Difference between revisions of "Repentance Rejected/2"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This topic is currently in progress
m |
m |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
<point><b>"וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת עֲוֺנָם"</b><ul> | <point><b>"וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת עֲוֺנָם"</b><ul> | ||
<li><b>Words without actions </b>– According to Ramban, Akeidat Yitzchak, and Abarbanel the confession was not a complete return to Hashem.  Though the people recognized and admitted to their sins, this was not accompanied by a change of ways.<fn>Akeidat Yitzchak adds that the confession only came about due to their trials and as such is not considered sincere.  He compares it to Paroh's changes of heart which came only to rid himself of the plagues.</fn></li> | <li><b>Words without actions </b>– According to Ramban, Akeidat Yitzchak, and Abarbanel the confession was not a complete return to Hashem.  Though the people recognized and admitted to their sins, this was not accompanied by a change of ways.<fn>Akeidat Yitzchak adds that the confession only came about due to their trials and as such is not considered sincere.  He compares it to Paroh's changes of heart which came only to rid himself of the plagues.</fn></li> | ||
| − | <li><b>Only leaders confess</b> – Abarbanel and Seforno suggest that only the leaders of the generation such as Daniel, Ezra and Nechemiah confessed but the laypeople did not.<fn>Ramban does not say this explicitly but in his singling out of | + | <li><b>Only leaders confess</b> – Abarbanel and Seforno suggest that only the leaders of the generation such as Daniel, Ezra and Nechemiah confessed but the laypeople did not.<fn>Ramban does not say this explicitly but in his singling out of Ezra and Nechemiah as those who confessed it would seem that he too agrees with this point.</fn></li> |
<li><b>Command form</b> – According to the Biur and R.D"Z Hoffmann the word "וְהִתְוַדּוּ" does not mean "and they will confess" but rather "and they shall confess".<fn>R. N"H Wessely points out that had this been a description of the people's repentance the verse would have read "יתודו" and not "וְהִתְוַדּוּ ".  R. D"Z Hoffmann further supports the fact that "וְהִתְוַדּוּ " is a command by pointing to the same form of the word in <a href="Bemidbar5-7" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 5:7</a>.</fn>  As such, it is not a description of what the nation will do but rather Hashem's command of what they should do and thus says nothing about their actual repentance.</li> | <li><b>Command form</b> – According to the Biur and R.D"Z Hoffmann the word "וְהִתְוַדּוּ" does not mean "and they will confess" but rather "and they shall confess".<fn>R. N"H Wessely points out that had this been a description of the people's repentance the verse would have read "יתודו" and not "וְהִתְוַדּוּ ".  R. D"Z Hoffmann further supports the fact that "וְהִתְוַדּוּ " is a command by pointing to the same form of the word in <a href="Bemidbar5-7" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 5:7</a>.</fn>  As such, it is not a description of what the nation will do but rather Hashem's command of what they should do and thus says nothing about their actual repentance.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
Version as of 05:11, 14 May 2015
Hashem's Response to Teshuvah
Exegetical Approaches
Repentance is Lacking
Though an initial read of the verses suggests that the nation repented, in reality their repentance was either incomplete or lacking altogether. As such, they needed further punishment.
Sources:Ramban, Akeidat Yitzchak, Abarbanel, R. Avraham Saba, Seforno, Biur, Shadal, ?Netziv, R. D"Z Hoffmann
"וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת עֲוֺנָם"
- Words without actions – According to Ramban, Akeidat Yitzchak, and Abarbanel the confession was not a complete return to Hashem. Though the people recognized and admitted to their sins, this was not accompanied by a change of ways.1
- Only leaders confess – Abarbanel and Seforno suggest that only the leaders of the generation such as Daniel, Ezra and Nechemiah confessed but the laypeople did not.2
- Command form – According to the Biur and R.D"Z Hoffmann the word "וְהִתְוַדּוּ" does not mean "and they will confess" but rather "and they shall confess".3 As such, it is not a description of what the nation will do but rather Hashem's command of what they should do and thus says nothing about their actual repentance.
"וְאָמַר... הֲלֹא עַל כִּי אֵין אֱלֹהַי בְּקִרְבִּי מְצָאוּנִי הָרָעוֹת "
- Partial or insincere repentance - Ramban suggests that this verse, too, represents only a partial repentance, a recognition of wrongdoing without a full correction thereof.4 R. Saba5 and Abarbanel instead posit that the nation might have repented for only some, but not all of their sins.6 Alternatively, R. Saba7 suggests that the repentance is not considered sincere since it was only only in reaction to suffering, and, as such, coerced.8
- No repentance– According to Seforno the people's statement is not a confession of wrongdoing at all, only a recognition that Hashem is not with them. In fact, this feeling that Hashem is lacking, precludes them from even trying to repent.9
- Continued sin - Shadal goes a step further to posit that the nation's words are not a confession but a complaint.10 Abarbanel, instead, sees in the people's words an attestation of continued idolatry. Their words "אֵין אֱלֹהַי בְּקִרְבִּי" referred not to Hashem but to the foreign gods whom they felt that they had not worshiped sufficiently.11
"אֲנִי אֵלֵךְ עִמָּם בְּקֶרִי וְהֵבֵאתִי אֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם" – Most of these commentators views this as a further punishment, aimed at bringing the nation to a full repentance.12 Abarbanel and Akeidat Yitzchak posit that Hashem was to send the nation into further exile, while Ramban and Seforno assume that He would bring them back to Israel, but while it was still in the hands of their enemies.
"וְאָנֹכִי הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי" – This approach views this as a fair punishment for those who have not fully repented, or who might have even continued in the idolatrous ways.13
- Abarbanel and Seforno understand Hashem's hiding of his face to mean a loss of providence and protection.14
- Ramban, though, assumes that it it is a lesser form of "hiding" and refers to Hashem's hiding His face of redemption, but not that His absence might bring in its wake extra suffering.15
- R. Saba offers a unique explanation of "הסתר פנים", suggesting that it refers to Hashem's hiding His face from the people's sins. He views this as a punishment since it gives the sins time to accumulate making the eventual cumulative punishment all that harder to bear.16
"אָז יִכָּנַע לְבָבָם הֶעָרֵל וְאָז יִרְצוּ אֶת עֲוֺנָם"
Power of repentance – This position assumes that if a nation fully and sincerely repents of its sins, Hashem will no longer punish them. A confession alone though might not suffice.
When did this happen? According to Ramban,
Relationship between rebukes of Vayikra and Devarim
No Punishment
The verses which speak of Hashem's punishment are reinterpreted so that the text contains no reference to punishing the nation after their repenting.
Sources:Sifra Vayikra, Lekach Tov, Ibn Ezra, Ralbag, R. Avraham Saba, ?Biur? HaKetav VeHakabbalah, Netziv, ?R. D"Z Hoffmann,
Punishment Despite Repentance
Although the nation will indeed repent, Hashem will continue to punish them for their original sins.
