Thursday, November 9, 2023

Teshuva's Sweet Swell

וַיֹּ֧סֶף אַבְרָהָ֛ם וַיִּקַּ֥ח אִשָּׁ֖ה וּשְׁמָ֥הּ קְטוּרָֽה.  Rashi says this is Hagar but she is called Keturah because שנאים מעשיה כקטורת, ושקשרה פתחה שלא נזדווג לה אדם מיום פרשה מאברהם.  The Chizkuni asks ואם תאמר: הרי לעיל גבי ותתע פר״ש: מלמד שחזרה לגלולי בית אביה, in other words how can we say hers action were good if she returned to her idolatrous past?  He gives two answers.  One answer is that she desired to return to avodah zarah but did not, בקשה לחזור לגלולי אביה ולא חזרה.  It not clear what would have been her הו"א and מסקנה.  His first answer is that she did teshuva before Avraham remarried her.  We see that the teshuva allows it to be considered as if her actions were always pleasant.  The Kli Yakar also says she did teshuva and he says that is why she is called קטורה here to demonstrate the pwoer of teshuva that it makes even one's sins considered to a fragrant scent.  That is why it is compared to the ketores which has the bad smelling חלבנהbut it enhances the totality of the flavor, so too the averot lead one to do teshuva and are accepted as as having lead one to on the right path.

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