רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר: כׇּל שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁהוּא מְשׁוּבָּח, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כִּי פְשָׁעַי אֲנִי אֵדָע וְחַטָּאתִי נֶגְדִּי תָמִיד״. אֶלָּא מָה אֲנִי מְקַיֵּים ״כְּכֶלֶב שָׁב עַל קִיאוֹ וְגוֹ׳״ — כִּדְרַב הוּנָא. דְּאָמַר רַב הוּנָא, כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָבַר אָדָם עֲבֵירָה וְשָׁנָה בָּהּ — הוּתְּרָה לוֹ. הוּתְּרָה לוֹ סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ?! אֶלָּא אֵימָא: נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ כְּהֶיתֵּר.
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.
תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: אָדָם עוֹבֵר עֲבֵירָה פַּעַם רִאשׁוֹנָה — מוֹחֲלִין לוֹ, שְׁנִיָּה — מוֹחֲלִין לוֹ, שְׁלִישִׁית — מוֹחֲלִין לוֹ, רְבִיעִית — אֵין מוֹחֲלִין לוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כֹּה אָמַר יהוה עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה פִּשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל אַרְבָּעָה לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ״, (וְנֶאֱמַר:) ״הֵן כׇּל אֵלֶּה יִפְעַל אֵל פַּעֲמַיִם שָׁלֹשׁ עִם גָּבֶר״.
§ 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).
הָאוֹמֵר אֶחֱטָא וְאָשׁוּב אֶחֱטָא וְאָשׁוּב. לְמָה לִי לְמֵימַר ״אֶחֱטָא וְאָשׁוּב, אֶחֱטָא וְאָשׁוּב״ תְּרֵי זִימְנֵי? כִּדְרַב הוּנָא אָמַר רַב. דְּאָמַר רַב הוּנָא אָמַר רַב: כֵּיוָן שֶׁעָבַר אָדָם עֲבֵירָה וְשָׁנָה בָּהּ — הוּתְּרָה לוֹ. הוּתְּרָה לוֹ סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ?! אֶלָּא: נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ כְּהֶיתֵּר.
§ The Gemara returns to interpreting the mishna. It states there that one who says: I will sin and I will repent, I will sin and I will repent, is not given the opportunity to repent.The Gemara asks: Why do I need the mishna to say twice: I will sin and I will repent, I will sin and repent? The Gemara explains that this is in accordance with that which Rav Huna said that Rav said, as Rav Huna said that Rav said: Once a person commits a transgression and repeats it, it becomes permitted to him. The Gemara is surprised at this: Can it enter your mind that it becomes permitted to him? Rather, say that it becomes to him as though it were permitted. Consequently, the sinner who repeats his sin has difficulty abandoning his sin, and the repetition of his sin is reflected in the repetition of the phrase.
בשנאת יהוה אותנו - אפשר שהקב"ה שונא את ישראל? והרי כבר נאמר (מלאכי א) אהבתי אתכם אמר ה'! אלא הם שונאים את הקב"ה. משל הדיוט הוא: מה דבלבך על רחמך - מה דבלביה עלך:
"in the L-rd's hatred of us": Is it possible that the Holy One Blessed be He hates Israel? Is it not written (Malachi 1:2) "I have loved you, said the L-rd"? It is, rather, they, who hate the Holy One Blessed be He (as per the folk saying: "As you are disposed to another you think him disposed to you.")
וַֽיַּחֲרִ֔ישׁוּ וְלֹא־עָנ֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ דָּבָ֑ר כִּֽי־מִצְוַ֨ת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הִ֛יא לֵאמֹ֖ר לֹ֥א תַעֲנֻֽהוּ׃
But they were silent and did not answer him with a single word; for the king’s order was: “Do not answer him.”
מאי דכתיב וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים (תנינא) רבי נתן אומר מום שבך אל תאמר לחברך והיינו דאמרי אינשי דזקיף ליה זקיפא בדיותקיה לא נימא ליה לחבריה זקיף ביניתא:
What is the meaning of that which is written: “And you shall not mistreat a convert nor oppress him, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20)? We learned in a baraita that Rabbi Natan says: A defect that is in you, do not mention it in another. Since the Jewish people were themselves strangers, they are not in a position to demean a convert because he is a stranger in their midst. And this explains the adage that people say: One who has a person hanged in his family [bidyotkei], does not say to another member of his household: Hang a fish for me, as the mention of hanging is demeaning for that family.
אלא משום דכתיב לא תעיל דויא בלבך דגברי גיברין קטל דויא הא שלמה אמרה (משלי יב, כה) דאגה בלב איש ישחנה ר' אמי ור' אסי חד אמר ישיחנה מדעתו וחד אמר ישיחנה לאחרים
Rather, perhaps the book poses a difficulty because it is written there: Do not introduce anxiety into your heart, as anxiety has killed mighty men (Ben Sira 14:1; 30:29). Didn’t Solomon already say it in the verse: “Anxiety in a man’s heart dejects him [yashḥena]” (Proverbs 12:25)? Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Asi interpret the term homiletically and read it as yesiḥenna. One says that it means: He shall remove it [yesiḥenna] from his mind, and that will ease his anxiety. And one says: He shall tell it [yesiḥenna] to others, and that will ease his anxiety. Both agree with the statement of ben Sira.
ר' שמעון בן יוחאי אומר: הרי הוא אומר (משלי כז) נפש שבעה תבוס נופת - זה תלמיד שלא למד מתחילתו. ונפש רעבה כל מר מתוק - לא היה אלא מי שלמד. ד"א נפש שבעה תבוס נופת - מה נפה זו מוציאה קמח בפני עצמה, סובין בפני עצמם, קיבר בפני עצמה - כך ת"ח יושב ומדקדק בדברי תורה ומברר דברי תורה ומשקלם: איש פלוני אוסר, איש פלוני מתיר. איש פלוני מטמא, איש פלוני מטהר.
R. Shimon b. Yochai says: It is written (Proverbs 27:7) "The sated soul will tread down a honeycomb": This is a Torah scholar who did not learn from the beginning; "but to the hungry soul all bitter is sweet": This is one who did learn (from the beginning). Variantly: "The sated soul will tread down a honeycomb (nofeth)": Just as a sieve extracts flour by itself, bran flour by itself, and wheat flour by itself, so, a Torah scholar sits and scrutinizes words of Torah and weighs them — This sage forbids, this sage permits; this sage rules unclean; this sage rules clean.