Transcript

הוא עיקר הששה עשר תיקון המעוות אשר יוכל לתקון כעניין שנאמר וישיבו איש מדרכו הרעה ומן החמס אשר בכפיהם. כי בדברים שבין אדם לחברו כמו הגזל והחמס לא יתכפר עוון עד אשר ישיב את הגזילה. וכן אם ציער את חברו והציק לו או הלבין פניו או סיפר לשון הרע אין לו כפרה עד שיבקש ממנו מחילה. וכן אמרו רבותינו ז"ל כי אף על פי שנתן לו דמי בשתו ודמי הצער וההכאה אין צער הבושה וההכאה נמחלים לו עד שיבקש ממנו מחילה שנאמר ועתה השב אשת האיש כי נביא הוא ויתפלל בעדך וחיה.

Maybe we'll begin by looking at how the Rambam presents this din and then try to return from there to kimduma to notice something in Rabbeinu Yonah as well. In the end of Perek Beis of Hilchos Teshuva:

אין התשובה ולא יום הכפורים מכפרים אלא על עבירות שבין אדם למקום כגון מי שאכל דבר איסור או בא על ביאה אסורה וכיוצא בהן. אבל עבירות שבין אדם לחברו כגון החובל בחברו או המקלל חברו או גוזלו וכיוצא בהן אינו נמחל לו לעולם עד שיתן לחברו מה שהוא חייב לו וירצהו.

Again:

אין התשובה ולא יום הכפורים מכפרים אלא עבירות שבין אדם למקום.

But aveiros, skipping a few words, אבל עבירות שבין אדם לחברו, again skipping,

אינו נמחל לו לעולם עד שיתן לחברו מה שהוא חייב לו וירצהו. אף על פי שהחזיר הממון שהוא חייב לו צריך לרצותו ולשאול ממנו שימחול לו.

So lichora, what's interesting here in the lashon haRambam, the Rambam writes that teshuva can't be poel that a person should receive mechila from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, that a person should receive kapara from Hakadosh Baruch Hu until yeratzeh es chaveiro. He doesn't say that the teshuva isn't complete, doesn't say that he didn't do teshuva until עד שיתן לחברו מה שהוא חייב לו וירצהו. He presents it that if you haven't done that, then the teshuva won't be mechaper. He presents it as something that's being me'akeiv in the teshuva being mechaper. And I think maybe when we think about it, the way we would have formulated the din is that what teshuva entails bein adam l'chaveiro, what teshuva entails is the being meratzeh chaveiro. And the Rambam says no, the Rambam says ein—the teshuva can't be mechaper unless this sort of additional requirement, to maybe overstate the point, unless this outside requirement is also satisfied. What's the—so there's a very simple idea that I think sometimes we can get distracted from. As this halakha reflects and attests, we divide mitzvos and therefore rachmana litzlan aveiros into two areas: bein adam l'makom, bein adam l'chavero. But it sounds so simplistic when one says it. But the ultimate mechayev of everything obviously is ratzon Hashem, dvar Hashem, tzivuy Hashem. What's wrong if a person ארור מקלה אביו ואמו, ארור משגה עור בדרך? What's wrong at all bein adam l'chavero is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu's morality dictates that that's wrong. And in that sense, teshuva is because of cheit. The definition of cheit is that a person violates the word of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the command of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the רצון הקדוש ברוך הוא. The רצון הקדוש ברוך הוא may in one instance be regulating what a person should eat, what a person shouldn't eat. In another context, it may be regulating how we interact with each other. But even in those מצות בין אדם לחבירו where mechila helps, again it's because Hakadosh Baruch Hu says if your parents are mochel, then they're mochel, and then you're patur from the kibbud av va'em. Cheit can happen in the domain of bein adam l'chavero, but cheit is to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. There are different domains: there's a domain of bein adam l'makom, there's a domain of bein adam l'chavero, but cheit is to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, teshuva is to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And that's why the Rambam is presenting what a person has to do on the interpersonal level as something additional which is going to be me'akev in terms of the teshuva being able to be effective, in order for the teshuva being able to yield for us the mechila and kapara. And it's a chiddush. On a certain level, it's a chiddush. Again, forgive this example, but I can't think of an equally effective way to make the point, but you'll understand what the example is and what it isn't. Let's say צער בעלי חיים דאורייתא. So what happens if a person is metza'er ba'al chayim? He goes over to Lassie and he gives Lassie a kick. He doesn't have to be meratzeh. Cheit is between a person and Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It can happen even in a domain of klapei ba'alei chayim, but that's not the cheit. Cheit, rachmana litzlan is that a person goes against dvar Hashem. And therefore, that's what circumscribes and delineates the teshuva. The Ribono Shel Olam is mechayev to meratzeh his chavero. The Ribono Shel Olam is mechayev to pay the chamisha devarim of chabala. Could be even when you look at Rabbeinu Yonah and you think the context in which Rabbeinu Yonah presents... So תיקון המעוות באשר יוכל לתקן. So תיקון המעוות באשר יוכל לתקן lechora that definition, so what will be if a person goes into a shul and rachmana litzlan he damages one of the benches? So תיקון המעוות באשר יוכל לתקן. So part of his teshuva is he has to fix the bench. That description, תיקון המעוות באשר יוכל לתקן, there's nothing bein adam lachaveiro-dik about that way of his introducing the need for bakashas mechila. Is that coming across al kol panim? And lechora that's the same point as in the Rambam that it's not being depicted as integral to the teshuva because a person has to recognize and again, obviously, the thrust of this is not to in any way downplay the importance of bein adam lachaveiro or in any way to diminish the requirement of leratzos es chaveiro, that's obviously not the point or true. But the cheit is against Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the cheit is לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, the teshuva is לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, directed to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Any requirements are again, conceptually, as important as they are, as fundamental as they are, they're outside requirements. They're אין התשובה מכפרת עד ש or תיקון המעוות באשר יוכל לתקן. The same thing would apply if a person breaks a bench in the shul. First take care of the bench, you got to take care of the bench, that's part of the, that's something that's imposed. So how could the Rambam present even the gezel, mela the other things? So Rashi takeh says what you say, the Gemara that the Rambam quotes earlier in beiz gimmel when the Gemara gives the mashal tovel vesheretz beyado. So the Rambam understands that as a mashal to כל המתוודה בדברים ולא גמר בלבו לעזוב. I think Rashi there says, I think Rashi takes the mashal of sheretz beyado is you know the mashal is more literally close to the nimshal that the person is holding onto the gezeila. That while v'ashamnu bagadnu gazalnu, so while he's chap-ing gezeila, you know in his left pocket he's got the money that he stole. It's true but but not vis-a-vis the chaveiro. You know as its, the Rambam here is emphasizing the chaveiro dimension of it. So the chaveiro dimension of it is let me think how to say that lucidly. I'm not sure that this will come across clearly enough but this is the answer but it's also representative of the answer. Gezeilah is a, Gezeilah is a lav hanitak l'aseh. So the aseh ve'heshiv es hagezeilah and because it's a lav hanitak l'aseh so then there's no malkus. So the ve'heshiv is the onesh which is given for lav hagezeilah. Maybe we'll talk later. I don't think it's a tofeis what I'm saying but it's a little bit, I can't explain it adequately now. Maybe we'll talk later. On the same inyan, kemidumeini the Chafetz Chaim writes in Ahavas Chesed that when engaging in מצוות בין אדם לחברו, so while on the one hand obviously as the Rambam writes in Shemonah Perakim, so the person's approach is not supposed to be that really I don't want to do this ומה אעשה ואבי שבשמים גזר עלי, right? Which is what Chazal say that really I would eat basar chazir, afshi v'afshi, if it was up to me so I would eat the basar chazir ומה אעשה ואבי שבשמים גזר עלי. But when it comes to mishpatim, most מצוות בין אדם לחברו are such, so then it's not supposed to be based on kvishas hayetzer but that a person is supposed to do it naturally, a person is supposed to cultivate himself that the personal interaction is something that he wants to do, that is natural. to be that way, but what the Chofetz Chaim talks about is that that's not supposed to eclipse in the least bit, it's not supposed to overshadow for us the fact that a person engages in the bein adam lachaveiro also because of the tzivui hamakom. There is a danger that once it's something natural, that it almost takes on a life of its own, it almost becomes some kind of independent morality that a person just intuits as right. And the Chofetz Chaim talks about, no, a person has to be conscious of the fact that the morality of veahavta lereacha kamocha, again, a morality for which we have an intuition and which is why we're supposed to cultivate such a personality, but that's all based on the tzivui Hashem. And in the same way, the hineni muchan umezuman to be mekayem hamitzvah of tzitzis velavan, and hineni muchan umezuman to be mekayem hamitzvah of hanachas tefillin, so whether verbally or mentally, there should be hineni muchan umezuman to be mekayem the מצוות בין אדם לחברו. Even the next line in here in os samech hey, lichora, also reflects what we're talking about.

ראוי לבעל תשובה לעשות כן. התקון המעוות בין אדם לחברו שראוי לבעל תשובה לעשות כן קודם הוידוי כדי שירצה בוידויו. ודוד עליו השלום בעת תשובה כן עשה קודם הוידוי.

So lichora, it goes without saying that anything which is just the essence of teshuva obviously has to happen before viduy. A person can't be, I'll be misvadeh today, and tomorrow when my schedule's a bit lighter, then I'll do teshuva. So obviously the viduy can only, viduy has to come after teshuva. kshe-yashuv me-cheto, then then then chayav lehisvados, then a person is misvadeh. The fact that Rabbeinu Yonah has to make a point of saying that this should be done before the teshuva means again, you see the teshuva is between a person and Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

נחמתי ובושתי עשיתי כך וכך ולעולם איני חוזר לדבר זה.

It's the same teshuva again, whether the cheit was bein adam lamakom or bein adam lachaveiro. Again, there's an additional requirement she-yeratzeh chaveiro. So Rabbeinu Yonah says it's appropriate that that too happen before the person is misvadeh. But if that were gufa the teshuva, then Rabbeinu Yonah doesn't need to make a separate point of saying that you should accomplish this before you're misvadeh. os samech vav.

לרדוף פעולות החסד והאמת. כענין שנאמר בחסד ואמת יכופר עון וביראת ה' סור מרע. ועתה התבונן בסוד המקרא הזה כי האמנם אם החטא לא ישוב אל ה' לא יתכפר עונו בפועל החסד.

There's no there's no substitute for teshuva.

כמו שנאמר שלא ישא פנים ולא יקח שוחד ופירשו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה לא יקח שוחד מצוה למחול ולהעביר על העוונות.

ve-od omaru.

כל האומר הקדוש ברוך הוא וותרן יוותרו חייו אבל מאריך אפיים.

However,

אם לא ישמעו יימד פועלתם אל חיקם. אכן זה שאמר שלמה

alav hashalom

בחסד ואמת יכופר עון על בעל תשובה דיבר. כי יש עבירות שהתשובה ויום הכיפורים תולין ויסורין ממרקים.

If it was aveiros chamuros rachmana litzlan, so the cleansing process, the catharsis requires yissurin.

כאשר יתבאר בשער הרביעי. והנה עזרת רבינו יונה החסד יגן בעד החוטא וישמור אותו מן היסורין.

The chesed that a baal teshuvah does insulates him, it guards him from the yissurin that are otherwise necessary for the cleansing of the cheit. בשגם הצל יצל מן המות. The same way we see that chesed has that capacity to be matzil min hamoves as it's written utzedakah tatzil mimmoves. But let's see the hemshech and then we'll come back to try to understand this a little bit.

ועוד יש עוון והוא עוון חילול השם שהתשובה ויסורין תולין ומיתה ממרקת. כמו שנאמר אם יכופר העון הזה לכם עד תמותון.

So here yissurin are tolin in the sense that tolin that the person isn't punished that he should die, but the yissurin keep him afloat so that he doesn't die רחמנא לצלן לא עיתו. But the final kapparah only comes through misah.

כמו שנאמר אם יכופר העון הזה לכם עד תמותון. והנה כאשר האדם משתדל לסמוך ביד האמת ויעזור אחריה ויתעורר בדבריה והופיע אור לעיני בני עמו ויחזק אנשי האמת וינשא בראשם ויכתות השקר וישפילם יגדיע אמת עד עפר, הנה אלו דרכי קידוש השם והוד והדר לאמרתו ועבודתו בעולם ועוז ותפארת במקדש תורתו. על כן בהרבות פעולות לקדש את השם ולהורות האמת להכין על סודו ולסעדו, נסלח לו מעוון החילול עם התשובה וסומך האמת לעומת אשמת החילול. מידת תשובתו כנגד מידת משובתו.

So it's clear from the way Rabbeinu Yonah explains the be'emes yechupar avon that the way emes serves as again as a equivalent to the yissurin in the process of kapparah for chillul Hashem rachmana litzlan is that it's accepted that way because it's it counteracts the chillul Hashem. When the person devotes himself to emes which leads to kiddush Hashem, so that counteracts the chillul Hashem. Cheit by definition is self-centered. Whenever we do any cheit, by definition cheit is self-centered, again in the crudest sense, I'm thinking about. giving in to my taivos, to my yetzer haras. Cheit by definition is self-centered, self-centered. Maybe that's one aspect, I don't think it's all of it. But maybe that's one element of how the chesed, of the role chesed plays in kaparas avon. That the same way a person substitutes the emes and the kiddush hashem, rachmana litzlan for the chillul hashem, he substitutes that altruism, that outer-directedness of chesed for the self-centeredness of cheit.

והעיקר השמונה עשר היות חטאתו נגדו תמיד כי ראוי לנפש החוטאת לזכור עוונותיה תמיד ואל תשכיחם לקץ ימים וממנו לא יחטפו הדאגה וחליפותיה כעניין שנאמר כי פשעי אני אדע וחטאתי נגדי תמיד ועיקר זה יתבאר בשער השלישי.

The Rabbeinu Yonah in his ikkarim isn't only listing what's required lefi shuras hadin. He lists everything that's relevant to an optimal teshuva, to the teshuva on a level of mitzvah min hamuvchar. If a person can productively do it, sometimes a person can't. Sometimes it just depresses a person and is very counter-productive and therefore wrong. If a person can do it without it having negative fallout, היות חטאתו נגדו תמיד. משל למה הדבר דומה? So let's say someone does you a tova. He does you a tova. But what was the favor? I don't know, you had to go somewhere, you didn't have a MetroCard, so he gave you his MetroCard and so you were able to use his MetroCard. Okay, so you say thank you and you appreciate it. Probably you don't go around for the rest of your life thinking about that and feeling indebted to the person. Let's say rachmana litzlan a person is swimming and begins drowning and someone jumps in and saves him. Also he did one chesed, but that's something which is so momentous that one's whole life one's going to feel gratitude and feel indebted. It's sort of not a memory that's going to fade and it's intuitive to us that it's of such a magnitude that it shouldn't fade. It's appropriate that the memory of what he did for me in saving me should remain with me. If a person's such a baal madreiga and again can do it without it having positive corollaries and generating positive results, so a person recognizes that there's nothing trivial or casual about cheit and then mimeila it isn't something that a person just easily and quickly dismisses from his consciousness. Okay, let's stop here.