מפת הסוגיא — יומא פ״וSugya map — Yoma 86

הגמרא חוזרת לברייתא קודמת: ״לפי שנאמר בחורב ׳ונקה׳״ — מניין שהתשובה נזכרה שם? מברייתא: ר׳ אלעזר דורש את הסתירה בין ״נקה״ ל״לא ינקה״ (שמות לד) — אי אפשר לקיים את שניהם כפשוטם. אלא: הקב״ה מנקה (מכפר) למי ששבים בתשובה, ואינו מנקה לשאינם שבים.

§ Since the Gemara cited this baraita, it now clarifies part of it. The Master said: Since it was stated at Horeb with regard to repentance: “Absolve.” The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this concept that repentance was mentioned there? The Gemara answers: As it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi 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. How so? The Holy One, Blessed be He, absolves those who repent and does not absolve those who do not repent. Therefore, both “repentance” and “absolve” were mentioned at Horeb.

ר׳ מתיא בן חרש שאל את ראב״ע ברומי: האם שמעת על ארבעה חילוקי כפרה שהיה ר׳ ישמעאל דורש? השיב: אינם ארבעה אלא שלושה, ותשובה נדרשת עם כל אחד ואחד מהם.

Furthermore, with regard to the topic of repentance, Rabbi Matya ben Ḥarash asked Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya when Rabbi Elazar was in Rome: Have you heard the teaching that there are four distinctions in the process of atonement that Rabbi Yishmael would derive? He said to him: They are not four but three distinctions, and repentance is necessary with each one.

פירוט שלושת החילוקים: (א) עבר על מצוות עשה ושב — מוחלין לו מיד, שנאמר ״שובו בנים שובבים״. (ב) עבר על לא־תעשה ושב — התשובה תולה את העונש, ויום הכיפורים מכפר, שנאמר ״כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם״. (ג) עבר על כריתות ומיתות בית דין ושב — תשובה ויוה״כ תולין, והיסורין ממרקים (גומרים) את הכפרה, שנאמר ״ופקדתי בשבט פשעם״.

These are the categories: If one violates a positive mitzva and repents, he is forgiven even before he moves from his place, i.e. immediately, 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. If one violates a prohibition and repents, repentance suspends his punishment and Yom Kippur atones for his sin, as it is stated: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to purify you from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30). If one commits a transgression that warrants karet or a sin punishable by death from the earthly court and then repents, repentance and Yom Kippur suspend his punishment, and suffering absolves and completes the atonement, as it is stated: “Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with strokes” (Psalms 89:33).

החריג החמור: מי שיש בידו חילול השם — אין כוח בתשובה לתלות, ולא ביום הכיפורים לכפר, ולא ביסורין למרק; אלא כולם יחד רק תולים, ורק המיתה ממרקת לגמרי, שנאמר ״אם יכופר העוון הזה לכם עד תמותון״.

But in the case of one who has caused desecration of God’s name, 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. Rather, all these suspend punishment, and death absolves him, as it is stated: “And the Lord of Hosts revealed Himself to my ears: This iniquity shall not be atoned for until you die” (Isaiah 22:14).

הגמרא שואלת: מהו חילול השם המדובר? רב: אדם חשוב כמותי, אם אקח בשר מן הטבח ולא אשלם מיד — יחשדוני בגזל וילמדו ממני. אביי מסייג: לא אמרו כן אלא במקום שאין הטבח רגיל לתבוע את חובו; אבל במקום שתובעים — אין בכך חשש, שהכול יודעים שקונה בהקפה.

§ The Gemara asks: What are the circumstances that cause desecration of God’s name? Rav said: For example, in the case of someone like me, since I am an important public figure, if I take meat from a butcher and do not give him money immediately, 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. Abaye said: They taught this statement of Rav only in a place where they do not ask for the money, where it is not customary for the butcher himself to come and collect payment from the customer. When the customer does not pay immediately, people may suspect him of theft. But in a place where they ask for the money from the customer some time later, we have no problem with doing this. Since everyone understands he is buying on credit, he is not desecrating God’s name.

רבינא: עירי מתא מחסיא היא מקום שתובעים בו את החוב. ומסופר: אביי, כשהיה קונה בשר משני שותפים, היה נותן זוז לזה וזוז לזה — כדי שכל אחד ידע שקיבל את חלקו — ואחר כך מקרב את שניהם ועושה חשבון.

Ravina said: My native city of Meḥasya is a place where they ask for and collect the money. The Gemara relates that when Abaye bought meat from two partners, he would give the money to this one and the money to this one, so that each would know that he had paid. And afterward he would bring them together and perform the calculation to see whether he received his change.

דעות נוספות: ר׳ יוחנן — אדם כמותי, אם אהלך ארבע אמות בלא תורה ובלא תפילין (והרואים אינם יודעים שזה מחמת חולשתי). יצחק דבי ר׳ ינאי — כל שחבריו מתביישים מחמת השמועות עליו. רב נחמן בר יצחק — כגון שאומרים עליו הבריות: ״ימחל לו אדונו לפלוני״ (על חטאיו).

Rabbi Yoḥanan said: What is an example of desecration of God’s name? For example, someone like me, if I would walk four cubits without Torah and without phylacteries, 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 from the school of Rabbi 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 said: One creates a profanation of God’s name, for example, when people say about him: May his Master forgive so-and-so for the sins he has done.

אביי מביא את הצד החיובי, מברייתא על ״ואהבת את ה׳ אלהיך״: שיהא שם שמים מתאהב על ידך — שאדם הלומד תורה ומשמש חכמים ומשאו ומתנו בנחת עם הבריות, הבריות אומרות עליו: אשרי אביו ורבו שלימדוהו תורה, ראו כמה נאים דרכיו ומתוקנים מעשיו. עליו הכתוב אומר ״עבדי אתה ישראל אשר בך אתפאר״.

Abaye said: As it was taught in a baraita that it is stated: “And you shall love the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 6:5), which means that you shall make the name of Heaven beloved. How should one do so? One should do so in that he should read Torah, and learn Mishna, and serve Torah scholars, and he should be pleasant with people in his business transactions. What do people say about such a person? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah, fortunate is his teacher who taught him Torah, woe to the people who have not studied Torah. So-and-so, who taught him Torah, see how pleasant are his ways, how proper are his deeds. The verse states about him and others like him: “You are My servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3).

לעומת זה: הלומד תורה ומשמש חכמים, אך משאו ומתנו אינו באמונה ודיבורו אינו בנחת — הבריות אומרות עליו: אוי לו ולאביו ולרבו שלימדוהו תורה, ראו כמה מקולקלים מעשיו ומכוערים דרכיו. עליו הכתוב אומר (על חילול השם בגלות) ״עם ה׳ אלה ומארצו יצאו״.

But one who reads Torah, and learns Mishna, and serves Torah scholars, but his business practices are not done faithfully, and he does not speak pleasantly with other people, what do people say about him? Woe to so-and-so who studied Torah, woe to his father who taught him Torah, woe to his teacher who taught him Torah. So-and-so who studied Torah, see how destructive are his deeds, and how ugly are his ways. About him and others like him the verse states that the gentiles will say: “Men said of them: These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land” (Ezekiel 36:20). Through their sins and subsequent exile, such people have desecrated the name of God.

פותחת שורת דרשות ״גדולה תשובה״. ר׳ חמא בר חנינא: גדולה תשובה שמביאה רפואה לעולם, שנאמר ״ארפא משובתם אוהבם נדבה״ (הושע יד) — התשובה מן החטא מרפאת.

§ Further on the topic of repentance, Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: Great is repentance, as it brings healing to the world, as it is stated: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely” (Hosea 14:5), which teaches that repentance from sin brings healing.

ר׳ חמא בר חנינא מקשה סתירה: כתוב ״שובו בנים שובבים״ — משמע שמתחילה הייתם שובבים (כאילו לא חטאתם ממש), וכתוב ״ארפא משובותיכם״ — משמע שעדיין חוטאים וצריכים ריפוי. תירוץ: לא קשיא — כאן (שנמחק לגמרי) בתשובה מאהבה, כאן (שהחטא נזכר) בתשובה מיראה.

Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina raised a contradiction between two verses. It is written in one verse: “Return, you backsliding children” (Jeremiah 3:14), implying that initially when you sinned, it was only because you were backsliding, i.e., rebelling. It was merely an act of immaturity and foolishness and could be ignored as if it had never happened. But it is written: “I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22), implying that He will heal the sin from this point onward, and that they are still sinners. He resolved this contradiction, explaining that this is not difficult: Here, where everything is forgiven as if the Jewish people never sinned, it is referring to repentance out of love; there, where the sin is still remembered despite the forgiveness and repentance, it is referring to repentance out of fear.

רב יהודה מקשה סתירה דומה: כתוב ״ארפא משובותיכם״ — שכל אדם זוכה לריפוי בתשובה, וכתוב ״ולקחתי אתכם אחד מעיר ושנים ממשפחה״ — שמשמע רק יחידים. תירוץ: כאן בתשובה מאהבה או מיראה (שמעטים זוכים לה), כאן בתשובה על ידי יסורין (שכולם הוגים בה). ר׳ לוי: גדולה תשובה שמגעת עד כיסא הכבוד, שנאמר ״שובה ישראל עד ה׳ אלהיך״.

Similarly, Rabbi Yehuda raised a contradiction between two verses. It is written: “Return, you backsliding children I will heal your backsliding” (Jeremiah 3:22), implying that anyone can achieve healing, which is dependent only on repentance. But it also states: “Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord, for I am a lord to you, and I will take you one from a city, and two from a family” (Jeremiah 3:14), implying that repentance is available only to certain individuals. He resolved the contradiction and explained that this is not difficult: Here, it is referring to repentance out of love or fear, which few people achieve; there, it referring is repentance through suffering, as everyone has thoughts of repentance when they suffer. Rabbi Levi said: Great is repentance, as it reaches the heavenly throne, as it is stated: “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God” (Hosea 14:2). This implies that repentance literally reaches to God.

ר׳ יוחנן: גדולה תשובה שדוחה אפילו לא־תעשה שבתורה. ראיה מן הנביא: אף שאסור לאשה שזינתה לשוב לבעלה, נמשלו ישראל לאשה, ובכל זאת ״ושוב אלי נאם ה׳״ — התשובה דוחה את האיסור.

§ Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Great is repentance, as it overrides even a prohibition of the Torah. How so? As it is stated that God said: “…Saying: If a man sends away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, may he return to her again? Will not that land be greatly polluted? But you have committed adultery with many lovers; and would you yet return to Me, said the Lord” (Jeremiah 3:1). Indeed, the Torah states: “Her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she has been made impure” (Deuteronomy 24:4). The relationship between the Jewish people and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is compared to that between a husband and wife. Just as it is prohibited for an adulterous wife to return to her husband, it should be prohibited for the Jewish people to return to God from their sins, yet repentance overrides this prohibition.

ר׳ יונתן: גדולה תשובה שמקרבת את הגאולה, שנאמר ״ובא לציון גואל ולשבי פשע ביעקב״ — ומדוע ״ובא לציון גואל״? משום ש״שבי פשע ביעקב״, שעשו תשובה.

Rabbi Yonatan said: Great is repentance, which hastens the redemption, as it is stated: “And a redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who repent from transgression in Jacob” (Isaiah 59:20). What is the reason that a redeemer will come to Zion? It is because there are those who repent from transgression in Jacob.

ריש לקיש: גדולה תשובה שהזדונות (עבירות במזיד) נעשות לשב כשגגות, שנאמר ״כי כשלת בעוונך״ — ה״עוון״ הוא מזיד, ובכל זאת קוראו ״מכשול״ (שגגה). קושיא: והרי ריש לקיש עצמו אמר שהזדונות נעשות כזכיות (״ובשוב רשע… חיֹה יחיה״)? תירוץ: לא קשיא — כאן בתשובה מאהבה (כזכיות), כאן מיראה (כשגגות).

Reish Lakish said: Great is repentance, as the penitent’s intentional sins are counted for him as unwitting transgressions, as it is stated: “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity” (Hosea 14:2). The Gemara analyzes this: Doesn’t “iniquity” mean an intentional sin? Yet the prophet calls it stumbling, implying that one who repents is considered as though he only stumbled accidentally in his transgression. The Gemara asks: Is that so? Didn’t Reish Lakish himself say: Great is repentance, as one’s intentional sins are counted for him as merits, as it is stated: “And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby” (Ezekiel 33:19), and all his deeds, even his transgressions, will become praiseworthy? The Gemara reconciles: This is not difficult: Here, when one repents out of love, his sins become like merits; there, when one repents out of fear, his sins are counted as unwitting transgressions.

ר׳ שמואל בר נחמני בשם ר׳ יונתן: גדולה תשובה שמאריכה שנותיו של אדם, שנאמר ״ובשוב רשע מרשעתו… חיו יחיה״ — ישוב לחיות חיים ארוכים.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Great is repentance, which lengthens the years of a person’s life, as it is stated: “When the wicked man turns from his wickedness that he has committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he will preserve his life” (Ezekiel 18:27).

ר׳ יצחק בשם רבה בר מרי (בני ארץ ישראל): בוא וראה שמידת הקב״ה אינה כמידת בשר ודם. בבשר ודם — המקניט את חברו בדברים, ספק יתרצה לו ספק לא; ואם יתרצה — ספק יתרצה בדברים בלבד, ספק לא.

§ Rabbi Yitzḥak said: They say in the West, Eretz Yisrael, in the name of Rabba bar Mari: Come and see that the attribute of flesh and blood is unlike the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He. With flesh and blood people, if one insults his friend with words, it is uncertain whether the victim will be appeased by him or will not be appeased by him. And if you say he will be appeased, it is still uncertain whether he will be appeased by words alone or will not be appeased by words alone, and one must try to appease him in other ways.

אבל הקב״ה: אדם החוטא בסתר ושב — מתפייס ממנו בדברים בלבד, שנאמר ״קחו עמכם דברים ושובו אל ה׳״. ולא עוד, אלא שמחזיק לו טובה (״וקח טוב״). ולא עוד, אלא שמעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו הקריב פרים (״ונשלמה פרים שפתינו״). ושמא תאמר פרי חובה — תלמוד לומר ״אוהבם נדבה״, כקרבן נדבה.

But with regard to the Holy One, Blessed be He, if a person commits a transgression in private, God is appeased by words, as it is stated: “Take with you words and return to God” (Hosea 14:3). And not only that, but God considers it as though he has done a favor for God by repenting, as it is stated: “Accept that which is good” (Hosea 14:3). And not only that, but the verse ascribes him credit as though he had sacrificed bulls, as it is stated: “So we will render for bulls the offering of our lips” (Hosea 14:3). Lest you say he is considered only like one who offers obligatory bulls, therefore the verse states: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely” (Hosea 14:5). Repentance is considered as though it were the sacrifice of a free-will offering.

ברייתא — ר׳ מאיר: גדולה תשובה, שבשביל יחיד שעשה תשובה מוחלין לכל העולם כולו, שנאמר ״כי שב אפי ממנו״ — ׳מהם׳ לא נאמר אלא ׳ממנו׳ (מאותו יחיד), ובזכותו נתרפא הכול.

It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir would say: Great is repentance because the entire world is forgiven on account of one individual who repents, as it is stated: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for My anger has turned away from him” (Hosea 14:5). It does not say: From them, i.e., from the sinners, but “from him,” i.e., from that individual. Because he repented, everyone will be healed.

הגמרא שואלת: מהו בעל תשובה גמור? רב יהודה: כגון שבאה לידו אותה עבירה פעם ראשונה ושנייה — וניצל ממנה, שכבש את יצרו. ורב יהודה הראה (פירש): באותה אשה ממש שחטא בה, באותו זמן ובאותו מקום — וזו הוכחה שתשובתו שלמה.

§ With regard to repentance, the Gemara asks: What are the circumstances that demonstrate that one has completely repented? Rav Yehuda said: For example, the prohibited matter came to his hand a first time and a second time, and he was saved from it, thereby proving that he has completely repented. Rav Yehuda demonstrated what he meant: If one has the opportunity to sin with the same woman he sinned with previously, at the same time and the same place, and everything is aligned as it was that first time when he sinned, but this time he overcomes his inclination, it proves his repentance is complete, and he is forgiven.

רב יהודה אמר שרב הקשה סתירה: כתוב ״אשרי נשוי פשע כסוי חטאה״ — שראוי לכסות החטא, וכתוב ״מכסה פשעיו לא יצליח״ — שראוי לגלותו. תירוץ: כאן בחטא מפורסם (ראוי לפרסם גם את תשובתו), כאן בחטא שאינו מפורסם (ראוי לכסותו). רב זוטרא בשם רב נחמן: כאן בעבירות שבין אדם לחברו, כאן שבין אדם למקום.

Rav Yehuda said that Rav raised a contradiction: It is written: “Fortunate is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is hidden” (Psalms 32:1), implying that it is inappropriate for one to reveal his sins, and it is written: “He who hides his transgressions shall not prosper” (Proverbs 28:13). He resolved the contradiction as follows: This is not difficult. Here it is referring to a publicized sin; since his sin is public knowledge it is fitting for him to also publicize his repentance. There, it is referring to a sin that is not publicized, in which case it is inappropriate to publicize one’s repentance. Rav Zutra bar Toviya said that Rav Naḥman said: Here, it is referring to sins a person commits against another; he must publicize his repentance so that those who hear him may persuade the other to forgive him. There, it is referring to sins a person commits against God, in which case he need not repent publicly.

ברייתא — ר׳ יוסי בר יהודה: עבר אדם עבירה פעם ראשונה, שנייה ושלישית — מוחלין לו; רביעית — אין מוחלין לו, שנאמר ״על שלושה פשעי ישראל ועל ארבעה לא אשיבנו״. ומביא פסוק נוסף: ״הן כל אלה יפעל אל פעמיים שלוש עם גבר״.

§ It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says: When a person commits a transgression the first time, he is forgiven; a second time, he is forgiven; a third time, he is forgiven; but the fourth time, he is not forgiven, as it is stated: “Thus said the Lord: For three transgressions of Israel, but for four I will not reverse it” (Amos 2:6). And it says: “All these things does God do twice or three times with a man” (Job 33:29).

קושיא: מדוע צריך פסוק שני (״ואומר״)? תירוץ: שמא תאמר שדין שלוש הפעמים נאמר רק בציבור אך לא ביחיד — תא שמע ״פעמיים שלוש עם גבר״, שאף ביחיד כן; ומכאן ואילך (מן הרביעית) אין מוחלין, כנאמר ״ועל ארבעה לא אשיבנו״.

The Gemara asks: What is: And it says? Why did he need to bring an additional biblical proof when the first verse seems to suffice? The Gemara explains: Lest you say that this statement that the Holy One, Blessed be He, forgives easily the first three times applies to a community but not to an individual, come and hear proof from another verse that states: “All these things does God do twice or three times with a man,” implying that this is so even for an individual. From this point onward, he is not forgiven, as it is stated: “For three transgressions of Israel, but for four I will not reverse it.”

ברייתא: עבירות שהתוודה עליהן ביוה״כ זה — לא יתוודה עליהן ביוה״כ אחר, שכבר נמחלו. ואם חזר ועבר בהן — צריך להתוודות שוב. ואם לא חזר בהן ובכל זאת חזר והתוודה — עליו הכתוב אומר ״ככלב שב על קיאו, כסיל שונה באיוולתו״.

§ The Sages taught in the Tosefta: With regard to transgressions that one confessed on this Yom Kippur, he should not confess them on another Yom Kippur, since he has already been forgiven. But if he repeated those same transgressions during the year, he must confess them again on another Yom Kippur. 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.

ר׳ אליעזר בן יעקב חולק: אדרבה, החוזר ומתוודה משובח, שנאמר ״כי פשעי אני אדע וחטאתי נגדי תמיד״. ואם כן מה אקיים ״ככלב שב על קיאו״? כדרב הונא: כיוון שעבר אדם עבירה ושנה בה — ׳הותרה לו׳. וכי הותרה ממש?! אלא אימא: נעשית לו כהיתר, שאינו מרגיש בה עוד באיסור.

Rabbi 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). But how do I establish the meaning of the verse: “Like a dog that returns to its vomit”? It may be established in accordance with the opinion of Rav Huna, as Rav Huna said: When a person commits a transgression and repeats it, it is permitted to him. The Gemara is surprised at this: Can it enter your mind that it is permitted to him because he has sinned twice? Rather, say it becomes to him as if it were permitted.

ר׳ יהודה בן בבא: בווידוי צריך לפרוט את החטא במפורש, שנאמר ״חטא העם הזה חטאה גדולה ויעשו להם אלהי זהב״ (משה פירט). ר׳ עקיבא חולק: אין צריך לפרוט, שנאמר ״אשרי נשוי פשע כסוי חטאה״. ולפי ר׳ עקיבא, מהו שמשה פרט ״ויעשו אלהי זהב״? כדר׳ ינאי: משה תלה הקולר בקב״ה — הכסף והזהב שהרבית להם גרמו להם לחטוא.

Furthermore, 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 the Lord 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 Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava. Rabbi 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. 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 Rabbi Yannai, as Rabbi Yannai said: Moses said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the universe, 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. 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.

שני מנהיגים טובים עמדו לישראל — משה ודוד. משה אמר: ייכתב חטאי במפורש, שנאמר ״יען לא האמנתם בי להקדישני״. דוד אמר: אל ייכתב חטאי, שנאמר ״אשרי נשוי פשע כסוי חטאה״ — ולכן חטאו (בת שבע) לא נכתב בפירוש.

It is said that two good leaders arose for the Jewish people: Moses and David. Moses said: Let my disgrace 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). In contrast, David said: Let my disgrace not be written, as it is stated: “Fortunate is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is hidden” (Psalms 32:1).

משל למשה ודוד: לשתי נשים שלקו בבית דין — אחת על עריות ואחת על שאכלה פגי שביעית. ביקשה זו שאכלה שביעית: פרסמו על מה אני לוקה, שלא יחשבו שלקיתי על אותו חטא כחברתי. הביאו פגי שביעית ותלו בצווארה והכריזו: על עסקי שביעית היא לוקה. כך משה ביקש שיפורש חטאו, שלא יחשדוהו בחטא חמור כדור המדבר.

The Gemara explains: A parable with regard to Moses and David shows to what this may be compared. It may be compared to two women who were flogged in court for their sins. One of them sinned by engaging in forbidden relations, and one ate unripe figs of the Sabbatical Year although they are forbidden. 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. 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. Moses requested that his sin 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.

מפרסמים את החנפים (הרשעים המתחזים לצדיקים) מפני חילול השם — שלא ילמדו ממעשיהם, שנאמר ״ובשוב צדיק מצדקו… ונתתי מכשול לפניו״. ותשובת הרשעים הגמורים מעכבת את הפורענות, אף על פי שכבר נחתם עליהם גזר דין של פורענות.

Furthermore, they said: One exposes the hypocrites due to the desecration of God’s name, so others will not think that they are truly righteous and that their deeds bear imitating, as it is stated: “When a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, I will lay a stumbling block before him” (Ezekiel 3:20). 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. The repentance of utterly wicked people prevents suffering from coming upon them. And although the sentence of judgment has already been signed against them for suffering, their repentance prevents them from being punished.

שלוות הרשעים סופה תקלה; והשררה מקברת את בעליה — ערום נכנס לה וערום יצא, והלוואי שתהא יציאתו (נקייה) כביאתו. רב, כשהיה יוצא לדון דין, היה אומר על עצמו: ברצונו לכליה (מיתה בידי שמים, אם יטעה בדין) הוא יוצא, ואינו עושה רצון ביתו (אינו נוטל שכר), וריקן הולך לביתו — והלוואי שתהא ביאתו (ביתה, נקייה) כיציאתו.

The tranquility of the wicked is ultimately their destruction, as in their contentment they sit and think about forbidden matters. And authority buries one who owns it. He was naked when he entered into power, and he will be naked when he leaves it, and if only his exit would be like his entrance, without sin and added iniquity. The Gemara relates: When Rav would leave his home to go to court to judge cases, he would say this of himself: Of his own will, 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.

רבא, אף הוא, כשהיה יוצא לדון דין, היה אומר כך על עצמו (וכדלהלן):

When Rava would go to judge, he would say this of himself:

נוסח רבא (המשך): ברצונו לכליה הוא יוצא… והלוואי שתהא ביאתו כיציאתו. וכשהיה רואה המון נוהר אחריו מתוך כבוד, היה אומר ״אם יעלה לשמים שיאו… כגללו לנצח יאבד״ — שלא תביאהו השררה לגאווה. ורב זוטרא, כשהיו נושאים אותו על כתפיהם בשבת שלפני הרגל, היה אומר ״כי לא לעולם חוסן, ואם נזר לדור ודור״ — אין השררה נצחית.

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 he saw a line of people [ambuha] following after him out of respect for him, he said: “Though his excellency ascends to the heavens, and his head reaches to the clouds, yet he shall perish forever like his own dung; they who have seen him will say: Where is he?” (Job 20:6–7). This teaches that when one achieves power, it can lead to his downfall. When they would carry Rav Zutra on their shoulders during the Shabbat of the Festival 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).