What are the three stages of teshuvah?

Question: How does the chief butler’s dream hint at a person’s process of teshuvah (repentance)?

Answer:

The Ben Ish Chai finds three stages of spiritual growth in the verse:

The first stage: “and it was as though it budded”

Teshuvah begins inside the heart.

The person wakes up, reflects on his deeds and wants to change. A practical change has not necessarily happened yet, but the will has been born.

The second stage: “its blossoms shot forth”

The person begins to change his behavior in practice.

At this stage the teshuvah comes from fear, from recognizing the severity of the sins and their consequences.

The third stage: “its clusters ripened into grapes”

The person reaches teshuvah out of love.

This is an especially high level at which, under the conditions described by our Sages, even sins committed deliberately can be turned into merits.

The message: teshuvah is a process of growth: from a thought in the heart, through a change in deeds, to serving Hashem out of love.