Yoma

R. Johanan said: Great is repentance. for it overrides a prohibition of the Torah, as it is said: . . . saying: If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, may he return unto her again? Will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; and wouldest thou yet return to Me? Saith the Lord.1 R. Jonathan said: Great is repentance, because it brings about redemption, as it is said And a redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob,2 i.e., why will a redeemer come to Zion? Because of those that turn from transgression in Jacob. Resh Lakish said: Great is repentance, for because of it premeditated sins are accounted as errors, as it is said: Return, O Israel, unto the Lord, thy God,’ for thou hast stumbled in thy iniquity.3 ‘Iniquity’ is premeditated, and yet he calls it ‘stumbling’ But that is not so! For Resh Lakish said that repentance is so great that premeditated sins are accounted as though they were merits, as it is said: And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby!4 That is no contradiction: One refers to a case [of repentance] derived from love, the other to one due to fear. R. Samuel b. Nahmani said in the name of R. Jonathan: Great is repentance, because it prolongs the [days and]5 years of man, as it is said: ‘And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness . . . he shall live thereby’. R. Isaac said: In the West [Palestine] they said in the name of Rabbah b. Mari: Come and see how different from the character of one of flesh and blood is the action of the Holy One, blessed be He. As to the character of one of flesh and blood, if one angers his fellow,6 it is doubtful whether he [the latter] will be pacified or not by him. And even if you would say, he can be pacified, it is doubtful whether he will be pacified by mere words. But with the Holy One, blessed be He, if a man commits a sin in secret, He is pacified by mere words, as it is said: Take with you words, and return unto the Lord.7 Still more: He even accounts it to him as a good deed, as it is said: And accept that which is good.7 Still more: Scripture accounts it to him as if he had offered up bullocks, as it is said : So will we render for bullocks the offerings of our lips.7 Perhaps you will say [the reference is to] obligatory bullocks. Therefore it is said: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely. 8 It was taught: R Meir used to say, Great is repentance. for on account of an individual who repents, the sins of all the world are forgiven, as it is said: I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely, for mine anger is turned away from him.8 ‘From them’ it is not said, but ‘from him,’. How is one proved a repentant sinner? — Rab Judah said: If the object which caused his original transgression comes before him on two occasions, and he keeps away from it. Rab Judah indicated: With the same woman, at the same time, in the same place. Rab Judah said: Rab pointed out the following contradictions. It is written: Happy is he whose transgression is covered,9 whose sin is pardoned;10 and it is also written: He that covereth his ‘transgression shall not prosper?11 This is no difficulty, one speaks of sins that have become known [to the public], the other of such as did not become known.12 R. Zutra b. Tobiah in the name of R. Nahman said: Here we speak of sins committed by a man against his fellow, there of sins committed by man against the Omnipresent.13 It was taught: R. Jose b. Judah said: If a man commits a transgression, the first, second and third time he is forgiven, the fourth time he is not forgiven, as it is said: Thus saith the Lord.’ For three transgressions of Israel, Yea for four, I will not reverse it;14 and furthermore it says: Lo, all these things does God work, twice, yea, thrice, with a man.15 What does ‘ furthermore’ serve for? — One might have assumed that applies only to a community, but not to an individual, therefore: Come and hear [the additional verse]: ‘Lo, all these things does God work, twice, yea, thrice with a man’. Our Rabbis taught: As for the sins which one has confessed on one Day of Atonement, he should not confess them on another Day of Atonement; but if he repeated them, then he should confess them, on another Day of Atonement — And if he had not committed them again, yet confessed them again, then it is with regard to him that Scripture says: As a dog that returneth to his vomit, so is a fool that repeateth his folly.16 R. Eleazar b. Jacob said: He is the more praiseworthy, as it is said: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is even before me.17 How then do I [explain]. ‘As a dog that returneth to his vomit, etc.’? In accord with R. Huna; for R. Huna said: Once a man has committed a sin once and twice, it is permitted to him. ‘Permitted’? How could that occur to you? — Rather, it appears to him as if it were permitted.18 It is obligatory to confess the sin in detail [explicitly], as it is said: This people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a god of gold.19 These are the words of R. Judah b. Baba. R. Akiba said: [This is not necessary],20 as it is said: ‘Happy is he whose transgression is covered, whose sin is pardoned.21 Then why did Moses say: ‘And have made them a god of gold’? That is [to be explained] in accord with R. Jannai, for R. Jannai said:22 Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: The silver and gold which Thou hast increased unto Israel until they said ‘enough !’23 has caused them to make golden gods. Two good administrators arose unto Israel, Moses and David. Moses begged: let my sin be written down, as it is said: Because ye believed not in me to sanctify me.24 David begged that his sin be not written down, as it is said; ‘Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned’. This case of Moses and Aaron may be compared to the case of two women who received in court the punishment of stripes; one had committed an indecent act, the other had eaten the unripe figs of the seventh year.25 Whereupon the woman who had eaten unripe figs of the seventh year said: I beg of you, make known for what offence I26 have been punished with stripes, lest people say: The one woman was punished for the same sin that the other was punished for. They brought unripe fruits of the seventh year, and hanged them on her neck, and they were calling out before her: This woman was punished with stripes because she ate the unripe figs of the seventh year. One should expose hypocrites to prevent27 the profanation of the Name,28 as it is said: Again, when a righteous man doth turn from righteousness. and commit iniquity, I will lay a stumbling-block before him.29 The repentance of the confirmed sinner delays punishment, even though the decree of punishment for him had been signed already. The careless ease of the wicked ends in calamity. Power buries those who wield it. Naked did man come into the world, naked he leaves it. Would that his coming forth be like his coming in.30 Whenever Rab went to the court, he used to say thus: Out of his own will he goes31 towards death, the wishes of his household he is unable to fulfil, for he returns empty to his home. Would that the coming forth be like the going in.32 (Whenever Raba went to the court he used to say thus: confession. God. offended; ritual transgressions one need reveal but to God. were physical ones. The stipend was insufficient to meet the needs of his household, the only fruit was the fear that he may leave the court less righteous than he entered it. There were no salaries for the judges in antiquity. Like the office of the Rabbi, it was a post of honour. But every scholar who spent his time exclusively in the study of the Torah was freed from taxes and received public and private privileges.