What Do These "Shovavim" Days Mean to Us?

by Rabbi Gur-Aryeh Argaman, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel

The initial letters of the weekly Torah portions that we read publicly over the course of the next few weeks, starting with Shmot, spell out the Hebrew word "Shovavim." Thus, the coming weeks are the "Days of Shovavim," widely regarded as days of fasting and atonement. 

The acronym Shovavim is also a Hebrew word meaning "troublemakers." In Yirmiyahu 3,22 appears the prophet's exhortation, "Return [repent], children who are shovavim" – and thus is revealed the connection between repentance and this Shovavim period.

 

The concept of Shovavim is enwrapped in Kabbalistic secrets, prayers, fasts, and asceticism. Kabbalists fast every week, or even more frequently, during this period. As in many areas that were once reserved only for individuals, nowadays the Shovavim experience has entered the public domain. Announcements are posted all over, inviting the public to take part in special prayer services, tikunim, and fasts (with certain leniencies for those for whom it is difficult). 

It should be noted: The Baal Shem Tov, founding father of Hassidism and all its outgrowths, was clear that the path of teshuva [repentance] and tikun [rectification] nowadays is no longer via fasts and self-denial, but rather via service of G-d in joy and breadth of mind. Rabbe Nachman of Breslav, whose teachings and books have wondrously found their way into almost every home, promised that simply reciting the ten Psalms of the Tikun HaClali works just like all the tens and hundreds of fasts that our forefathers required. And in general, says Rabbe Nachman, it is better to concentrate on the good and on the future, rather than to furrow deep into despair and guilt of the past.

Our saintly late teacher HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook was of the same opinion. He held that the concepts of asceticism, celibacy, and sadness belong more to the times of Exile, while our generation of redemption in the Land of Israel is more appropriate for lives of freedom and optimism.

In our generation, the trials we face – particularly in the area on which the Shovavim days focus, namely, those of modest behavior and pure thoughts – are totally out of proportion to those of previous generations. As such, the only appropriate way for most people to deal with this is by emphasizing positive reinforcements, acceptance, and focusing on the good within us. Only advice of this type will bring the desired results and practical improvement – leading automatically to rectification in the upper worlds as well. 

But still: Deep within us remain misgivings and suspicion that perhaps this approach is just wishy-washiness, a form of mediocrity, and that in truth, "maybe I will not be atoned if I don't fast 84 fasts as appears in the Holy Zohar and in the writings of the Arizal? Who can dispute their holy words?"

The answer is that the spiritual world to which the Arizal refers is precisely the same as that to which the great Hassidic masters refer – but they provide a different and alternative practical approach by which to deal with it. Their approach is not merely a compromise. Rather, by deeply analyzing the teachings of Kabbalah, and the soul, and the period in which we live, they have found the approach for full repentance and rectification of our faults that is correct for today's reality. 

We are witness today to a sad phenomenon in which, despite the widespread study of the inner aspects of Torah, the Kabbala is still seen today as mere customs and tikunim. Our "inner Torah" teaches us about the blessed Creator's actual hidden desires and of the depth of His goodness, thus that it is an enlightening and joyful Torah. These teachings are most definitely eternal and unchanging. But how to apply these teachings in a practical manner, in terms of our Divine service and repentance, is given to updating and adjustment from generation to generation. 

The more we engage in the study of the internal Torah from great Torah scholars, the less ignorance there will be, the fewer fears we will have, and we will merit to do teshuva out of love.