Turn Around: Baal HaTanya on Aseres Yimei Teshuva (Audio Only)

Rabbi Silber teaches a piece from the Baal HaTanya that reframes the entire concept of teshuva around a single image: two people standing back to back. Since Hashem is truly everywhere, he explains, it's impossible to ever be physically distant from Him — what sin actually creates isn't distance but direction, a person simply turns his back. Hashem, in a kind of relational reciprocity, turns His back too, not out of anger but because a relationship only works when both sides are invested, yet He never actually leaves. Teshuva, in this light, isn't a long, arduous trek back to a faraway God; it's simply the courage to turn back around, knowing that the moment you do, you'll find Him already facing you.

• Since Hashem is truly everywhere, sin doesn't create real distance from Him — only a change in direction, like turning your back.
• When a person turns away from Hashem, He turns away too, not from anger but because real relationship requires investment from both sides.
• Teshuva isn't a long, exhausting journey back to a faraway God — it's simply the decision to turn back around.
• Much of why teshuva feels so hard is that we imagine the distance as enormous, when in truth Hashem never actually left.