אור החיים — ושבת עד ה' אלהיך ושמעת בקלו

Q — The parsha of teshuvah describes the process of repentance and return — 'you shall return to the Lord your God and heed His voice.' What stages does Or HaChaim see in this return?

A — Or HaChaim traces the movement of teshuvah and the ingathering it triggers: the return begins with the heart's reckoning ('והשבת אל לבבך') even while scattered among the nations to which God has driven Israel, proceeds through 'returning to the Lord' and heeding His voice 'with all your heart and all your soul,' and culminates in God's reciprocal turning — gathering the exiles back. The sequence shows teshuvah as both Israel's act of return and the divine response it draws forth, the human and heavenly movements meeting.