect real, lasting change that continues throughout the year.
Rabbienu Yonah, in Yisod HaTeshuvah, offers guidance on how to approach this challenge. He explains that the process of Teshuvah involves a complete rebirth: “ישליך כל פשעיו אשר עשה ויעשה עצמו כאילו בו ביום נולד” —”He shall cast away all his sins and make himself as if he was born anew.” This concept of rebirth, however, is not merely a poetic expression. Rabbeinu Yonah concludes, “לכן טוב לעשות לו לב חדש“—”Therefore, he needs to create himself a new heart” . It demands a creation of a “new heart”—which is the key to ensuring that the changes we seek endure beyond the immediate period of inspiration.
Rabbienu Yonah’s call for a “new heart” refers to more than just emotions or willpower. The heart, as described by the Shulchan Aruch (Hilchos Tefillin), is the place where thoughts and emotions converge, and the creation of a “new heart” means creating a new emotional connection to Torah and mitzvos that will touch us deeply. It is this hergesh that allows the changes we make during Teshuvah to take root and grow.
When we speak of hergesh, we refer to the moment when our thoughts about something inspire a delicate emotional response within us—when the intellectual and emotional aspects of our being are so deeply intertwined that they are inseparable. This emotional connection is what sustains lasting change. Without it, the decisions we make are often shallow, doomed to fade as soon as the initial inspiration wears off.
The Alter of Kelm, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, emphasized that hergesh is central to כל התורה כולה. Take Nosei B’ol Im Chaveiro for example; it’s not simply feeling sympathy for another, rather deeply contemplating it in a way that brings about an emotional connection—and it is this process, of hisbonenus leading to hergesh, that is at the core of the entire Torah.
Furthermore, Hergesh is central to creating the “new heart” described by Rabbienu Yonah. When a person is touched by something, it is no longer just a decision; it has potential to become a part of who they are. This is what it means to be reborn in the process of Teshuvah. When we are touched by Torah and Mitzvos, that emotional connection allows the changes we seek to live and grow, rather than fading away like so many failed resolutions of the past.
One of the reasons why so many of our resolutions fail is because they lack this delicate depth. When we decide to do Teshuvah, we often make intellectual decisions without truly being moved by them. However, decisions made without hergesh are like newborns that do not survive. They are like a nefel (miscarriage) —life that was never fully born. A true rebirth, one that leads to lasting change, is built on the foundation of hergesh, where we are deeply touched by the mitzvos or Torah we engage with.
We often delude ourselves into thinking that by simply making a strong decision, we can override the deeper, long-held desires that have been with us for years. But decisions alone are fragile. New desires, no matter how passionate they seem, are weak compared to the ingrained habits and desires we’ve carried for a lifetime. To think that a fresh, barely one-day-old decision can overpower a decades-old desire is rather foolish and unrealistic. True change comes from something deeper—an emotional connection that is strong enough to persist and grow.
Hergesh is not something that fades easily. Unlike a decision, which can wane as the emotional high of the Yomim Noraim dissipates, a hergesh has the potential to last. When we are truly touched by something, it stays with us, because it is a deep internal experience rooted in the seichel. This connection creates a living, breathing change within us, one that grows and develops over time.
For example, if someone is moved by a new understanding of Tefillah, that connection continues to grow and evolve. It’s not something that was decided and forgotten; it becomes a part of the person’s ongoing relationship with davening. This is the essence of a “new heart”—a place where the Torah and Mitzvos touch us deeply and continuously.
The posuk in Yechezkel speaks of replacing a heart of stone with a heart of flesh. Interestingly, while stone heats up uniformly when exposed to heat, flesh remains warm on one side and cool on the other. This is also the difference between being emotionally overwhelmed and having a real, lasting emotional connection.
Many of us mistake emotional intensity for spiritual depth. We seek out powerful experiences—whether kumzitz gatherings or stirring speeches—thinking that these overwhelming feelings represent true change. However, this is the heart of stone at work. Real change, the kind that lasts, comes from a heart of flesh. It is a genuine feeling, but one that integrates into our lives in a balanced way, without taking over our entire being.
The key to creating a lasting hergesh is through hisbonenus—deep contemplation. When we engage in hisbonenus, we take an act that might seem mundane and find within it a deeper meaning. For instance, a simple act of preparing a cup of coffee for one’s spouse can become a powerful expression of Bein Adam LeChaveiro when viewed through the lens of hisbonenus. It’s not just about making life easier for the other person, but about showing that you think of them even when they are not in front of you.
By contemplating the deeper significance of our actions, we open ourselves to being touched by them. This, in turn, creates the emotional connection that allows those actions to take root in our hearts, ensuring that the change they inspire will endure.
You can find things that touch you in other areas too, but it must be something recurring. It’s challenging to work on something deeply impactful that doesn’t happen often. For instance, Yom Tov can be inspiring, but it happens only a few times a year—too infrequent to produce lasting change or to build a “new heart.” Instead, you need something that occurs regularly, something that will continuously affect you.
For example, when working on kedusha, you might focus on brachos. Shabbos, too, is an area for development, but since it occurs only once a week, it is much harder. You need to think about Shabbos throughout the entire week; there’s even a halacha that when you find something special during the week, you put it aside for Shabbos. This demonstrates that Shabbos, though happening only once a week, still needs to find its way into the weekday. This creates an ongoing, week-long engagement with Shabbos, which is crucial because it allows for sustained work and spiritual growth.
This leads us to a key insight: when you invest in something meaningful during Yom Kippur, it needs to have the potential to last. A fleeting desire does not have this potential. If you build your spiritual aspirations on temporary desires, those will eventually fade, and your efforts will be for naught. To create lasting change, you need to invest in something with the capacity to endure, though, of course, you will need Siyata Dishmaya for it to truly last. Like any new life, it requires divine help to stay healthy and thrive.
This is the essence of teshuva—finding that recurring element that captivates you, that touches you in a way that will lead to real change. During the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, we must consider where to invest ourselves. What area of life can lead to a “new heart,” a genuine transformation, that has the potential to develop over the entire year? Give it time to grow, let it deepen, and allow it to take root. Sometimes you need to have several things because it’s not always clear from the outset what will truly resonate. But the goal is to find that one area that can take hold, and through that, allow yourself to grow.
However, It is very important not to approach the kabbalah with the pressure that they need to last all year. When a child is born, you don’t immediately worry about how they’ll walk or do calculus at 18. Instead, you cherish the child as they are, nurturing them step by step.
The same is true with a kabbalah—don’t burden yourself with long-term expectations. Just let it grow naturally, just like a child takes time to develop—first a smile, then sitting, then standing, then walking. It takes time for life to blossom. This is what it means to have a new heart. It’s not a sudden burst of energy, but rather a slow, steady growth—a living thing that develops.
With this perspective, we can better understand Rabbi Yisroel Salanter’s teaching that we should make a kabbalah k’tanah. When we think technically, we feel we should do more, make bigger commitments. But true growth isn’t about doing everything. Being touched by Torah or mitzvos isn’t about taking on the whole Torah. You need to be touched by something specific, something that speaks to you personally.
Rabbi Yisroel also taught about Rabim Tzrichim Loi (being needed by the community), and today this concept is often misunderstood. Perhaps even a maggid shiur in a prominent yeshiva will feel confident because of his position. But if he was to leave, there would be 500 people waiting to take his place—some even better than him.
Your position doesn’t make you indispensable. What makes you essential is your unique connection to your students, your ability to personally engage with them. Similarly, in teshuvah, we need to contemplate and find why our role is not interchangeable; many people keep Shabbos, so why is your observance special? It’s only special if it touches you personally, if it becomes part of your life in a unique way.
The key to lasting Teshuvah is not just in making decisions, but in creating emotional connections that touch us deeply. Each person has their own unique place in Torah, a place where Torah touches them personally. When you are touched by Torah in your own way, that’s when you truly come alive. When our thoughts and emotions are united in a meaningful way, the changes we seek are not merely temporary resolutions, but a new life that grows and flourishes over time. This is the new life that begins on Yom Kippur—”לב חדש“—the new heart that is alive with hergesh, and continues to grow and change throughout the year.