Vayelech: Stumbled, Not Fallen

"Return O Israel, unto the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your sins." [Hosea 14.2]

"All of the prophets who struck out at Israel struck with [the term] "falling." Yirmiyah said (Yirmiyah 23.12(: "They shall be thrust, and fall therein." Amos said (Amos 5.): "She has fallen, no more shall she rise." But Hosea described them as stumbling, as it says: "For you have stumbled in your sins." [Yalkut Shimoni]

The concept of returning in Teshuva, repentance, in today's society is generally associated with "CHOZRIM B'TESHUVAH", I.e., those who adopt a Torah-observant lifestyle after having lived non-observant lives. Returning however, implies that one comes back to something that was once a part of him, after having left it for one reason or another. It is curious, therefore, that the concept of returning in Teshuvah is generally reserved for those who are actually searching for answers to fill a spiritual void, and is less commonly applied to those observant Jews who have strayed from mitzvoth, and who, after repenting, return to their previous way of Torah life.

The prophet Hosea calls especially to those who walk the Torah path, but who have stumbled in sin, to return in Teshuvah. The Yalkut Shimoni points this out by contrasting the messages of Yirmiyah and Amos, who spoke of the Jewish people's collapse under the burden of sin, with that of Hosea who beseeches Israel to repent, ...for you have stumbled in your sins."

The first step in Teshvuah is the recognition that sin represents a temporary deviation which can be rectified. A Jew may stumble, not fall. When a Jew who has strayed wishes to draw closer to the Almighty, he must be encouraged to the righteous path. Without such encouragement and hope, he will despair. The prophet's words, "Return O Israel, unto the Lord your God" are directed to such a person, and are meant to grant him hope, and a sense that repentance is within his reach. They are not meant to calm the fears that naturally arise when one leaves home, and later searches for a way to return, despite the feelings of pain and regret that may characterize his journey.

Given the prophet Hosea's words depicting the Almighty's open arms inviting Israel to return to Him, such a person is more likely, after stumbling on the path of sin, to find a way home.