“In the place that Ba’alei T’shuvah (those who have sinned and then repented) stand, the completely righteous do not (or cannot) stand.” From the context within which the Talmud (B’rachos 34b and Sanhedrin 99a) says this, it is clear that it means that Ba’alei T’shuvah are on a higher level, and/or will receive a greater reward, than those who have no sins from which to repent. The Maharsha asks how this is possible, as “this appears to be far from logical that Ba’alei T’shuvah should be on a higher level than those who are completely righteous.” After all, how could someone who sinned be considered better than one who never succumbed to sin? As the Sefer HaYashar (usually attributed to Rabbeinu Tam) puts it (Gate #10), “for complete repentance of one who is wicked will cleanse him from all of his sins, making it as if he was just born. And just as a newborn is innocent of any sin but has no merits, so too is someone who is wicked, after having done a complete repentance, cleansed of all of his sins; however he has no merits, and does not merit the level of the pure righteous ones, who in all of their days never sinned.” How could the Talmud make a blanket statement that one who has repented is considered better than one who never sinned?In explaining why the Talmud considers the Ba’al T’shuvah to be on a higher level, the Rambam (Laws of Repentance 7:4) and the Yad Ramah (Sanhedrin 99a) say that it is because they have a harder time defeating their evil inclination than those who never “tasted the taste of sin.” Rav Hutner zt”l (Essay #29 on Rosh HaShanah) asks why this “advantage” applies only to one who has repented. Even after sinning we are required to avoid future sins, and doing so is much harder after having sinned in the first place. Therefore, even if the sinner does not regret having sinned, and has not committed to never sinning again, he still must try to avoid each and every sin that he can. If he does win a particular battle, and does not give in to temptation, he should have the same “advantage” as the sinner who repented fully! They both had a tougher fight than the completely righteous, so why does the Talmud say that a “Ba’al T’shuvah” is on the higher level, rather than a “poraish min hachait” (one who avoided sinning)?
One of the steps necessary for complete repentance is to regret having done the action that was wrong. This means that if the sinner could somehow turn back the clock and be faced with that situation again, he would not commit the misdeed. If having sinned and then repenting gets one to a higher level then had he (or she) never sinned in the first place, how could he regret having done it? Imagine if someone stole a dollar in order to buy a lottery ticket, and the ticket bought with that dollar ends up winning a large jackpot. Even if he returns the dollar he stole (or pays back double, etc.), he still must repent for having stolen. Can he really wish he hadn’t stolen that dollar while living in his new mansion, or driving his new luxury car? How can one attain full repentance if they end up better off for having sinned?
One of the verses we say in the prayers of the High Holy Days as a sort of defense for having sinned is “for there is no man who is righteous in the land, who has done good and not sinned” (Koheles 7:20). After the building of the Temple was completed, Sh’lomo Hamelech asked G-d to listen to the people’s prayers even though they are not perfect, “for there is no man who does not sin” (Melachim I 8:46). If no one is perfect, and everyone has at least some sins to repent, wouldn’t we all be in the category of “Ba’alei T’shuvah?” How is there a contrast between the completely righteous and those who have sinned and repented if only the latter category actually exists?
Finally, the Talmud brings a textual proof that the “Ba’al T’shuvah” is on a higher level than one who is completely righteous: “Peace, peace, for the far and for the near, said G-d, and I will heal him” (Yeshayahu 57:19). Since the one “far away” is mentioned first, he must be on a higher level then the one who is “near,” i.e. who never sinned. How can the “far” one refer to the “Ba’al T’shuvah” if he is not really far away any more, as is, in fact on a higher level than the completely righteous? Additionally, if he has already repented, thus warranting the higher level, why does G-d say in the future tense “I will heal him?” Hasn’t the healing (the t’shuvah) already occurred, which is why he was placed before the “near” one?
These questions are based on the assumption that the term “Ba’al T’shuvah” refers to one who has sinned and completed his repentance for the sins, and that the term “completely righteous” refers to those who have never sinned. However, the term “Ba’al Ta’aveh” does not refer to one who used to have desires, but has gotten past them. It is used to describe one who is still consumed by his desires. A “Ba’al Habayis” is one who owns a house, not one who once had property but is now homeless. If “Ba’al T’shuvah” refers to someone who is still in the process of doing t’shuvah (rather than one who has completed the t’shuva process), many of these questions would be answered. If “completely righteous” refers to one who has either never sinned or who has completely repented from his sins, they would all be answered. As the Sefer HaYashar pointed out, and is stated by our sages (Tanchuma Yashan, Vayeira 16), “If a person has numerous sins and he returns to G-d, He considers it as if he never sinned.” If he is really considered as if he had never sinned, he could accurately be called “completely righteous.”
The reason the “Ba’al T’shuvah” is the one still “far away” is because he still needs to complete his repentance. But because he is sincerely trying, G-d reassures him that He “will (future tense) heal him.”
And while it is true that it is nearly impossible to avoid sin completely, we can limit our slip-ups, and can make a full recovery (through repentance), so that we can (once again) be considered “completely righteous” (thereby necessitating the contrast of the two categories in the Talmud).
There are too many variables to compare the levels of different individuals, so generalizations are impossible. A slight slip-up late in life (which is corrected through repentance) cannot be compared to first doing t’shuvah and starting to keep the Torah at that same late stage, even if both went through the t’shuvah process. Nor can years of constant growth despite some ups and downs (and ups) be compared with sin-less consistency that is devoid of attaining richer, deeper levels of closeness to G-d. What can be compared is the amount of effort that must be made in order to accomplish a similar task by people who have varying levels of difficulty accomplishing it. Avoiding a sin is much easier for one who never fell prey to it than it is for one who has (and has not yet repented for it). It is precisely in this specific area of vulnerability that the sinner must focus his t’shuvah, and therefore work harder than one who never succumbed to that particular sin. Once the t’shuvah process has been completed (no easy task), and the former sinner understands the full devastation that was brought about by the sin, and he has worked on himself to the extent that he no longer sins, makes a commitment to never sin again, regrets having sinned in the first place, and has verbally admitted his sin to his Creator, he will be less tempted to sin again. At this point he need not focus extra energies on avoiding this particular sin, much like one has had never sinned. (As a matter of fact, the Eitz Yosef, in his commentary on B’rachos 34b, says that one who has fully repented will be less tempted than one who never sinned in the first place.) It is this extra effort that must be exerted during the t’shuvah process that gives the Ba’al T’shuvah a spiritual advantage over the completely righteous (i.e. one who has either never sinned or has previously fully repented from sin). Even though the result is the same (avoidance of sin), the Ba’al T’shuvah, while still in the process of repenting, gets more out of it winning the “fight” than one who didn’t need to fight as hard.
That doesn’t mean that overall the Ba’al T’shuvah is (necessarily) on a higher level, as the avoidance of this particular sin is only a small piece of the overall picture. In this situation (or “place”), though, he will have accomplished more. And since avoiding committing the sin is one of the steps of the t’shuvah process, the Talmud didn’t need to mention it more than any of the other steps, merely identifying it as something done by a “Ba’al T’shuvah.”
Once the t’shuvah process is complete, this “advantage” is no longer there, hence it is not a problem of ill-gotten gains. Only if the advantage was permanent could it hinder the ability to complete the process of fully regretting having sinned. (Although according to Eitz Yosef there is a permanent advantage, as the “Ba’al T’shuvah” is less likely to commit that particular sin, not needing to fight as hard to avoid sinning counters having needed to fight harder before completing the t’shuvah process.)
The Chidushay Gaonim (Sanhedrin 99a) adds another interesting wrinkle, explaining how the same action could be a step up for one doing t’shuvah, but a step down for those who do not need to. The example given is a “bamah,” an altar upon which offerings are made to G-d outside the Temple. After the Temple was built, “bamos” became illegal, and would bring about the wrath of G-d. However, for those (kings) who were worshipping idols instead of G-d, starting to worship G-d in any form, even by bringing Him offerings on a “bamah,” was a step in the right direction. For a righteous king this was a huge step down, but for an idol-worshipping king it was a huge step up. Therefore, a Ba’al Teshuvah has the advantage of getting credit for doing things that a completely righteous person would be punished for.
Whether or not doing the “wrong thing” can be considered the “right thing” to the extent that it does not elicit punishment (as opposed to being punished for it because it is “wrong” yet worthwhile because of the long-term benefit), it can still be said that the “place” where a “Ba’al T’shuvah” can stand, i.e. doing something that brings him closer to G-d even though it is usually prohibited, the completely righteous cannot stand, since it would take them further away from G-d. Either way, one thing we see is that the expression “Ba’al T’shuvah” is understood to mean someone who is still in the process of repenting, not someone who has already repented. By contrast, the term “completely righteous” must refer not only to someone who never sinned (if possible), but also to someone who has fully recovered from sin through repentance.
