Who Is Pardoned? The Rambam on Repentance by Rabbi R. Borah

　

　

　

Who is Pardoned?

　

　

2 Brief Analyzes of Maimonides Laws of Repentance - Mishna Torah 　

　

Introduction

       In the Mishna Torah, the Rambam presents the entire code of Jewish law, Written and Oral, in a compilation that is easily readable, meticulously organized and possessing of a clarify of presentation that allows many more people to not only comprehend the basic requirements of the laws, but also to explore its underlying structure and principals. This was one of the Rambam’s purposes in writing the Mishna Torah and it is a great blessing and chesed to the Jewish people.

     As I am writing this, we are in the middle of the month of Elul and, with the daily blowing of the Shofar, our minds turn to the awe inspiring act of teshevah - repentance. The 10 Days of Awe (between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur fill Jews with a sense of urgency, to say the least, in an attempt to repent our sins, receive pardon and be written in the Book of Life for the coming year. Repentance, though certainly unique among the laws of the Torah, is still a law nonetheless and, as such, the better we understand it, the more successful we will be in fulfilling it. I hope, therefore to present a few brief analyses of the Rambam’s Laws of Repentance in the Mishna Torah with the hope that it might assist someone in some small way in carrying out the great act of repentance and in his or her receiving pardon from the Creator.  I look forward to

your comments.

First Analysis: The Tzadik, the Ruhshah and the Beinoni

The Rambam in Chapter 3, Law 1 of the Laws of Repentance states the following:

Each and every person has merits and sins. A person whose merits exceed his sins –a tzaddik . A person whose sins exceed his merits – a rasha. If they (sins and merits) are equal- a beinoni. 　There are a number of questions that arise from the Rambam’s presentation.

1-Why is a person with the smallest degree of merits over sins called a tzaddik?
2-Why is a person with the smallest degree of merits over sins be called a rasha?
3-What is meant by the benoni (the “between” person) –is it possible that a person would have sins and merits so as to perfectly balance each other out? 　

    The difficulty with the Rambam’s statement stems from how profoundly it differs from our usual understanding of the terms tzaddik ( a righteous person) and rasha (an evil person). We usually consider a tzaddik to be someone whose merits would far outnumber his or her sins. For example if a person’s merits would give them a positive score of +1,000 and their sins would give them a negative score of -999, it seems that since their merits are one more than the sins the person, according to the Rambam’s statement, is a tzaddik! And similarly if a person’s merits give them a positive score of +999 and their sins give them a negative score of -1000, they would be deemed a rasha!

     The difference between this tzaddik and rasha, in this case, seems extremely small and insignificant. And yet isn’t it so that we view a tzaddik as being extremely distinct and distant from a rasha? The beinoni ( the “in-between” person) it seems would have something like a “merit score” of +1000 and a “sin score” of -1000, each canceling the other out. Again, this does not seem to be very different from the score of either the tzaddik (+1) or the rasha (-1) which we have mentioned. Of course, I am creating theoretical scores in my examples, but it is the case that a calculation of some kind does take place here and the Rambam clearly states that the “if merits are more –tzaddik” and “if sins are more-rasha”. He does not state that merits have to greatly exceed the sins to be a tzaddik-only “exceed” and similarly does not state that the sins must greatly exceed the merits to be a rasha. Just tipping to one side- a tzaddik. Tipping to the other- a rasha.

      I would like to propose a possible approach to resolving this difficulty. Instead of viewing the terms tzaddik, rasha and benoni as being the result of a simple mathematical calculations of merits and sins, we can view these terms as defining three different types of individuals.  A tzaddik is a person whose core life mission is to be a servant of the Creator. He accepts the “yoke of heaven” and his basic approach to life is one of serving G… and accepting the beliefs, principals and duties of this service. However, he does commit sins, as every person does. But when balancing the merits of his life against the sins the resulting essence of the person is judged to be a servant of G…

     A rasha is a person whose core life principal is a rejection of service to the Creator. He does not accept the “yoke of heaven” and lives as if he or she is the decider of good and evil. But this

     We can now see that even a small difference in the merits and sins of a person can make a profound difference in the person they are. This is so due to the factor of this “small difference” defining the essence of a person. Basically, is someone a good person who sometimes does evil things, or an evil person that sometimes does good things? Are they a tzaddik or a rasha?

Weighing the Merits Against the Sins

You might ask how does this explanation address the idea of merits being “more” in a “tzaddik” and sins being “more” in a rasha? How does this balancing of merits against sins result in a defining of the individual’s essence. If we look at Chapter 3, Halacha 2 of the Laws of Repentance in the Rambam’s Mishna Torah it states:
“This reckoning is not calculated on the basis of the number of merits and sins, but this magnitude. There are some merits which outweigh many sins as implied by (Kings 14:13): “Because in him, there was found a good quality.” In contrast, a sin may outweigh many merits as (Ecclesiastes 9:18) states: “One sin may obscure much good.” The weighing is carried out according to the wisdom of the Knowing G… He knows how to measure merits against sins. Perhaps we can find some support for our explanation from these words of the Rambam. The calculation that is done in judging a person is not a simple calculation of the number and type of sins against each the number and type of merits with the result being a specific score. The calculation or judgment relates to how each sin and merit reflects the core nature of the person. It is possible that a person will do one act of righteousness in their life which will reflect that their life’s core principal is to be servant of G… although their activities include many sins. Perhaps these sins were done out of ignorance, habit or fear of some negative consequence. Similarly a person can fulfill many commandments and have many merits. But these good acts could have been done out of habit, upbringing, for prestige or selfish gain. But one particular sin can express the person’s true core belief of disobedience or disbelief in G.. and render them a rasha. This calculation can only be carried out by G… who knows the hearts of all people.

Viewing Ourselves as a Benoni

    So, in conclusion, who is a tzaddik? He or she whose core principal of life is obedience and service to G… Who is a rasha? He or she whose core principal of life is rejection of service to G… Only G… can make this decision. It is therefore logical to view ourselves as a benoni, as the Rambam states, since we can cannot know where we stand and this perspective will motivate us to strive to do those additional acts of service to G.. which will transform our nature into one whose fundamental purpose is the service of G… and is deserving of pardon and being written in the “Book of Life”.

End of First Analysis

Second Analysis: The Requirement for Repentance of Abandoning a Sin

What are the requirement’s of a person who attempts to fulfill the mitzvah of Teshuva (repentance? The Rambam states in the Mishna Torah ( Chapter 2, Law 1) Laws of Repentance:

What constitutes Teshuvah? That a sinner should abandon his sins and remove them from his thoughts, resolving in his heart, never to commit them again as (Isaiah 55:7) states “May the wicked abandon his ways…” Similarly, he must regret the past as ( Jeremiah 31:18) states: “After I returned, I regretted.” He who knows the hidden will testify concerning him that he will never return to this sin again as Hoshea 14:4 states: “ We will no longer say to the work of our hands: “You are our gods.”

    
 It seems that the Rambam is clarifying here, the degree of resolve required of the penitent regarding not returning to the sin. This resolve is required for his or her repentance to be acceptable to G… and result in pardon. But what does it mean, precisely to “abandon his sins and remove them from his thoughts and resolving in his heart never to do them again.” ? How can a person reach the point where they know with certainty that they will never return to a sin? How can a person know what the future will bring and how it will affect them? Perhaps ten years from now a person will experience a series of difficulties and weaken in their resolve and return to a sin? How is the commitment of “that he will never return” possible for a penitent to honestly make?  I would also like to address the Rambam’s statement that “He who knows the hidden will testify concerning him that he will never return to this sin again”. Why is it necessary to state that G… must “testify” to the fact that this person will never return to the sin?  G… knows all things, past, present and future. It seems from this statement that the person is being judged, not only on the present, but on the future as well and only if, in the future as well, G… finds the person free of this sin, does the penitent’s teshuvah achieve its goal. To address this difficulty we have to take a bold step.

“He who knows the hidden will testify concerning him that he will never return to this sin again.”

This seems to mean, in every circumstance. It is not really possible if one is viewing sin from a pragmatic point of view, because there can always be some situation where the sin may seem beneficial. It seems to me that one way, and perhaps the only way, to abandon a sin and realize that it will never, under any circumstance, bring about a positive result, is to understand that the sin creates an impediment between a person and G… To be able to stand before G… and have a relationship with the Creator requires us to serve Him obediently To commit a sin, no matter how many positive benefits result from that sin (wealth, pleasure, pride) it will always stand as an impediment, a barrier between a person and their relationship with G… and place man far from G… in every way. It is this realization that brings a person to the level of regret where they can honestly say that they abandoned the sin and will never return to it again. There is no circumstance where the sin will not distance the person from G…, so therefore there is no circumstance where the sin can be viewed as anything but destructive. . Unless a person views this relationship with G… as paramount and central to life, the repentance will be lacking in the quality of regret under all circumstances.

Teshuvah Only Requires Man to Do What is Possible

     Our Creator is perfectly just. He cannot require that of us which is impossible. I would suggest that it is not possible for a person to state honestly or to know that they will never return to a sin in their lifetime. People change. Circumstances occur that we cannot anticipate which can weaken us, corrupt us and bring us to do things in the future we might consider impossible for us to do today. With this perspective, it seem to me, that the requirement of a penitent is not to confirm that they will never return to a sin in their lifetime. What is required is that the person, with the current situation of clarity and insight they have now reached, cannot conceive of any circumstance or situation where they would return to the sin. If this is achieved, then the person has met the requirement of regretting their sin. Perhaps in the future the person will go through changes that remove this clarity and lead them to repeat their sin. This is unknowable to a person and one cannot promise this will not occur. But at this moment, as the person stands before G…, in penitence, the person has reached the level of clarity in which they now cannot foresee any circumstance where he would decide to return to the sin. This is all that can be asked. This is all that is possible for a human being.      To better understand this explanation, consider a person who sees something that he desires greatly but knows is not permitted to him. A battle goes on within the person to take the desired, forbidden object, or to leave it. The battle may be very close, but the rasha will take the forbidden object and the tzaddik will walk away. So even though they may seem close if we view them as a whole, they are not, because in the case of the tzaddik, the obedience to G… generally prevails in his life and determines his essence and in the rasha the disobedience to G… generally prevails and determines his. The benoni is the person who has yet to set a firm course for their life path. They have not yet decided to obey G… or reject G… as their core value. They have not yet decided whether to take the object in the above case or to walk away. This person is truly “in between”, still in a state of limbo.

Never Returning to a Sin Under Any Circumstance

     When a person performs Teshuvah (repentance) he or she acquire a new level of awareness about themselves and the effect of sin upon them. The penitent has realized a number of important things which has brought him or her to a new level of understanding and awareness about themselves and the effect of sin. The particular sin that the person committed has been reflected upon and the person has reached the clear conclusion that this sin is a damaging and destructive activity. The sin, which was once perceived as an act that would bring about a positive change in the person’s life has now been discovered to have caused a negative change. This realization in the central one in repentance.

     But the successful penitent has to go at least one step further. What is that next step? The penitent must realize that the sin is a destructive, negative act in every possible circumstance, without exception. It is possible for a person to regret performing an action, but to conceive of a different circumstance where that action could be desirable. For example lets say a person regrets stealing from his boss. Why does he regret it? Perhaps he regrets it because he was caught or because his boss is a nice person or because he didn’t steal a large enough amount of money and it wasn’t worth the trouble. But in other circumstances, such as stealing a million dollars from someone he hated and never getting caught, stealing may still seem to the person be a very good idea. This would not be realizing that stealing is a destructive act in every circumstance, without exception. This person could not be said to abandon the sin, removing it from his heart and resolving never to return to it.

Regretting Sin as A Barrier between man and G…

     Let’s try to go one step further. How would a person have to view a sin in order to achieve this level of clarity, understanding that it is destructive

G.. Testifying that the Person Will Not Ever Return to the Sin

     By taking this approach we have a difficulty with the Rambam’s stating here:

The act of true teshuvah (repentance) does not merely change a person but it creates a new person. This may be, in effect, how a person receives pardon for their sins. Truthfully, the act of pardon is really quite difficult to understand from the point of view of justice. Why should regret and resolve not to repeat a sin free a person from punishment? The person chose freely to commit the sin and should be punished for what they have done, regardless of regret or resolve not to repeat the sin. But if we say the act of repentance creates a new person, with regards to judgment, the pardon then makes sense. The person after the act of repentance is not considered the same one as before and therefore is no longer subject to the punishment.

     Perhaps this is how pardon occurs. We can view this concept of a new person with regards to sin as well. This penitent who now stands before G… will never return to the sin he committed. The clarity and insight of his act of repentance has recreated this person as someone who would never commit this sin under any circumstance. But, if in the future, destructive changes overcome this person and bring him to lose the clarity and insight he has gained, he is no longer judged as the same person that repented originally. Sin, in a similar way to repentance, has created a new person.  This structure allows us to understand the Rambam’s statement that “He who knows the hidden will testify concerning him that he will never return to this sin again.” The penitent standing before G… now, will never return to the sin. This, G.. knows as He knows the hearts of all people, and knows that this person can never, now or in the future, return to the sin. But if this person “becomes someone” else through sin and this new person, commits the sin, it does not invalidate the assessment that this penitent could never return to the sin.

Conclusion

Penitence and sin both are capable of creating a new person in the eyes of G… A true penitent has undergone a fundamental transformation which creates boundaries of what is possible and impossible for him to do. In the case of the penitent of a particular sin he has rendered himself incapable of doing the sin under any circumstances, either now or in the future. However, if the future brings about fundamental changes in the person and transforms him in some negative way into a fundamentally different individual, this sin will again be possible for this new and lessened individual.

　

End of Second Analysis

It is my hope that this essay has been of some assistance to you in better understanding teshuvah. My wishes to all for a gmara chasemah tova. (RB)
　
　　

In Loving Memory

of my parents

Harry and Judith Borah ( zt’l)