What Is the Role of Teshuvah in Speeding Up or Delaying the Geulah?
The final redemption (גאולה) is not just a date on the calendar, waiting for history to catch up. It is a spiritual process — shaped by the actions and choices of Am Yisrael.
According to the Torah and Chazal, one force more than any other determines when Moshiach will come: Teshuvah.
1. Geulah Depends on Teshuvah
Chazal say it explicitly:
אין ישראל נגאלין אלא בתשובה “Yisrael will not be redeemed except through teshuvah.” — Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 7:5 [1]
The Rambam continues:
וכבר הבטיחה תורה שסוף ישראל לעשות תשובה בסוף גלותן ומיד הן נגאלין “And the Torah has already promised that, in the end, Yisrael will do teshuvah at the end of their exile, and immediately they will be redeemed.”
This is the key: Teshuvah brings Geulah immediately.
2. The Cry to Hashem Is What Saved Us in Mitzrayim
The model for Geulah is our first redemption — from Mitzrayim. There too, it wasn’t military strength, political alliances, or clever planning that brought salvation.
It was crying out to Hashem.
וַיֵּאָנְחוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן הָעֲבֹדָה וַיִּזְעָקוּ... וַתַּעַל שַׁוְעָתָם אֶל הָאֱלֹקִים “And the Children of Israel groaned from the work, and they cried out… and their cry went up to G-d.” — Shemos 2:23 [2]
The Seforno on that pasuk explains that they finally turned only to Hashem, not to Paro or any human system. And that was the turning point.
וכשצעקו אל ה' בלבד – מיד נושעו “And when they cried out to Hashem alone – immediately they were saved.” — Seforno, ibid. [3]
3. Teshuvah Is Not Just Personal — It’s National
We sometimes think of teshuvah as a private act: improving my davening, my lashon hara, my Torah learning.
But Klal Yisrael’s redemption requires national teshuvah — a return of the nation to Hashem. That means casting off trust in secularism, nationalism, or military might, and recognizing אין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו שבשמים — “We have no one to rely on but our Father in Heaven” (Sotah 49b) [4].
Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l explained:
כל זמן שלא חוזרים בתשובה – משיח לא בא. אבל ברגע שיש תשובה – אפילו תשובה אחת אמיתית – יכולה להביא את הגאולה. “As long as we don’t do teshuvah, Moshiach won’t come. But the moment there’s teshuvah — even one true teshuvah — it can bring the redemption.” — Quoted by Rav Zilberstein, Aleinu L'Shabeach, Shemos [5]
4. Teshuvah Can Speed Up the Geulah
The Gemara in Sanhedrin 98a teaches a profound idea:
אחישנה – אם זכו; בעתה – אם לא זכו “I will hasten it — if they merit; in its time — if they do not merit.” — Sanhedrin 98a [6]
Rashi explains: if we do teshuvah and mitzvos, Hashem will bring the Geulah early (אחישנה). If not, it will only come at the designated time (בעתה), possibly with suffering.
5. Hashem Awaits Our Return
שובו אלי ואשובה אליכם “Return to Me, and I will return to you.” — Malachi 3:7 [7]
The Mesilas Yesharim says that Hashem waits lovingly for every Jew to come home — and when we do, the gates of salvation swing open.
6. Why Has the Geulah Been Delayed?
If the Jewish People had collectively returned to Torah and mitzvos generations ago, we would already be living in the days of Moshiach. But every generation that remains spiritually distant, that clings to secular ideologies, prolongs the exile.
As the Chofetz Chaim cried:
“הלואי שהיו כולם חוזרים בתשובה – היינו כבר בגאולה שלימה.” “If only everyone would do teshuvah — we would already be in the complete redemption.” — Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah, Parshas Nitzavim [8]
7. This Is Our Avodah Now
If the secular state continues to weaken — politically, spiritually, and even militarily — the only way forward is upward.
Teshuvah is not a fallback. It is the only key left.
And the moment we cry out to Hashem like we did in Mitzrayim — not out of fear, but out of longing — He will bring the Geulah.
Conclusion: We Don’t Wait for Moshiach — We Prepare for Him
Teshuvah is not a passive act. It’s a national alarm clock — one that awakens rachamim in Shamayim.
And when we return to Hashem with emes, without pride or excuses, He will return to us with Geulah.
Sources
- Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 7:5 – אין ישראל נגאלין אלא בתשובה
- Shemos 2:23 – ויאנחו בני ישראל... ותעל שועתם
- Seforno on Shemos 2:23 – וכשצעקו אל ה' בלבד
- Sotah 49b – אין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו שבשמים
- Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, quoted in Aleinu L’Shabeach, Shemos
- Sanhedrin 98a – אחישנה – אם זכו
- Malachi 3:7 – שובו אלי ואשובה אליכם
- Chofetz Chaim al HaTorah, Parshas Nitzavim