הִלְכּוֹתָיו חָמֵשׁ, וְזֶה הוּא סִדּוּרָן: הִלְכּוֹת יְסוֹדֵי הַתּוֹרָה, הִלְכּוֹת דֵּעוֹת, הִלְכּוֹת תַּלְמוּד תּוֹרָה, הִלְכּוֹת עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְחֻקּוֹת הַגּוֹיִים, הִלְכּוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה.
[הִלְכּוֹת יְסוֹדֵי הַתּוֹרָה. יֵשׁ בִּכְלָלָן עֶשֶׂר מִצְווֹת--שֵׁשׁ מִצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה, וְאַרְבַּע מִצְווֹת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה; וְזֶה הוּא פְּרָטָן: (א) לֵידַע שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם אֱלוֹהַּ; (ב) שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲלֶה בְּמַחְשָׁבָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם אֱלוֹהַּ זוּלָתִי ה'; (ג) לְיַחֲדוֹ; (ד) לְאָהֳבוֹ; (ה) לְיִרְאָה מִמֶּנּוּ; (ו) לְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמוֹ; (ז) שֶׁלֹּא לְחַלַּל שְׁמוֹ; (ח) שֶׁלֹּא לְאַבַּד דְּבָרִים שֶׁנִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ עֲלֵיהֶן; (ט) לִשְׁמֹעַ מִן הַנָּבִיא הַמְּדַבֵּר בִּשְׁמוֹ; (י) שֶׁלֹּא לְנַסּוֹתוֹ.
הִלְכּוֹת דֵּעוֹת. יֵשׁ בִּכְלָלָן אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה מִצְווֹת--חָמֵשׁ מִצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה, וְשֵׁשׁ מִצְווֹת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה; וְזֶה הוּא פְּרָטָן: (א) לְהִדַּמּוֹת בִּדְרָכָיו; (ב) לְהִדָּבֵק בְּיוֹדְעָיו; (ג) לֶאֱהֹב אֶת רֵעִים; (ד) לֶאֱהֹב אֶת הַגֵּרִים; (ה) שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׂנֹא אַחִים; (ו) לְהוֹכִיחַ; (ז) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַלְבִּין פָּנִים; (ח) שֶׁלֹּא לְעַנּוֹת אֲמֵלָלִין; (ט) שֶׁלֹּא לַהֲלֹךְ רָכִיל; (י) שֶׁלֹּא לִנְקֹם; (יא) שֶׁלֹּא לִנְטֹר.
הִלְכּוֹת תַּלְמוּד תּוֹרָה. יֵשׁ בִּכְלָלָן שְׁתֵּי מִצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה: (א) לִלְמֹד תּוֹרָה; (ב) לְכַבַּד מְלַמְּדֶיהָ וְיוֹדְעֶיהָ.
הִלְכּוֹת עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְחֻקּוֹת הַגּוֹיִים. יֵשׁ בִּכְלָלָן אַחַת וַחֲמִשִּׁים מִצְווֹת--שְׁתֵּי מִצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה, וְתֵשַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִים מִצְווֹת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה; וְזֶה הוּא פְּרָטָן: (א) שֶׁלֹּא לִפְנוֹת אַחַר עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה; (ב) שֶׁלֹּא לָתוּר אַחַר הִרְהוּר הַלֵּב וּרְאִיַּת הָעֵינַיִם; (ג) שֶׁלֹּא לְגַדַּף; (ד) שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲבֹד אוֹתָהּ כְּדֶרֶךְ עֲבוֹדָתָהּ; (ה) שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהּ; (ו) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת פֶּסֶל לְעַצְמוֹ; (ז) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת פֶּסֶל אַפִלּוּ לַאֲחֵרִים; (ח) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת צוּרוֹת אַפִלּוּ לְנוֹאי; (ט) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַדִּיחַ אֲחֵרִים אַחֲרֶיהָ; (י) לִשְׂרֹף עִיר הַנִּדַּחַת; (יא) שֶׁלֹּא לִבְנוֹתָהּ; (יב) שֶׁלֹּא לֵהָנוֹת מִכָּל מְמוֹנָהּ; (יג) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַסִּית יָחִיד לְעָבְדָהּ; (יד) שֶׁלֹּא לֶאֱהֹב הַמַּסִּית; (טו) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲזֹב שִׂנְאָתוֹ; (טז) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַצִּילוֹ; (יז) שֶׁלֹּא לְלַמַּד עָלָיו זְכוּת; (יח) שֶׁלֹּא יִמָּנַע מִלְּלַמַּד עָלָיו חוֹבָה; (יט) שֶׁלֹּא לְהִתְנַבֵּא בִּשְׁמָהּ; (כ) שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁמֹעַ מִן הַמִּתְנַבֵּא בִּשְׁמָהּ; (כא) שֶׁלֹּא לְהִתְנַבֵּא בְּשֶׁקֶר, וְאַפִלּוּ בְּשֵׁם ה'; (כב) שֶׁלֹּא לָגוּר מֵהֲרִיגַת נְבִיא שֶׁקֶר; (כג) שֶׁלֹּא לִשָּׁבַע בְּשֵׁם עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה; (כד) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת אוֹב; (כה) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת יִדְּעוֹנִי; (כו) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַעְבִיר לַמֹּלֶךְ; (כז) שֶׁלֹּא לְהָקִים מַצֵּבָה; (כח) שֶׁלֹּא לְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת עַל אֶבֶן מַשְׂכִּית; (כט) שֶׁלֹּא לִטַּע אֲשֵׁרָה; (ל) לְאַבַּד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וְכָל הַנַּעֲשֶׂה בִּשְׁבִילָהּ; (לא) שֶׁלֹּא לֵהָנוֹת בַּעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה וּבְכָל מְשַׁמְּשֶׁיהָ; (לב) שֶׁלֹּא לֵהָנוֹת בְּצִפּוּיֵי נֶעְבָּד; (לג) שֶׁלֹּא לִכְרֹת בְּרִית לְעוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה; (לד) שֶׁלֹּא לָחֹן עֲלֵיהֶם; (לה) שֶׁלֹּא יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאַרְצֵנוּ; (לו) שֶׁלֹּא לְהִדַּמּוֹת בְּמִנְהֲגוֹתָם וּבְמַלְבּוּשָׁם; (לז) שֶׁלֹּא לְנַחַשׁ; (לח) שֶׁלֹּא לִקְסֹם; (לט) שֶׁלֹּא לְעוֹנֵן; (מ) שֶׁלֹּא לַחְבֹּר חֶבֶר; (מא) שֶׁלֹּא לִדְרֹשׁ אֶל הַמֵּתִים; (מב) שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁאֹל בְּאוֹב; (מג) שֶׁלֹּא לִשְׁאֹל בְּיִדְּעוֹנִי; (מד) שֶׁלֹּא לְכַשַּׁף; (מה) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַקִּיף פְּאַת רֹאשׁ; (מו) שֶׁלֹּא לְהַשְׁחִית פְּאַת הַזָּקָן; (מז) שֶׁלֹּא יַעְדֶּה אִישׁ עֲדִי אִשָּׁה; (מח) שֶׁלֹּא תַעְדֶּה אִשָּׁה עֲדִי אִישׁ; (מט) שֶׁלֹּא לִכְתֹּב קַעֲקַע; (נ) שֶׁלֹּא לְהִתְגּוֹדֵד; (נא) שֶׁלֹּא לַעֲשׂוֹת קָרְחָה עַל מֵת.
הִלְכּוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה. מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה אַחַת, וְהִיא שֶׁיָּשׁוּב הַחוֹטֶא מֵחֶטְאוֹ לִפְנֵי ה', וְיִתְוַדֶּה.
נִמְצְאוּ כָּל הַמִּצְווֹת הַנִּכְלָלוֹת בְּסֵפֶר זֶה, חָמֵשׁ וְשִׁבְעִים--שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה מֵהֶן מִצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה, וְתֵשַׁע וַחֲמִשִּׁים מִצְווֹת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה.]
מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה אַחַת, וְהִיא שֶׁיָּשׁוּב הַחוֹטֶא מֵחֶטְאוֹ לִפְנֵי ה', וְיִתְוַדֶּה. וּבֵאוּר מִצְוָה זוֹ וְעִיקָרִים הַנִּגְרָרִים עִמָּהּ בִּגְלָלָהּ, בִּפְרָקִים אֵלּוּ.
(א) כָּל מִצְוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה בֵּין עֲשֵׂה בֵּין לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה אִם עָבַר אָדָם עַל אַחַת מֵהֶן בֵּין בְּזָדוֹן בֵּין בִּשְׁגָגָה כְּשֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה וְיָשׁוּב מֵחֶטְאוֹ חַיָּב לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לִפְנֵי הָאֵל בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר ה ו) "אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה כִּי יַעֲשׂוּ" וְגוֹ' (במדבר ה ז) "וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ" זֶה וִדּוּי דְּבָרִים. וִדּוּי זֶה מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה.
כֵּיצַד מִתְוַדִּין. אוֹמֵר אָנָּא הַשֵּׁם חָטָאתִי עָוִיתִי פָּשַׁעְתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ וְעָשִׂיתִי כָּךְ וְכָךְ וַהֲרֵי נִחַמְתִּי וּבֹשְׁתִּי בְּמַעֲשַׂי וּלְעוֹלָם אֵינִי חוֹזֵר לְדָבָר זֶה. וְזֶהוּ עִקָּרוֹ שֶׁל וִדּוּי. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה לְהִתְוַדּוֹת וּמַאֲרִיךְ בְּעִנְיָן זֶה הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח.
וְכֵן בַּעֲלֵי חַטָּאוֹת וַאֲשָׁמוֹת בְּעֵת שֶׁמְּבִיאִין קָרְבְּנוֹתֵיהֶן עַל שִׁגְגָתָן אוֹ עַל זְדוֹנָן אֵין מִתְכַּפֵּר לָהֶן בְּקָרְבָּנָם עַד שֶׁיַּעֲשׂוּ תְּשׁוּבָה וְיִתְוַדּוּ וִדּוּי דְּבָרִים שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא ה ה) "וְהִתְוַדָּה אֲשֶׁר חָטָא עָלֶיהָ". וְכֵן כָּל מְחֻיְּבֵי מִיתוֹת בֵּית דִּין וּמְחֻיְּבֵי מַלְקוֹת אֵין מִתְכַּפֵּר לָהֶן בְּמִיתָתָן אוֹ בִּלְקִיָּתָן עַד שֶׁיַּעֲשׂוּ תְּשׁוּבָה וְיִתְוַדּוּ. וְכֵן הַחוֹבֵל בַּחֲבֵרוֹ וְהַמַּזִּיק מָמוֹנוֹ אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁשִּׁלֵּם לוֹ מַה שֶּׁהוּא חַיָּב לוֹ אֵינוֹ מִתְכַּפֵּר עַד שֶׁיִּתְוַדֶּה וְיָשׁוּב מִלַּעֲשׂוֹת כָּזֶה לְעוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר ה ו) "מִכָּל חַטֹּאת הָאָדָם":
UP TO HERE
(ג) בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה שֶׁאֵין בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ קַיָּם וְאֵין לָנוּ מִזְבַּח כַּפָּרָה אֵין שָׁם אֶלָּא תְּשׁוּבָה. הַתְּשׁוּבָה מְכַפֶּרֶת עַל כָּל הָעֲבֵרוֹת. אֲפִלּוּ רָשָׁע כָּל יָמָיו וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה בָּאַחֲרוֹנָה אֵין מַזְכִּירִין לוֹ שׁוּם דָּבָר מֵרִשְׁעוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לג יב) "רִשְׁעַת הָרָשָׁע לֹא יִכָּשֶׁל בָּהּ בְּיוֹם שׁוּבוֹ מֵרִשְׁעוֹ".
וְעַצְמוֹ שֶׁל יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר לַשָּׁבִים שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא טז ל) "כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם":
(1) All commandments of the Torah, whether they be mandatory or prohibitive, if a man violates any one of them, either presumptuously or erroneously, when he will repent himself and turn away from his sinful way, he is obliged to confess before God, blessed is He! even as it is said: "When a man or woman shall commit any sin..… Then they shall confess their sin which they have done (Num. 5.6–7), which is a confession of words. Such confession is a mandatory commandment.
How is the verbal confession made? The sinner says thus: "I beseech Thee, O Great Name! I have sinned; I have been obstinate; I have committed profanity against Thee, particularly in doing thus and such. Now, behold! I have repented and am ashamed of my actions; forever will I not relapse into this thing again." This is the elementary form of confession; but whosoever elaborates in confessing and extends this subject is, indeed, praise-worthy.
Likewise all those who bring sin-offerings or trespass-offerings, when they offer their sacrifices, whether for their errors or for their spitefulness, find no atonement in their sacrifices, unless they repent, and deliver themselves of a verbal confession, even as it is said: "He shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing" (Lev. 5.5) So, too, are the guilty upon whom the tribunal pronounced either a sentence of death or of stripes, who find no atonement either in their death or in being lashed unless they do repent and make verbal confession. Even he, who injures his friend or causes him damages in money matters, although he makes restitution of what he owes him, finds no atonement, unless he makes verbal confession and repents by obligating himself never to repeat this again, even as is said: "Any sin that man commits" (Num. 5.6).
(3) At this time, when the Temple is not established and, therefore, no altar to atone for us, there is nothing else left for us but repentance. Repentance atones for all sins. Even one who was an evildoer all his life but repented in the end, not a thing of the wickedness is held out against him, even as it is said: "As for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness" (Ez. 33.12). Even the Day of Atonement itself atones only for those who did repent, even as it is said: "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you" (Lev. 16.30).4rf
After that they brought out Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion. They used to say about him that he was pleasant to both God and people, and a curse toward another person never crossed his lips. When the Roman Caesar decreed that it was forbidden to teach Torah what did Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion do? He gathered groups of people and sat in the marketplaces of Rome and taught, learned and expounded the Torah. Caesar commanded that he be wrapped up in a Sefer Torah and burned alive. The executioner took him and wrapped him in a Torah and lit the pyre. He took balls of wool, soaked them in water and placed them over his heart to prolong his death. His daughter was standing and saying “Woe to me, father, that I see you like this!” He replied and said to her, “It is better for me, my daughter, that you see me like this”.22 His students were standing near him and asked him “Rabbi, what do you see?” He told them “I see the parchment burning and the letters flying away”. He began to cry. His students asked him why he was crying. He replied, “If I would be burnt by myself it would not be so difficult for me. But now I am being burnt and the Torah as well”. The executioner said to him, “Rabbi, if I remove the wool sponges from your heart so that your soul can leave your body quicker will you bring me to the World to Come?” He replied “Yes”. He said “Swear to me”. He swore to him. Immediately after he made the oath the executioner increased the heat of the fire and removed the sponges. Rabbi Chananiah’s soul departed from his body. And the executioner also threw himself into the fire and was burnt. A voice came out of Heaven and said, “Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion and the executioner are invited to the World to Come”. Rebbi [Yehuda HaNassi] cried about this, saying, “A person can acquire the World to Come in a single instant, like this executioner. And some people spend their entire lives serving God, yet lose all their reward in a single instant; like Yochanan the Cohen Gadol, who served for eighty years as the Cohen Gadol but in the end became a Sadducee”.23
(א) אֵי זוֹ הִיא תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה. זֶה שֶׁבָּא לְיָדוֹ דָּבָר שֶׁעָבַר בּוֹ וְאֶפְשָׁר בְּיָדוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹתוֹ וּפֵרַשׁ וְלֹא עָשָׂה מִפְּנֵי הַתְּשׁוּבָה. לֹא מִיִּרְאָה וְלֹא מִכִּשְׁלוֹן כֹּחַ. כֵּיצַד. הֲרֵי שֶׁבָּא עַל אִשָּׁה בַּעֲבֵרָה וּלְאַחַר זְמַן נִתְיַחֵד עִמָּהּ וְהוּא עוֹמֵד בְּאַהֲבָתוֹ בָּהּ וּבְכֹחַ גּוּפוֹ וּבַמְּדִינָה שֶׁעָבַר בָּהּ וּפָרַשׁ וְלֹא עָבַר זֶהוּ בַּעַל תְּשׁוּבָה גְּמוּרָה. הוּא שֶׁשְּׁלֹמֹה אָמַר (קהלת יב א) "וּזְכֹר אֶת בּוֹרְאֶיךָ בִּימֵי בְּחוּרֹתֶיךָ". וְאִם לֹא שָׁב אֶלָּא בִּימֵי זִקְנוּתוֹ וּבְעֵת שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ לַעֲשׂוֹת מַה שֶּׁהָיָה עוֹשֶׂה אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינָהּ תְּשׁוּבָה מְעֻלָּה מוֹעֶלֶת הִיא לוֹ וּבַעַל תְּשׁוּבָה הוּא. אֲפִלּוּ עָבַר כָּל יָמָיו וְעָשָׂה תְּשׁוּבָה בְּיוֹם מִיתָתוֹ וּמֵת בִּתְשׁוּבָתוֹ כָּל עֲוֹנוֹתָיו נִמְחָלִין שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (קהלת יב ב) "עַד אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֶחְשַׁךְ הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהָאוֹר וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְהַכּוֹכָבִים וְשָׁבוּ הֶעָבִים אַחַר הַגֶּשֶׁם" שֶׁהוּא יוֹם הַמִּיתָה. מִכְּלָל שֶׁאִם זָכַר בּוֹרְאוֹ וְשָׁב קֹדֶם שֶׁיָּמוּת נִסְלַח לוֹ:
(ב) וּמַה הִיא הַתְּשׁוּבָה. הוּא שֶׁיַּעֲזֹב הַחוֹטֵא חֶטְאוֹ וִיסִירוֹ מִמַּחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ וְיִגְמֹר בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲשֵׂהוּ עוֹד שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה נה ז) "יַעֲזֹב רָשָׁע דַּרְכּוֹ" וְגוֹ'. וְכֵן יִתְנַחֵם עַל שֶׁעָבַר שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה לא יט) "כִּי אַחֲרֵי שׁוּבִי נִחַמְתִּי".
וְיָעִיד עָלָיו יוֹדֵעַ תַּעֲלוּמוֹת שֶׁלֹּא יָשׁוּב לְזֶה הַחֵטְא לְעוֹלָם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (הושע יד ד) "וְלֹא נֹאמַר עוֹד אֱלֹהֵינוּ לְמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ" וְגוֹ'. וְצָרִיךְ לְהִתְוַדּוֹת בִּשְׂפָתָיו וְלוֹמַר עִנְיָנוֹת אֵלּוּ שֶׁגָּמַר בְּלִבּוֹ:
(ג) כָּל הַמִּתְוַדֶּה בִּדְבָרִים וְלֹא גָּמַר בְּלִבּוֹ לַעֲזֹב הֲרֵי זֶה דּוֹמֶה לְטוֹבֵל וְשֶׁרֶץ בְּיָדוֹ שֶׁאֵין הַטְּבִילָה מוֹעֶלֶת לוֹ עַד שֶׁיַּשְׁלִיךְ הַשֶּׁרֶץ. וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר וּמוֹדֶה וְעֹזֵב יְרֻחָם. וְצָרִיךְ לִפְרֹט אֶת הַחֵטְא שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות לב לא) "אָנָּא חָטָא הָעָם הַזֶּה חֲטָאָה גְדלָה וַיַּעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם אֱלֹהֵי זָהָב":
(1) What is complete repentance? He who once more had in it in his power to repeat a violation, but separated himself therefrom, and did not do it because of repentance, not out of fear or lack of strength. For example? One who knew a woman sinfully, and after a process of time he met her again privately, and he still loving her as theretofore, and he being in a state of potency, and the meeting is in the same land where the sin was first committed, if he parted without sinning, he has attained complete repentance. Of such Solomon said: "Remember then thy Creator in the days of thy youth" (Ecc. 12.1). Even if he made no reparation save in his old age, at a time when it was already impossible for him to repeat his misdeeds, although it is not the best repentance, it still is of help to him and he is considered a penitent. Moreover, though he continued a life of sin but did repent on his dying day, and did die a penitent, all of his sins are forgiven, even as it is said: "While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain" (Ibid. 12.2), yea, that is the day of death. Deduct herefrom that if he remembered his Creator and did repent ere he died, he was forgiven.
(2) What is repentance? The sinner shall cease sinning, and remove sin from his thoughts, and wholeheartedly conclude not to revert back to it, even as it is said: "Let the wicked forsake his way" (Is. 55.7); so, too, shall he be remorseful on what was past, even as it is said: "Surely after that I was turned, I repented" (Jer. 31. 19). In addition thereto he should take to witness Him Who knoweth all secrets that forever he will not turn to repeat that sin again, according to what it is said: "Say unto Him.… neither will we call any more the work of our hands our gods" (Hos. 14.3–4). It is, moreover, essential that his confession shall be by spoken words of his lips, and all that which he concluded in his heart shall be formed in speech.
(3) He who confesses by speech but has not his heart's consent to abandon his erstwhile conduct, behold him, he is like one taking an immersion of purification and in his grasp is an impure creeping thing, when he knows the immersion to be of no value till he cast away the impure creeping thing. Even so it is advised to do, saying: "But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall shall obtain mercy" (Pro. 28. 13). In confessing to God, it is obligatory to name the sin, even as it is said: "Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them a god of gold" (Ex. 32.31).
Rabbi Jonah of Gerona (d. 1263) called repentance a sanctuary, a place to escape the intensity of sin. It is also the place to embrace the strength needed to fight our hardest inner battles and our stubborn resistance to change. By calling repentance a sanctuary, Rabbi Jonah in Sha’arei Teshuva (The Gates of Repentance) transformed an act into a space we can step into and know that we are home, and we are safe. We have returned to our essential selves, the people we like best. We are at one with forces that usually rage within us, pulling us between good and evil, generosity and self-absorption, selflessness and narcissism.
Almost eight hundred years later, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, too, described the sanctuary of teshuva and how it envelops us on these holiest of days:
Jews do confess, but confession is a private matter between the individual and the Almighty. In my opinion, this is because of the Jew’s typical modesty and shyness. The noblest and most exalted feelings that the Jew experiences must remain like the Ark of the Covenant, concealed behind the curtain. “And the curtain shall separate for you between the holy and the Holy of Holies” (Exodus 26:33). The sanctuary of the human person is his emotional life, not his logical life. The Ark is with us in each person’s emotional life, concealed behind the curtain.1
Rabbi Jonah knew the process of teshuva intimately because he himself needed it. In 1233, Rabbi Jonah instigated a book-burning of Maimonides’ most controversial work, The Guide of the Perplexed, in France. The Aristotelian overtones of the book felt foreign to many rabbis, and they worried about the impact this would have on the faith of their flocks. When twenty-four cartloads of handwritten volumes of the Talmud were put on trial in 1240 and then burned publicly in Paris two years later, Rabbi Jonah regretted his involvement in the initial book-burning. Rabbi Jonah seemed unable to forgive himself for condemning a great Jewish scholar, perhaps believing that this paved the way for future ecclesiastically driven book-burnings and anti-Semitic acts.
As penance, legend has it, Rabbi Jonah cited Maimonides in every one of his teachings and planned to enact an ancient Jewish custom: he intended to go to Maimonides’ grave in Tiberias and bring a quorum to beg for Maimonides’ forgiveness. He had already publicly acknowledged the error of his ways in his synagogue. He could not write about teshuva without practicing it. He could not describe and chastise the willful ignorance of those who did not improve themselves when he himself felt guilty of betrayal. He set off on the trip but was detained along the way and died of a rare illness in 1263; some attribute his illness to the fateful day that he assigned Maimonides’ work to the flames. He knew he had to make amends, yet Rabbi Jonah never carried out the ritual to externalize the anguish he carried inside by making his apology in the presence of the offended and the community. Like so many of us, he knew what he had to do to right his error, but he only embarked on the journey. He did not complete it.
Much of what is known about his life comes from a responsum by Solomon ben Simon Duran, one of his descendants.[2]
Jonah Gerondi came from Girona, in Catalonia (present-day Spain). He was the most prominent pupil of Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier, the leader of the opponents of Maimonides' philosophical works, and was one of the signers of the ban proclaimed in 1233 against The Guide for the Perplexed and the Sefer ha-Madda. According to his pupil, Hillel ben Samuel, Gerondi was the instigator of the public burning of Maimonides' writings by order of the authorities at Paris in 1233, and the indignation which this aroused among all classes of Jews was mainly directed against him. Subsequently (not forty days afterward, as a tradition has it, but in 1242[3]) when twenty-four wagon-loads of Talmuds were burned at the same place where the philosophical writings of Maimonides had been destroyed, Gerondi saw the folly and danger of appealing to Christian ecclesiastical authorities on questions of Jewish doctrine, and publicly admitted in the synagogue of Montpellier that he had been wrong in all his acts against the works and fame of Maimonides.
As an act of repentance he vowed to travel to Israel and prostrate himself on Maimonides' grave and implore his pardon in the presence of ten men for seven consecutive days. He left France with that intention, but was detained, first in Barcelona and later in Toledo. He remained in Toledo, and became one of the great Talmudical teachers of his time. In all his lectures he made a point of quoting from Maimonides, always mentioning his name with great reverence. Gerondi's sudden death from a rare disease was considered by many as a penalty for not having carried out the plan of his journey to the grave of Maimonides. However, some believe this was only a myth created by the followers of Maimonides.[4] He died in Toledo in the Kingdom of Castile in November 1263. The text of his tombstone was later transcribed by Samuel David Luzzatto,[5] with the month and possibly the day of his death being readable.