Pt2 Repentance, Atonement, and Interpersonal Forgiveness on Yom Kippur (Yoma 85b-87b)

This is the second part of a five-part series, on the occasion of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series is at Part 1.

Talmud

R’ Yehuda HaNasi - Yom Kippur atones even without repentance for ordinary transgressions

[...]

תניא,

רבי אומר:

על כל עבירות שבתורה,

• בין עשה תשובה

• בין לא עשה תשובה ⁠—

יום הכפורים מכפר,

[...]

it was taught in a baraita:

R’ Yehuda HaNasi says that

for all transgressions in the Torah,

• whether one repented

• or did not repent --

Yom Kippur atones,

... but not for rejecting the Torah’s yoke, distorting Torah, or violating circumcision unless one repents

חוץ (מ

1. פורק עול),

2. ומגלה פנים בתורה,

3. ומיפר ברית בשר,

• שאם עשה תשובה ⁠—

  • יום הכפורים מכפר,

• ואם לא עשה תשובה ⁠—

  • אין יום הכפורים מכפר.

[...]

with the exception of

1. rejecting the yoke of Torah and mitzvot; and denying God;

2. and interpreting the Torah falsely;¹

3. and violating the covenant of the flesh, i.e., circumcision.

In these cases,

• if one repents

  • Yom Kippur atones for his sin,

• and if one does not repent

  • Yom Kippur does not atone for his sin.

[...]

R’ Yehuda - Repentance alone atones for offenses less severe than taking God’s name in vain; for offenses at that level or above, repentance suspends punishment and Yom Kippur completes atonement - Exodus 20:7

תא שמע,

רבי יהודה אומר:

• כל שהוא מ״לא תשא״ ולמטה ⁠—

  • תשובה מכפרת,

• מ״לא תשא״ ולמעלה ⁠—

  • תשובה תולה, ויום הכפורים מכפר.

[...]

Come and hear from that which was taught:

R’ Yehuda says:

• For any sin from “You should not take the name of YHWH, your God, in vain” and below, i.e., prohibitions less severe than that,

  • repentance atones.

• For any sin from “You should not take the name of YHWH, your God, in vain” and above,

  • repentance suspends punishment, and Yom Kippur atones.

[...]

Baraita - God “absolves” ordinary repentant offenders, but the prohibition of taking God’s name in vain is exceptionally severe - Exodus 34:7, 20:7

תא שמע:

לפי שנאמר בחורב תשובה ״ונקה״,

יכול אף ״לא תשא״ עמהן ⁠

תלמוד לומר:

״לא ינקה״.

Come and hear from a different source that was taught:

Since it was stated at Horeb with regard to repentance: “Absolve” (Exodus 34:7 - נקה),

one might have thought that even the transgression of: “You should not take the name of YHWH, your God, in vain” (Exodus 20:7) is included among them;

therefore, the verses states:

“Will not absolve” (Exodus 20:7).

יכול אף שאר חייבי לאוין כן ⁠

תלמוד לומר:

״את שמו״,

• שמו הוא

  • דאינו מנקה,

  • אבל מנקה

• שאר חייבי לאוין.

One might have thought this is also true for those who are liable for violating all other prohibitions;

therefore, the verse states:

“His name.”

• the one who disrespects His name,

  • God does not absolve

  • but He absolves

• those who are liable for violating all other prohibitions and repent.²

Baraita - Repentance alone atones for positive commandments and prohibitions repaired by a positive act; for full negative commandments, karet, and capital offenses, repentance suspends punishment until Yom Kippur

תנאי היא,

דתניא:

1. על מה תשובה מכפרת ⁠—

   1. על עשה

   2. ועל לא תעשה שניתק לעשה,

2. ועל מה תשובה תולה ויום הכפורים מכפר ⁠—

   1. על כריתות

   2. ועל מיתות בית דין,

   3. ועל לא תעשה גמור.

The Talmud answers: This is a dispute between tanna’im,

as it was taught in a baraita:

1. For what does repentance atone?

   1. It atones for a positive mitzva

   2. and for a negative mitzva that can be rectified through a positive mitzva³

2. And for what does repentance suspend punishment and Yom Kippur atone?

   1. It is for sins punishable by karet,

   2. and for sins punishable by the death penalty from the earthly court,

   3. and for full-fledged⁴ negative mitzvot.⁵

R’ Elazar - The tension between “absolves” and “does not absolve” means that God absolves those who repent, but not those who do not - Exodus 34:7

אמר מר:

לפי שנאמר בחורב ״ונקה״.

מנא לן?

§ Since the Talmud cited this baraita, it now clarifies part of it.

The Master said:

Since it was stated at Horeb with regard to repentance: “Absolve.”

The Talmud asks: From where do we derive this concept that repentance was mentioned there?

דתניא,

רבי אלעזר אומר:

• אי אפשר לומר ״נקה״,

  • שכבר נאמר ״לא ינקה״,

• ואי אפשר לומר ״לא ינקה״,

  • שכבר נאמר ״נקה״.

The Talmud answers:

As it was taught in a baraita that

R’ Elazar says:

• It is not possible to say “absolve” (Exodus 34:7) about all transgressions,

  • since “will not absolve” is already stated (Exodus 34:7).

• And it is not possible to say “will not absolve,”

  • since “absolve” is already stated.

הא כיצד?

• מנקה הוא

  • לשבין,

• ואינו מנקה

  • לשאינן שבין.

How so?

• God absolves

  • those who repent

• and does not absolve

  • those who do not repent.

Therefore, both “repentance” and “absolve” were mentioned at Horeb.

R’ Elazar ben Azarya citing R’ Yishmael - Three levels of atonement

שאל רבי מתיא בן חרש את רבי אלעזר בן עזריה ברומי:

שמעת ארבעה חלוקי כפרה

שהיה רבי ישמעאל דורש?

Furthermore, with regard to the topic of repentance,

R’ Matya ben Ḥarash asked R’ Elazar ben Azarya when R’ Elazar ben Azarya was in Rome:

Have you heard the teaching that there are 4 distinctions (חלוקי) in the process of atonement

that R’ Yishmael would derive (דורש)?

אמר:

שלשה הן,

ותשובה עם כל אחד ואחד.

[R’ Elazar ben Azarya] said to [R’ Matya ben Ḥarash]:

They are not 4 but 3 distinctions,

and repentance is necessary with each one.

1) Repentance immediately atones for violating a positive commandment - Jeremiah 3:22; 2) repentance plus Yom Kippur for ordinary prohibitions - Leviticus 16:30; 3) repentance, Yom Kippur, and suffering for karet or capital offenses - Psalms 89:33; 4) Desecration of God’s name additionally requires death - Isaiah 22:14

1. עבר על עשה, ושב ⁠—

   1. אינו זז משם עד שמוחלין לו,

   2. שנאמר: ״שובו בנים שובבים״.

2. עבר על לא תעשה, ועשה תשובה ⁠—

   1. תשובה תולה, ויום הכפורים מכפר.

   2. שנאמר: ״כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם, מכל חטאתיכם״.

3. עבר על כריתות ומיתות בית דין, ועשה תשובה ⁠—

   1. תשובה ויום הכפורים תולין, ויסורין ממרקין.

   2. שנאמר: ״ופקדתי בשבט פשעם, ובנגעים עונם״.

4. אבל מי שיש חילול השם בידו ⁠—

   1. אין לו כח בתשובה לתלות, ולא ביום הכפורים לכפר, ולא ביסורין למרק,

   2. אלא כולן תולין, ומיתה ממרקת,

   3. שנאמר: ״ונגלה באזני ה׳ צבאות: אם יכופר העון הזה לכם עד תמותון״.

These are the categories:

1. If one violates a positive mitzva, and repents,

   1. he is forgiven even before he moves from his place, i.e. immediately,

   2. as it is stated: “Return, you backsliding children, I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22), implying that when one repents he is immediately forgiven.

2. If one violates a prohibition and repents,

   1. repentance suspends his punishment and Yom Kippur atones for his sin,

   2. as it is stated: “For on this day should atonement be made for you, to purify you from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30).

3. If one commits a transgression that warrants karet or a sin punishable by death from the earthly court, and then repents,

   1. repentance and Yom Kippur suspend his punishment, and suffering (יסורין) absolves (ממרקין) and completes the atonement,

   2. as it is stated: “Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with strokes” (Psalms 89:33).

4. But in the case of one who has caused desecration of God’s name (חילול השם),

   1. his repentance has no power to suspend punishment, nor does Yom Kippur have power to atone for his sin, nor does suffering alone have power to absolve him.

   2. Rather, all these suspend punishment, and death absolves him,

   3. as it is stated: “And YHWH of Hosts revealed Himself to my ears: This iniquity should not be atoned for until you die” (Isaiah 22:14).

Rav - Desecration of God’s name can consist of behavior by a prominent scholar that looks dishonest, such as delaying payment where credit is not customary

היכי דמי חילול השם?

אמר רב:

כגון אנא,

אי שקילנא בישרא מטבחא

ולא יהיבנא דמי לאלתר.

[...]

§ The Talmud asks: What are the circumstances that cause desecration of God’s name?

Rav said:

For example: in the case of someone like me, i.e. an important public figure,

if I take meat from a butcher

and do not give him money immediately⁶

[...]

R’ Yoḥanan - For a prominent scholar, even appearing publicly lax in Torah study or tefillin constitutes desecration of God’s name

רבי יוחנן אמר:

כגון אנא דמסגינא ארבע אמות

• בלא תורה

• ובלא תפילין.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

What is an example of desecration of God’s name?

For example: someone like me,

if I would walk 4 cubits

• without Torah

• and without tefillin,

and the onlookers did not know that it is only on account of my body’s weakness, that would be a desecration of God’s name.

Yitzḥak of R’ Yannai’s School - Desecration of God’s name is conduct whose reputation embarrasses one’s colleagues

יצחק דבי רבי ינאי אמר:

כל שחביריו מתביישין מחמת שמועתו

(היינו חילול השם).

Yitzḥak from the school of R’ Yannai said:

Any case when one’s friends are embarrassed on account of his reputation, meaning his friends are embarrassed due to things they hear about him,

this is a desecration of God’s name.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak - Desecration occurs when people react to someone’s conduct by saying, “May his Master (=God) forgive him”

אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק:

כגון

דקא אמרי אינשי:

שרא ליה מריה לפלניא.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said:

One creates a profanation of God’s name, For example:

when people say about him:

May his Master (=God) forgive so-and-so for the sins he has done.

Abaye citing a Baraita - A Torah scholar sanctifies God’s name by learning Torah and behaving pleasantly and honestly - Isaiah 49:3

(See footnote.)⁷

אביי אמר,

כדתניא:

״ואהבת את ה׳ אלהיך״,

שיהא שם שמים מתאהב על ידך.

Abaye said:

As it was taught in a baraita that

it is stated: “And you should love YHWH your God” (Deuteronomy 6:5),

which means that you should make the name of Heaven beloved.

שיהא

1. קורא

2. ושונה

3. ומשמש תלמידי חכמים,

4. ויהא משאו ומתנו בנחת עם הבריות,

How should one do so?

One should do so in that he should

1. read Bible,

2. and learn Mishnah,

3. and serve Torah scholars,⁸

4. and he should be pleasant with people in his business transactions.

מה הבריות אומרות עליו ⁠?

אשרי אביו שלמדו תורה,

אשרי רבו שלמדו תורה.

אוי להם לבריות שלא למדו תורה,

What do people say about such a person?

Fortunate (אשרי) is his father who taught him Torah,⁹

fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah,

woe (אוי) to the people who have not studied Torah.

פלוני שלמדו תורה ⁠—

ראו כמה נאים דרכיו,

כמה מתוקנים מעשיו.

So-and-so, who taught him Torah --

see how pleasant (נאים) are his ways,

how proper (מתוקנים) are his deeds.

עליו הכתוב אומר:

״ויאמר לי עבדי אתה ישראל

אשר בך אתפאר״.

The verse states about him and others like him:

“You are My servant, Israel,

in whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3).

... while bad conduct by a scholar causes observers to disparage Torah and desecrates God’s name - Ezekiel 36:20

אבל מי ש

1. קורא

2. ושונה

3. ומשמש תלמידי חכמים,

4. ואין משאו ומתנו באמונה,

5. ואין דבורו בנחת עם הבריות,

But one who

1. reads Bible,

2. and learns Mishnah,

3. and serves Torah scholars,

4. but his business practices are not done faithfully,

5. and he does not speak pleasantly with other people,

מה הבריות אומרות עליו?

1. אוי לו לפלוני שלמד תורה.

2. אוי לו לאביו שלמדו תורה,

3. אוי לו לרבו שלמדו תורה.

what do people say about him?

1. Woe to so-and-so who studied Torah,

2. woe to his father who taught him Torah,

3. woe to his teacher who taught him Torah.

פלוני שלמד תורה ⁠—

ראו כמה מקולקלין מעשיו

וכמה מכוערין דרכיו,

So-and-so who studied Torah,

see how destructive (מקולקלין) are his deeds,

and how ugly (מכוערין) are his ways.

ועליו הכתוב אומר:

״באמור להם:

עם ה׳ אלה

ומארצו יצאו״.

About him and others like him the verse states:

“It is said of them:

These are the people of YHWH,

and they had to leave His land” (Ezekiel 36:20).¹⁰

1. מגלה פנים בתורה - see this idiomatic expression also in my “Tannaitic Aphorisms (Avot 3:2-12)“, section “R’ Elazar haModai - One who profanes sacred things, shames others in public, or distorts Torah—even if learned and pious—has no share in the World-to-come (3:11)“.

2. Steinsaltz:

This is proof that those who violate all other prohibitions are not comparable to one who violates: “You should not take the name of YHWH, your God, in vain.”

(It’s worth noting the chiastic formula, from a literary structure perspective.)

3. לא תעשה שניתק לעשה.

4. גמור - “completely”.

5. Steinsaltz:

This indicates that there is a tanna who distinguishes between prohibitions that warrant lashes and those that do not.

Therefore, there is a tannaitic dispute as to whether or not prohibitions that warrant punishment by the courts can be rectified by repentance alone.

6. Steinsaltz:

people are likely to think that I did not mean to pay at all. They would consider me a thief and learn from my behavior that one is permitted to steal

7. Literarily, the baraita is built as symmetrical parallelism: the same Torah scholar is presented in positive and negative versions.

The structure is:

1. Scriptural lemma: “You shall love YHWH” → make God beloved through your conduct.

2. Scholar’s formation: קורא / שונה / משמש תלמידי חכמים.

3. Social conduct: pleasant and honest dealings, versus dishonest and unpleasant dealings.

4. Public reaction: מה הבריות אומרות עליו?

5. Reported popular speech: אשרי... versus אוי...

6. Evaluation of the scholar: “pleasant ways / proper deeds” versus “corrupt deeds / ugly ways.”

7. Prooftext: Isaiah 49:3 versus Ezekiel 36:20.

The second half repeats the vocabulary and syntax of the first, then reverses it. Torah learning remains constant - both figures קורא ושונה ומשמש תלמידי חכמים - the variable is behavior toward other people.

There is also a movement outward: study → conduct → public perception → God’s reputation. The anonymous “people” (בריות - “creatures”) function as a chorus, interpreting the scholar’s behavior and transferring judgment from the individual to his father, teacher, Torah, and ultimately God.

Thus the two biblical verses frame opposite outcomes of the same social mechanism: exemplary conduct causes God to be “glorified”; misconduct causes identification with “the people of YHWH” to become an accusation.

8. משמש תלמידי חכמים - the standard Talmudic term for a form of scholarly apprenticeship under learned sages.

9. אשרי אביו שלמדו תורה.

See a similar line in my “Pt3 Prayer, Poetry, and Ethics: A Journey Through Seventeen Talmudic Prayers and Ethical Teachings (Berakhot 16b-17a; Eruvin 54a)“, section “R’ Yoḥanan“, line #4: אשרי מי שגדל בתורה.

I summarize the whole section there as follows:

The Talmudic passage can be split into three parts, each mentioning a key theme in Jewish wisdom literature:

1. The certainty of death (lines #1-3)

2. The paramount importance of Torah study (lines #4-6)

3. The value of a good name (lines #7-9)

And see ibid., section “Rava“, line #2:

שלא יהא אדם

1. קורא,

2. ושונה

3. ובועט

   1. באביו

   2. ובאמו

   3. וברבו

[…]

that one should not

1. read Bible

2. and study Mishnah

3. and spurn (בועט - “kick”)

   1. his father

   2. and his mother

   3. and his teacher

[…]

10. Steinsaltz:

Through their sins and subsequent exile, such people have desecrated the name of God.

The verses there are explicitly heavily focused on the desecration of God’s name (i.e., YHWH’s reputation among non-Israelites), see the full context in Ezekiel 36:19-23:

ואפיץ אתם בגוים

ויזרו בארצות

כדרכם וכעלילותם שפטתים

and I scattered them among the [non-Jewish] nations,

and they were dispersed through the countries:

according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

ויבוא אל הגוים אשר באו שם

ויחללו את שם קדשי

באמר להם

עם יהוה אלה

ומארצו יצאו

And when they came to the [non-Jewish] nations, into which they came,

they profaned my holy name,

in that [people] said of them,

These are the people of YHWH,

and they are gone out of his land.

ואחמל על שם קדשי

אשר חללהו בית ישראל

בגוים אשר באו שמה

[But] I had concern for my holy name,

which the house of Yisra’el had profaned

among the [non-Jewish] nations, into which they came.

לכן אמר לבית ישראל

כה אמר אדני יהוה

לא למענכם אני עשה בית ישראל

כי אם לשם קדשי

אשר חללתם בגוים אשר באתם שם

Therefore say to the house of Yisra’el,

Thus says YHWH God;

I do not do this for your sakes, O house of Yisra’el,

but for my holy name’s sake,

which you have profaned among the nations, to which you came.

וקדשתי את שמי הגדול

המחלל בגוים

אשר חללתם בתוכם

וידעו הגוים כי אני יהוה

נאם אדני יהוה

בהקדשי בכם לעיניהם

And I will sanctify my great name,

which was profaned among the nations,

which you have profaned in the midst of them;

and the nations should know that I am YHWH,

says YHWH God,

when I should be sanctified in you before their eyes.