On Yom Kippur, the congregation and chazzan repeat this teaching of the ancient rabbis: “Repentance, prayer, and charity avert the evil of the decree” (Teshuva, tephilah, and tzedakah maverin et Roeh HaGezerah). This is the mantra we live by in Elul as well. Let’s set aside for a moment the question of that image of an “evil decree” and consider instead the power of these three actions: teshuvah, prayer or tephilah, and charity or tzedakah. Each of these actions has the power to transform evil into good. There is no greater awe-inspiring human power than this, to turn that which was destructive into something lifegiving. Recovering alcoholics and addicts, those who have been betrayed by loved ones, survivors of war, genocide, and domestic violence, and many others know the truth of this in their lives. To stop evil is praiseworthy. To do good is praiseworthy. To transform evil into good, as Yosef did with the ten brothers who sold him into slavery—that is even greater.
What unites these three ways of transformation is that each is a way of acting in the world. They are not words or feelings or intentions or hopes that reside within an individual. They are actions directed to an other; they are relational. This is the foundation for understanding their power and how they work, in relation to ourselves, others, and God.
Let’s consider these three ways of turning evil into good one by one, starting with teshuvah.
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