This is the fourth part of a five-part series, on the occasion of the upcoming Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here; Part 3 is here; the outline of the series is at Part 1.
R’ Yosei b. Yehuda - God forgives repeated sins three times; on the fourth offense, forgiveness is withheld
תניא,
רבי יוסי בר יהודה אומר:
אדם עובר עבירה פעם ראשונה —
מוחלין לו,
שניה —
מוחלין לו,
שלישית —
מוחלין לו,
רביעית —
אין מוחלין לו
§ It was taught in a baraita that
R’ Yosei bar Yehuda says:
When a person commits a transgression the 1st time,
he is forgiven;
a 2nd time,
he is forgiven;
a 3rd time,
he is forgiven;
but the 4th time,
he is not forgiven,
Prooftext - Amos 2:6; Job 33:29
שנאמר:
״כה אמר ה׳:
על שלשה פשעי ישראל
ועל ארבעה לא אשיבנו״,
(ונאמר:)
״הן כל אלה יפעל אל פעמים שלש עם גבר״.
[...]
as it is stated:
“Thus said YHWH:
For 3 transgressions of Israel,
[but] for 4 I will not reverse it” (Amos 2:6).
And it says:
“All these things does God do twice or 3 times with a man” (Job 33:29).
[...]
Baraita - A sin confessed and not repeated need not be confessed again on the next Yom Kippur
תנו רבנן:
עבירות שהתודה עליהן יום הכפורים זה --
לא יתודה עליהן יום הכפורים אחר.
ואם שנה בהן —
צריך להתודות יום הכפורים אחר.
§ A baraita states in the Tosefta:
With regard to transgressions that one confessed (התודה) on this Yom Kippur --
he should not confess them on another Yom Kippur, since he has already been forgiven.
But if he repeated (שנה) those same transgressions during the year,
he must confess them again on another Yom Kippur.
Repeating confession unnecessarily resembles a dog returning to its vomit - Proverbs 26:11
ואם לא שנה בהן,
וחזר והתודה —
עליהן עליו הכתוב אומר:
״ככלב שב על קיאו
כסיל שונה באולתו״.
And if he did not repeat them
but did confess them again,
about him the verse states:
“As a dog that returns to its vomit,
so is a fool who repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:11),
since it is inappropriate to go back and mention one’s earlier sins.
R’ Eliezer ben Ya’akov - Re-confessing earlier sins is praiseworthy, because one should keep awareness of one’s sins - Psalms 51:5
רבי אליעזר בן יעקב אומר:
כל שכן שהוא משובח,
שנאמר:
״כי פשעי אני אדע
וחטאתי נגדי תמיד״.
[...]
R’ Eliezer ben Ya’akov says:
If one confesses in subsequent years, all the more so is he praiseworthy,
as he remembers his earlier sins and is thereby humbled, as it is stated:
“For I know my transgressions;
and my sin is ever before me” (Psalms 51:5).
[...]
R’ Yehuda ben Bava - Confession should specify the particular sin - Exodus 32:31
וצריך לפרוט את החטא,
שנאמר:
״אנא חטא העם הזה חטאה גדולה
ויעשו להם אלהי זהב״,
דברי רבי יהודה בן בבא.
During confession, one must detail the sin he committed and not suffice with a general admission of sin,
as it is stated:
“And Moses returned to YHWH and said:
Please, this people have sinned a great sin,
and have made themselves a god of gold” (Exodus 32:31);
this is the statement of R’ Yehuda ben Bava.
R’ Akiva - One need not specify the sin in confession - Psalms 32:1
רבי עקיבא אומר:
״אשרי נשוי פשע
כסוי חטאה״.
R’ Akiva says that the verse states:
“Fortunate is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is hidden” (Psalms 32:1),
which teaches that one need not detail his sins.
R’ Yannai - Moses’ mention of the Golden Calf was not confession-detailing but an argument that Israel’s abundance of gold helped cause the sin - Exodus 32:31
אלא מהו שאמר משה:
״ויעשו להם אלהי זהב״?
כדרבי ינאי.
דאמר רבי ינאי:
אמר משה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא:
רבונו של עולם!
כסף וזהב שהרבית להם לישראל
עד שאמרו די —
גרם להם שיעשו אלהי זהב.
But what is the meaning of that which Moses said:
“And have made themselves a god of gold” (Exodus 32:31)?
It should be understood in accordance with the statement of R’ Yannai,
as R’ Yannai said:
Moses said before God:
God!
it is the silver and gold that you gave to the Jewish people in abundance,
until they said: “Enough,”
which caused them to make a god of gold.1
Moses wanted his sin publicized, whereas David wanted his hidden - Numbers 20:12
שני פרנסים טובים עמדו להם לישראל:
משה
ודוד.
It is said that two good leaders (פרנסים) arose for the Jewish people:
Moses
and David.
משה אמר:
יכתב סורחני,
שנאמר:
״יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני״,
Moses said:
Let my disgrace2 be written, i.e., may the sin I committed be written explicitly,
as it is stated:
“Because you did not believe in Me,
to sanctify Me” (Numbers 20:12).
David - Psalms 32:1
דוד אמר:
אל יכתב סורחני.
שנאמר:
״אשרי נשוי פשע
כסוי חטאה״.
In contrast, David said:
Let my disgrace not be written,3
as it is stated:
“Fortunate is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is hidden” (Psalms 32:1).
Moses’ publicity prevented people from assuming he committed more serious sins
משל דמשה ודוד למה הדבר דומה?
לשתי נשים שלקו בבית דין:
אחת קלקלה,
ואחת אכלה פגי שביעית.
The Talmud explains:
A parable with regard to Moses and David shows to what this may be compared:
It may be compared to two women4 who were flogged in court for their sins:
One of them
Sinned,5
and one
ate unripe figs (פגי) of the Sabbatical Year although they are forbidden.
אמרה להן אותה שאכלה פגי שביעית:
בבקשה מכם!
הודיעו על מה היא לוקה,
שלא יאמרו:
על מה שזו לוקה —
זו לוקה.
The woman who ate the unripe figs of the Sabbatical Year said to the court:
Please!
publicize the sin for which I am being flogged,
so that people will not say that
what that woman is being flogged for --
is also what this woman is being flogged for.
הביאו פגי שביעית
ותלו בצוארה,
והיו מכריזין לפניה ואומרין:
על עסקי שביעית היא לוקה.
They brought unripe figs of the Sabbatical Year,
and hung them around her neck,
and announced before her, saying:
She is receiving lashes on account of the Sabbatical Year.6
Hypocrites should be exposed to prevent desecration of God’s name
מפרסמין את החנפין
מפני חילול השם,
Furthermore, they said:
due to the desecration of God’s name,
so others will not think that they are truly righteous and that their deeds bear imitating,
Prooftext - repentance can avert punishment even after a decree has been issued - Ezekiel 3:20
שנאמר:
״ובשוב צדיק מצדקו
ועשה עול
ונתתי מכשול לפניו״.
תשובת המוחלטין מעכבת הפורענות,
ואף על פי שנחתם עליו גזר דין של פורענות.
as it is stated:
“When a righteous man turns (שוב) from his righteousness
and commits iniquity,
I will lay a stumbling block before him” (Ezekiel 3:20).9
The repentance of utterly (מוחלטין) wicked people prevents punishment (פורענות) from coming upon them.
And although the sentence of judgment has already been signed against them for punishment,
their repentance prevents them from being punished.
Prosperity can ruin the wicked, and political authority endangers its holder
(See footnote.)10
שלות רשעים --
סופה תקלה,
והרשות --
מקברת את בעליה,
ערום נכנס לה, וערום יצא ממנה,
ולואי שתהא יציאה כביאה.
The tranquility of the wicked --
is ultimately their destruction, as in their contentment they sit and think about forbidden matters.
And political authority (רשות) --
buries one who owns it.
He was naked when he entered the world, and he will be naked when he leaves it,
and if only his exit would be like his entrance, without sin and added iniquity.
Rav - A judge should approach adjudication with fear, recognizing the danger of wrongful judgment and lack of personal gain
רב כי הוה נפיק למידן דינא
אמר הכי:
בצבו נפשיה, לקטלא נפיק,
וצבו ביתיה לית הוא עביד,
וריקן לביתיה אזיל,
ולואי שתהא ביאה כיציאה.
The Talmud relates:
When Rav would leave his home to go to court to judge cases,
he would say this of himself:
Of his own will,11 he goes to die, because a judge who misjudges a case is liable to death at the hand of Heaven;
and he does not fulfill the will of his household
and he goes empty-handed to his household, because a judge does not receive a salary;
and if only his entrance would be like his exit, without sin or transgression.
Rava - Repeated Rav’s warning about judicial office
רבא כי הוה נפיק לדינא
אמר הכי:
בצבו נפשיה לקטלא נפיק,
וצבו ביתיה לית הוא עביד,
וריקן לביתיה אזיל,
ולואי שתהא ביאה כיציאה.
When Rava would go to judge,
he would say this of himself:
Of his own will, he goes to die;
and he does not fulfill the will of his household,
and he goes empty-handed to his household;
and if only his entrance would be like his exit.
... and when Rava honored by crowds, he reminded himself of the transience of power - Job 20:6–7
(See footnote.)12
וכי הוי חזי אמבוהא אבתריה,
אמר:
״אם יעלה לשמים שיאו
וראשו לעב יגיע.
כגללו לנצח יאבד
רואיו יאמרו: איו?״.
And when [Rava] saw a line of people [ambuha] following after him out of respect for him,
he said:
“Though his excellency13 ascends to the heavens,
and his head reaches to the clouds (עב),
yet he should perish forever like his own dung;
they who have seen him will say: Where is he?”14 (Job 20:6–7).
Rav Zutra - Public honor and political authority are temporary - Proverbs 27:24
רב זוטרא, כי הוו מכתפי ליה בשבתא דריגלא,
הוה אמר:
״כי לא לעולם חסן
ואם נזר לדור ודור״.
When they would carry Rav Zutra on their shoulders during the Shabbat of the Festival15 when he taught,
he would recite the following to avoid becoming arrogant:
“For power is not forever,
and does the crown endure for all generations?” (Proverbs 27:24).
Steinsaltz:
Consequently, the phrase “and have made themselves a god of gold” is not a description of the sin, but an explanation and justification of it.
סורחני.
Referring to Moses’ sin of “the water of Meriva” (מי מריבה), as in the verse after the one cited by the Talmud.
On the word used here (סורחני), see Jastrow (modernized), entry “סוֹרְחָן”:
(סָרַח III)
corruption, sin, offense.
Yoma 86b:15 יכתב סוּרְחָנִי let my sin be recorded;
Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 718:2 סָרְחָנִי.
Midrash Tanḥuma Ki Tisa 22 מה סרחני what is my sin?;
and elsewhere.
See סֵירָחוֹן.
Related to the word סרח; on that word, see the note in my recent “Pt2 Ahab’s Death, Obadiah’s Righteousness, and Moab’s Sacrifice (Sanhedrin 39b)“, on section “Rav Dimi - The same idea is expressed by the proverb: “A thigh rots from within” (i.e., punishment emerges from within the offending group itself) - II Samuel 8:2“.
Presumably referring to his sin with Bathsheba, which is discussed a number of times throughout the Talmud.
It’s unclear why specifically women are used in this parable, as opposed to men, which is the default in the Talmud. It may be that this was a known story, or that the Talmud doesn’t want to ascribe sins to Jewish men, even in a parable (compare “non-Jews” in riddles where the solutions contain acts of incest, in my “Seven Riddles of Complex Family Relationships, and Their Solutions: A Case Study in AI-Generated Diagrams in HTML and SVG (Yevamot 97b)“, and my note there.)
קלקלה - literally: “spoil, damage, break” (compare to סרח earlier).
Steinsaltz:
by engaging in forbidden sex
The default “sin” in the Talmud is sexual sin.
On the verb used here (קלקל), see Jastrow (modernized), entry “קִלְקֵל”, sense #2:
2)
(with or substitute for: מעשה = Biblical Hebrew הִשְׁחִית)
to be corrupt, to disgrace one’s self by immorality.
Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 1:6:10 חם … קִילְקְלוּ מעשיהן Ham, the dog, and the raven acted mischievously (by sexual connection in the ark, see
Rosh Hashanah 12a:4 ברותחין קלקלו וכ׳ with heat (of passion) they sinned, and with hot waters they were punished; Sanhedrin 108b:3.
Tosefta Sotah 2:2 אפי׳ תְקַלְקֵל וכ׳, see עָרַר;
and frequently.
[Midrash Tehillim 7, ed. Buber note 69 קלקלתי, see כִּלְכֵּל.]
passive participle מְקוּלְקָל; feminine מְקוּלְקֶלֶת; plural מְקוּלְקָלִים, מְקוּלְקָלִין; מְקוּלְקָלוֹת.
Mishnah Moed Katan 1:2 (Moed Katan 2a:2) ומתקנין את המקולקלת Yerushalmi and Bavli editions (Mishnah המקולקלות, incorrect) “and you may mend a channel that is out of order during the festive week”
Sanhedrin 39b:19 (referring to Ezekiel 5:7) כמתוקנין … כמק׳ שבהם עשיתן you did not do according to the good usages among them, but according to their corrupt usages.
Bava Batra 109b, see קַלְקָלָה;
and frequently.
Steinsaltz:
Moses requested that his sin [at Meriva, see my earlier note] be publicized so that people would not think that he committed the same sins as the members of his generation, i.e., the Golden Calf and the report of the Spies.
מפרסמין - a generic masculine plural form, grammatically ambiguous between “we publicize” and “they publicize”, i.e. making something publicly or widely known.
On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “חָנֵף”
(Biblical Hebrew; the preceding words.)
hypocrite, flatterer; faithless, arbitrary, fickle.
Esther Rabbah 1:1 (referring to Job 34:30) בשעה שהמלך ח׳ וכ׳ when a king is arbitrary and rules tyrannically etc.
Ibid. שהיה ח׳ וכ׳ for he (Ahasuerus) was arbitrary, for he put to death etc.
Plural: חֲנֵפִים, חֲנֵפִין, חֲנֵי׳. Tosefta Yoma V (4), 12;
Yoma 86b:17 מפרסמין את החנ׳ וכ׳ you may expose the hypocrites to prevent defamation of the divine Name.
Kohelet Rabbah 4:1 חֲנֵיפֵי תורה pretenders of scholarship.
Tractate Derekh Eretz Rabbah 2:1 חֲנֵפוֹת (masculine, see מָסוֹר);
and elsewhere.
Steinsaltz:
That is, when people do not know that someone is wicked to the core, he causes other people to err, and this desecrates the name of God when it is revealed.
On these aphorisms, see my pieces on tractate Avot.
צבו.
On this word, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “צְבוּ”:
(צְבֵי)
will, desire; willingness.
Targum Jonathan on Leviticus 8:15 (edition(s) Vienna צְבוֹ).
Aramaic Targum to Job 31:16 Lagarde edition (other editions צַבְאוּת);
and elsewhere.
Yoma 86b:18 בצ׳ נפשיה לקטלא נפיק וצ׳ ביתיה וכ׳ of his own free will he (I, the judge) goes to meet death (divine punishment for wrong judgment), and the desire of his household he does not do (he must neglect his own affairs), and empty-handed he comes to his home again;
Sanhedrin 7b:10 ברעות נפשיה … וצבי ביתיה וכ׳.
On Talmudic poetry, see my previous pieces.
For another discussion of this (Rav Zutra being carried during Festival Shabbat), see my “Sages on Sedans: Anecdotes of Talmudic Personalities Being Carried on Litters (Beitzah 25b)“.