In a fascinating discourse on parshas Acharei Mos, the Alter Rebbe plumbs the depths of the concept of teshuva, which, as we know, is simply defined as “repentance,” but in its more literal and genuine translation, means “return.” The Alter Rebbe asks how it is that a person can find himself in a situation where he must “return” to Hashem if, as we declare daily, “Hashem echad/God is One” and therefore He is in all places at all times. If so, one can never actually be distant from God, so how are we to understand this notion of the need to “return”?

To explain, the Alter Rebbe quotes the verse from Jeremiah which states, “כִּי־פָנוּ אֵלַי עֹרֶף וְלֹא פָנִים/Ki panu eilai oref v’lo panim” (Jeremiah 2:27). The simple understanding is that God is complaining that........

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