Vayeilech

The passuk says “and My anger shall become powerful… and great ra and tzaros will find him.., he will say, ‘because Hashem wasn’t with me’… and I shall hide My face…”  Why will there still be hester panim after he realized Hashem wasn’t with him?

The Ramban explains the following.  The person did not say complete vidui.  There was only hirhur and charata but not vidui gamur with teshuva shelaima.  The Sforno explains that although he realizes this happened to him because Hashem is not with him, he doesn’t daven or do teshuva.  He turns to other gods for help, and not to Hashem.

The Gemara brings when Rav Yochanan reached the passuk “and it will be when great ra and tzaros will find him” he cried.  Rav Bergman shlita asks, why didn’t Rav Yochanan cry by all the pesukim in the tochacha?  There were 98 klalos!?  Also, there was a very similar passuk earlier in the parsha (mentioned in the beginning of this dvar Torah) and there Rav Yochanan didn’t cry!?

Rav Bergman answers that throughout the tochacha it mentions Hashem doing everything. (As Avi Mori shlita said it says Hashem’s name 26 times, which is the gematria of shem Hashem.)  The one who was hit realizes it is entirely from Hashem.  For him there is the possibility of fixing himself. Also, in the first passuk of ra and tzaros where it says “because Hashem wasn’t with me” he can come back and do complete teshuva because he realized it is from Hashem.  However, in the other passuk of ra and tzaros it doesn’t mention the realization of Hashem causing it to happen.  Rav Yochanan cried for such a person, because for one who doesn’t realize that the punishment comes from Hashem, there is no hope.  If one does realize this, and does teshuva, then the punishment was really a lesson and Hashem even gives reward afterwards!

May Hashem help us recognize His hints and do teshuva, and be zoche to a gmar chasima tova!