The days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are known as the Ten Days of Teshuva, which might be translated as Ten Days of Return to God, or Ten Days of Repentance. These are days of introspection -- and hopefully, growth and change.

The Talmud tells us about the significance of these days:

Rabbi Kruspedai said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: "Three books are opened [in heaven] on Rosh Hashana -- one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are immediately inscribed definitively in the Book of Life. The thoroughly wicked are immediately inscribed definitively in the Book of Death. The doom of the intermediate is suspended from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. If they deserve well, they are inscribed in the Book of Life. If they do not deserve well, they are inscribed in the Book of Death." (Rosh Hashana 16b)

The implication of this passage is that these ten days are provided specifically -- if not exclusively -- for the intermediate to justify their existence.

These ten days are available for the individual to break the "tie" and clearly determine his righteousness. Logically, a positive outcome will result either by virtue of adding one's good deeds or by subtracting sins.

Nonetheless, when Maimonides codifies this law, he states unequivocally that the only path toward inscription in the Book of Life is teshuva. Numerous rabbinic commentaries have noted this decision by Maimonides, and various suggestions have been put forth to explain why the great philosopher deviated from the simple understanding of the Talmudic passage -- which implies that on the balancing scale, even one good deed can tip it in one's favor.

[The Jerusalem Talmud specifically states that teshuva must be done in these ten days, while the Babylonian Talmud is more ambivalent about the issue. Therefore, it appears that Maimonides assumed that the passage in the Jerusalem Talmud clarifies the stance of the Babylonian Talmud. Rabbi Itzle from Pressberg, Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz, have all offered fascinating insights to explain this passage by Maimonides.]

We may conclude that according to Maimonides, teshuva is superior to the exclusion of all other actions during these ten days.

Nonetheless, Maimonides, in the very next law he codifies, states that other deeds aside from teshuva are customary in the ten days:

It is the custom of the entire Jewish community to give greater amounts to charity, and [do more acts of] good deeds, and to be concerned with fulfillment of commandments from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur, than the rest of the year. It is the custom to arise in the night during these ten days to pray ... until the day dawns. (Laws of Teshuva 3:4)

If in his opinion teshuva is the only act which can tip the scale, then what purpose can these other actions serve?

We may sharpen the question by introducing one other idea. The year ends on the last day of the Hebrew month of Elul and begins on the first day of the month of Tishrei, i.e. Rosh Hashana. Therefore, the ten days following Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur are counted in the new year, not the previous one. And for the person in the intermediate category, another good deed will not help in regards to last year's tally.

The only thing which can change last year's tally is teshuva, taking away of sins. Any new good deeds done or commandments fulfilled will be counted on the next year's ledger.

With this in mind we understand quite clearly why Maimonides would understand the Talmudic passage as referring exclusively to teshuva. But why would he speak of giving charity, tzedakah, during these ten days, in the very next law he codifies?

A parallel question may be posed based on two other of Maimonides' works, "Laws of Teshuva" and "Gifts to the Poor." Consider the contrast of these passages:

All the prophets command teshuva, and Israel will only be redeemed via teshuva... (Laws of Teshuva 7:5)

We must be more careful in regards to tzedakah more than all other positive commandments. For charity is [the] sign of righteous progeny of Abraham, our forefather ... And the "chair of Israel" is established and the true belief is based only on it. And Israel will be only be redeemed via tzedakah. (Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:1)

What will bring about redemption -- teshuva or tzedakah?

This may be the same question which we posed regarding the Ten Days of Teshuva. Obviously, in the thinking of Maimonides, there is some type of relationship between teshuva and tzedakah.

Perhaps the relationship is as follows: Teshuva causes sin to be taken away, but once the sin has been eradicated, the person remains like an empty vessel. This is not the type of teshuva which can bring redemption. Rather, after the teshuva, the person must redouble his efforts to mend and perfect the world. Only a perfected world can be redeemed.

This perfection will take place via tzedakah. This idea is known in Judaism as:

Depart from evil, and do good. (Psalms 34:15)

The Psalmist does not limit his command to "depart from evil." He adds, "and do good." We can therefore conclude that teshuva itself is not sufficient to bring about redemption, though it is certainly an essential component.

Without teshuva, the tzedakah would not be enough, and conversely, without tzedakah, teshuva would be insufficient.

Perhaps the same may be said regarding the ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur -- we must depart from evil, but doing good is also necessary, not because it affects the scales as only teshuva can, but because tzedakah is connected with the newly redeemed person -- one who has left his evil actions behind now fills the void with good deeds.

In the classic work on teshuva penned by Rabbenu Yona, we find the following comments, which shed light on our discussion:

The seventeenth principle is to pursue acts of kindness as it says, "By loving kindness and truth iniquity is purged; and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil". Now let us meditate on the secret of this verse. If the sinner does not return to God [via teshuva] the kindness which he performs will not purge his iniquity ... [even a] good deed [will not help to disregard sin]. Therefore the verse [above] ... refers to a Ba'al Teshuva ("One who Returns") for there are sins which are not completely purged by teshuva ... but suffering completes the purging ... (Sharey Teshuva 1:47)

Rabbenu Yona describes a fascinating dynamic in the relationship between teshuva and acts of kindness, chesed. Here chesed is seen as the completion of teshuva, in the sense that the chesed counteracts some of the ramifications of sin.

Teshuva has the ability to rekindle one's relationship with God, but chesed can completely mend the rift, which was caused by the sin. This idea of suffering, as a component of the teshuva process, is mentioned in other sources as well, notably Maimonides himself, who writes:

[A person] will not have complete forgiveness until suffering comes upon him. (Laws of Teshuva 1:4)

There is some discussion among the commentaries whether these words of Maimonides apply to all sins or only some types, but, either way the idea that suffering is a necessity in the rehabilitation process is clear.

The Mabit (Rav Moshe ben Yosef Mitrani) explains how the suffering works:

The idea behind suffering bringing about (spiritual) cleansing; this serves to counteract the pleasure that the person had during the sin. The pain will serve to weaken the physical desires, in order to assure that the person will not sin again. (Beit Elokim, Gate of Teshuva, chapter 8)

Judaism does not see the physical as inherently evil, quite the opposite, the physical was created by God in order for man to accomplish his mission on this earth. The basic gesture in Judaism is to take the physical or the mundane and to elevate it.

Man has the ability to take the physical and transform it into something spiritual. When man sins, this delicate balance between spiritual and physical is altered. Therefore, as part of the process of rectification, this equilibrium must be re-established. This is accomplished by suffering. When man sees that the physical is not what he thought it was at the time of sin, he is healed.

In other words, teshuva is asking forgiveness from God, and hopefully not returning to the sin. Suffering purges the sin from the soul which has become tainted due to this act of rebellion.

This idea will give us insight into the spiritual dynamic of Yom Kippur when the Torah speaks of afflicting our souls. The person who erred throughout the year asks of God forgiveness on this holy day, and the fasting, and other afflictions, help to purge our souls from the insidious effects of sin.

Rabbenu Yona's insight may now be understood. Just as affliction may purge our souls, so may acts of kindness. The reason for this is that sin often contains an aspect of self-centeredness.

We put ourselves and our own desires over everything else. The act of giving to others indicates that we are no longer controlled by this destructive urge. This is not a replacement for teshuva, but it can replace the need for suffering. For the acts of giving can recreate the same pure soul that suffering is designed to do. By either suffering or giving to others the spiritual equilibrium described earlier is achieved.

While this idea would explain our first question, why Maimonides stressed that these ten days are meant for teshuva, yet then spoke of the importance of other deeds. These deeds complete the teshuva by virtue of alleviating the need for suffering.

Maimonides, however, did not speak of redemption being the result of general kind acts, rather specifically tzedakah was chosen.

Why was tzedakah given a special status compared to all other acts of kindness?

Maimonides, in his "Guide for the Perplexed," discusses the difference between tzedakah and chesed. Chesed is when a deed is done to benefit a recipient who is not really deserving of the grace which he receives. On the other hand, tzedakah is based on the word tzedek, meaning "justice." Therefore the idea of tzedakah implies that the recipient deserves the gift.

[Rabbi Soloveichik has pointed out that the English translation of tzedakah as "charity" is inappropriate, as the word charity is based on the Latin charitus which implies the performance of a deed despite the recipient having no right to the gift. See "Yimie Zicharon" pages 43,44.]

When a Jew gives tzedakah, he is in a sense confirming a partnership with God to care for others. This is an obligation, it is not an act of kindness, chesed.

This idea is spelled out in the Zohar:

Hence he that gives tzedakah to the poor makes the Holy Name complete as it should be above, since tzedakah is the tree of life... This applies only to charity done for its own sake, for then the doer links together tzedakah with tzedek so that the whole forms the Holy Name, since tzedek is not established without tzedakah. (Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3, Page 113b)

The Zohar assumes, as did Maimonides, that the root of the word tzedakah is indeed tzedek. The only thing which is different is that tzedakah contains an additional letter hei. This letter comes from the Divine name, the Tetragrammaton. Therefore, the person who gives tzedakah becomes partners with God, and his action is permeated with divinity here on earth, while he completes the Divine name above.

Furthermore, the Zohar states that when we become partners with God, the manner which Divine judgment is adjudicated shifts:

Said Rabbi Eliezer: "Observe how merciful the Holy One, blessed be He, shows Himself towards all beings, and especially towards those who walk in His paths. For when He is about to execute judgment on the world, before doing so He puts in the way of His beloved the occasion of performing a good act. We have thus been taught that when the Holy One loves a man, He sends him a present in the shape of a poor man, so that he should perform some good deed to him, through the merit of which he shall draw to himself a cord of grace from the right side which shall wind round his head and imprint a mark on him, so that, when punishment falls on the world, the destroyer, raising his eyes and noticing the mark, will be careful to avoid him and leave him alone. (Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 104a

This idea of a reciprocal relationship between human beings and God may be illustrated by the following passage:

It is further related of Rabbi Eliezer that once he stepped down before the Ark and recited the 24 Benedictions [for fast days] and his prayer was not answered. Rabbi Akiva stepped down after him and exclaimed: "Our Father, our King, we have no King but Thee; our Father, our King, for Thy sake have mercy upon us." And rain fell. The rabbis present suspected [Rabbi Eliezer], whereupon a Heavenly Voice was heard proclaiming. "[The prayer of] this man [Rabbi Akiva] was answered not because he is greater than the other man, but because he is ever forbearing and the other is not".

The kind way which Rabbi Akiva treated others dictated the way which God would respond to his plea. When man sins, not only has he rebelled against God, but he has failed to contribute to Israel's mission on this earth as well.

God created a wonderful world, full of both physical pleasures and spiritual opportunities. Man by virtue of his sins creates a world that is dark and full of pain. Sinning, choosing the physical over the spiritual, causes a warped world to emerge. Man who follows that path, fails to accomplish his mandate here on earth.

The Jewish people as a whole also have a mission, it is to recreate that exquisite garden which God created at the dawn of history -- to mend the world.

The sinner who truly repents is surely forgiven. But the ugly stains of sin are often more difficult to cleanse than the sin itself.

Collectively, when the Jewish people sin, stains are left -- often deep communal stains. The best way to cleanse those stains is via tzedakah. The sinner to some extent leaves, or separates himself from the community, tzedakah helps bind the person with community anew.

As Maimonides wrote:

And the "chair of Israel" is established and the true belief is based only on tzedakah. And Israel will be only be redeemed via tzedakah. (Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:1)

By giving tzedakah man takes a proactive stance in his partnership with God, engaging in behavior which will follow a spiritual renaissance -- in an awakening and return to God which will usher in the Messianic Era.

Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and those who return to her with righteousness. (Isaiah 1:27)

May we all purge our sins on this Yom Kippur, with our fasting, may we all take responsibility in our partnership with God, thereby guaranteeing personal redemption. May we all be sealed in the Book of Life, and merit greeting the messiah soon -- in our days!