DEUT1703 The first principle [of repentance] his regret. One must understand in his heart [I.e., not just cognitively, but emotionally as well."] the harm and bitterness forsaking Hashem entails [some foods are sweet but harmful to a person, and others taste bitter but may be good for one's physical needs. Violating Hashem's will is both harmful and bitter (Sha'arei Teshuvah Hameforash)]. He must impress upon himself that there exists punishment and reprisal, and that one's transgression will be paid for, as the pesukim say [this verse] and (Iyov 19:29), "Dread the sword, for anger against sin [brings] the sword." Subsequently, one must regret his evil deeds and say to himself, "What have I done? How could I [have acted] without the fear of God before me? How was I not afraid of the [Torah's] remonstrations against sin or the terrible punishment? For great is the suffering of the wicked [Tehillim 32:10].

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DEUT1707 We have further learned (Sanhedrin 90a), "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come, as the pasuk says, (Yeshayahu 60:21), 'Your people will all be righteous and will inherit the land forever.' [However,] the following are those who have no share in the World to Come: one who denies that the resurrection of the dead derives from the Torah, one who denies that the Torah was given by Hashem, and an epikoros." [The conventional explanation for this word is heretic, apostate, nonbeliever, i.e. one who denies a tenet of Judaism. However, Bartenura (Avos 2:14) says that it derives from the word hefker, one who denigrates the Torah and the learners of Torah; this is how Rabbeinu Yonah understands the term here.]. Through this passage, our Sages, z"l, have exhorted us in the tenet that the belief of the resurrection of the dead derives from the Torah, and that it is one of the principles of the Torah. One of the places where the resurrection of the dead is noted in the Torah is in [this verse], "I bring death and I bring life; I strike and I will heal." Concerning this, our Sages, z"l, said (Pesachim 68a): "We might think death as mentioned here refers to one person and the bringing to life refers to another [I.e., The birth of a baby]. Therefore, the pasuk says,' I strike and I will heal'--just as the striking and healing refer to one person, so too death and bringing to life refer to one person."

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DEUT1709 The explanation of "one who treats the Torah with impudence" [Sanhedrin 99a] is as follows: one who audaciously speaks untruths about the Torah, and says, "these pesukim and narratives written in the Torah serve no purpose." Out of arrogance and conceit he tells himself, upon failing to grasp the inner nature of those things, that they hold nothing beneath the surface. The pasuk says [this verse] "For it is not an empty thing for you," and our Sages, z"l, interpreted (Yerushalmi Kesubos 8:11), "If it is empty -- it is so for you," because you do not know how to explain the matter.[I.e., if you find emptiness in the Torah, it is due to your own ignorance.] (Continued at [[GEN1042]] Genesis 18:26 sake GATES 315).

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DEUT1721 See [[GEN280]] Genesis 28:20 vow GATES 251

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