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Why can Yishmael be saved as a tzaddik despite past sins, while ben sorer umoreh is judged by his future? The shiur distinguishes two dimensions of teshuvah: kapara (fixing the past, requiring vidui, Yom Kippur, suffering) and becoming a tzaddik now (requiring only sincere commitment to act properly going forward). Rosh Hashanah judges basher hu sham—where you are headed—not where you have been, making the status of tzaddik accessible to anyone willing to commit to change.
Rabbi Zweig addresses a fundamental question about the nature of teshuvah and the judgment of Rosh Hashanah by contrasting two seemingly contradictory Talmudic principles. The Gemara (גמרא) teaches that Yishmael was saved from death in the desert based on basher hu sham—where he was at that moment—despite his future descendants' wicked behavior. Yet ben sorer umoreh is executed al sof sofoh, based on his predicted evil future, despite not yet having committed capital crimes. The Zohar's answer—that heavenly courts judge by the present while earthly courts judge by the future—seems logically reversed. The shiur develops a foundational yesod in hilchos teshuvah by analyzing the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s placement of the laws of bechira (free will) within hilchos teshuvah rather than in hilchos yesodei haTorah where they seemingly belong. The Rambam writes that "because every person has free choice, therefore a person should be mestadel to do teshuvah"—a formulation that appears puzzling. Rabbi Zweig explains that the Rambam is not discussing the axiomatic principle that humans are not hardwired robots (which belongs in yesodei haTorah), but rather the chiddush that whatever choices we have made do not lock us into a permanent identity. A person does not become his past choices; he remains free to choose differently at any moment. This is the essential connection between bechira and teshuvah—teshuvah means recognizing that "this is not who I am; this is what I did."
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Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech; Vayera (Yishmael story)
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Why is vidui (confession) the central mitzvah in Hilchos Teshuvah, rather than teshuvah itself? The Rambam distinguishes between teshuvah (establishing a prospective relationship with Hashem) and vidui (achieving kapara for the past). Vidui transforms the focus from self-improvement to recognizing Hashem as the "baal davar"—the injured party—and communicating directly to Him, which is what undoes yesterday's aveiros.
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What does kapara really mean—erasing the sin or restoring the sinner? The shiur builds on Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 1:3 to argue that kapara is not about making sins disappear but about going forward in a relationship with Hashem. The story of Yishmael read on Rosh Hashanah—"ba'asher hu shom"—teaches that the din focuses on who we are now, not on fixing the past.
