Rosh Hashanah 17b (יז:) — the Talmud in English

which bears only

for one who makes himself like “the remainder”.”

Like a person who makes himself “secondary” rather than “primary.”

And the Gemara continues to discuss the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He:

Rav Huna raised

an apparent contradiction between the verses:

It is written

[Psalms 145]:

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways.”

And it is written

later in the verse:

“And compassionate in all His deeds.”

“Righteous” means that He administers true and just judgment, whereas “compassionate” means that He acts with kindness, beyond the letter of the law!

And Rav Huna himself answered:

At first

the Lord is

righteous,

and judges the world according to the attribute of strict justice.

But ultimately,

when He sees that the world cannot endure under strict justice, He is

compassionate.

Rabbi Elazar raised

an apparent contradiction between the verses:

It is written

[Psalms 62]:

“And Yours, Lord, is kindness.”

And it is written

later:

“For You pay

each man

according to his deed.”

This implies that the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the world according to strict justice and not according to kindness.

And Rabbi Elazar answered:

At first,

the verse

“For You pay each man according to his deed”

is fulfilled according to the attribute of strict justice.

But ultimately,

when the Lord sees that the world cannot endure under strict justice, the verse

“And Yours, Lord, is kindness” is fulfilled.

Ilfei, and some say

[and some say

Ilfa raised

the objection that there is an apparent contradiction between the verses:

It is written

[Exodus 34]:

“Abundant in kindness.”

And it is written

later in the verse:

“And truth.”

This implies that the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the world according to the precise attribute of truth, and not according to the attribute of kindness!

And he answered:

At first

the verse

“And truth” is fulfilled.

is fulfilled.

But ultimately—

“Abundant in kindness.”

Concerning the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, it is stated [Exodus 34]:

“And the Lord passed before him

[Moses]

and proclaimed

[the Thirteen Attributes].”

Rabbi Yohanan said: Had the verse not been written—

it would have been impossible

for a person

to say it

on his own.

This teaches

that the verse

depicts the Holy One, blessed be He, wrapping Himself like a prayer leader;

He commanded an angel to wrap himself like a prayer leader [Rabbenu Hananel],

and showed Moses the order of prayer.

He said to him—

the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses:

Whenever Israel sins—

let them perform this order before Me,

that they recite the Thirteen Attributes,

and I will forgive them.

And the Gemara explains the beginning of the Thirteen Attributes:

“The Lord, the Lord”:

this Name expresses the attribute of mercy, and it is stated twice, to say:

I am He

who is the Lord, who conducts Himself according to the attribute of mercy

before a person sins,

to inscribe him for life.

And I am He

who is the Lord, who conducts Himself according to the attribute of mercy also

after a person sins and repents.

For I accept him as though he had not sinned.

And I am

“a compassionate and gracious God,”

and so on.

Rav Yehuda said: A covenant was made concerning the Thirteen Attributes:

if Israel mention them [in their fast-day prayer. Rashi. The source of this addition is unknown]—

they do not return empty-handed.

As it is stated

[Exodus 34] concerning the Thirteen Attributes:

“Behold, I am making a covenant,”

concerning the Thirteen Attributes mentioned above.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Great is repentance, for it tears up a person’s decree

after it has been sealed.

As it is stated

[Isaiah 6]:

“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and seal their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they repent and be healed.”

This implies that if they repent, they will be healed.

He said

and asked

Rav Pappa to Abaye: But perhaps,

this verse is speaking

before the decree?

He said to him,

Abaye said:

“And be healed” is written.

This implies that he had already become ill and is now being healed.

What is something that requires healing?

You must say that this is

a bad decree that had already been issued against the person.

Meytivi

an objection to Rabbi Yohanan from that which was taught in a beraita:

If he repents in the interim,

between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur,

he is forgiven.

If he did not repent in the interim—

even if he brought all the rams of Nebaioth

[a distinguished species of rams]

in the world

as offerings,

he is not forgiven,

since his judgment was decreed on Yom Kippur!

This proves that repentance is ineffective after the finalization of the judgment, contrary to Rabbi Yohanan’s statement.

And we answer:

It is not difficult.

This—

the statement that we learned, that it is impossible to tear up the decree after Yom Kippur—is speaking

of an individual,

of a decree issued against an individual, which cannot be torn up.

Whereas

this,

Rabbi Yohanan’s statement that repentance tears up a person’s decree, is speaking

of the community,

of a decree issued against the community, for the community can repent and tear up its decree.

Meytivi

to Rabbi Yohanan from a beraita, which likewise indicates that even a decree against the community cannot be torn up:

For it was taught: It is stated [Deuteronomy 11]: “Always

the eyes of the Lord your God are upon it

from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”

At times,

at the end of the year His eyes are

for the good,

to lessen the calamity decreed against the Land of Israel at the beginning of the year.

At times,

His eyes are

for the bad,

to reduce the goodness decreed at the beginning of the year.

“At times for the good”—

how so?

If Israel were completely wicked on Rosh HaShana, and it was decreed for them

that there would be

little rain

that year, and

at the end—

they repented

of their wickedness.

To add to it

beyond the rain decreed for them

is impossible,

because

the decree has already been issued.

Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings it down at its proper time,

at a time when it is beneficial, after sowing,

upon land that requires it,

fields, vineyards, and gardens—

everything according to

the amount appropriate for that

land.

“At times for the bad”—

how so?

If Israel were completely righteous on Rosh HaShana, and abundant rain was decreed for them.

At the end, they repented

and became wicked.

To reduce it is impossible,

because

the decree has already been issued.

Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings it down not at its proper time,

before sowing,

upon land that does not require it,

forests and deserts.

And according to what we said above—that even if a decree for the bad was issued against the community, it is torn up through repentance—the following difficulty arises:

When Israel changed their ways from evil

to good, at least,

why

should He not tear up their decree and add to it?

It should be possible to tear up their decree once they repented and to add more rain for them!

And we answer:

There it is different, for this is possible.

Rain differs from other evil decrees, because when little rain was decreed, the situation can be rectified by its falling at the proper time and upon land suited to it.

Ta shma

another proof that repentance does not tear up a person’s decree, from that which was taught in a beraita:

It is stated in the book of Psalms [107:23–26]:

“Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do work in mighty waters—

they saw the deeds of the Lord.

And He spoke, and raised a stormy wind, and lifted up its waves.

They reel and stagger like a drunken man.

They cried out to the Lord in their distress—

He saves them from their straits.

They give thanks to the Lord for His kindness.”

The verse

made for them—

for these verses—

signs,

a reversed letter nun between one verse and the next.

And these signs indicate limitations,

like “but” and “only” in the Torah,

as in places where the Torah says “but” or “only,” which indicate limitations.

This teaches you:

they will not always be saved from their straits when they cry out to the Lord in their distress. Rather, only if they

cried out before the decree,

then the verse says that they

are answered.

But if they

cried out after the decree—

they are not answered.

This presents a difficulty against Rabbi Yohanan’s statement that repentance tears up a decree! And we answer:

These too,

the sailors—

are considered individuals.

For this is like a decree issued against individuals, and not against the community as a whole.

Ta shma

another proof that repentance does not tear up a person’s decree, from that which was taught in a beraita:

The convert Biloria asked Rabban Gamliel:

It is written

[Deuteronomy 10] concerning the Holy One, blessed be He:

“Who shows no partiality.”

And it is written

[Numbers 6]:

“May the Lord lift His countenance to you.”

Rabbi Yose the priest joined her

to provide her with an answer.

He said to her: I will give you a parable. To what is this comparable?

To a person who was owed a maneh by another,

which the latter owed him.

And the debtor set

the loan’s

time before the king

to repay the debt.

And he swore to him

the debtor swore to him

by the life of the king,

that he would repay it at the time he had set.

The time arrived, and he did not repay it.

The debtor came

the debtor came

to appease the king.

And the king said to him

the king said:

My affront is forgiven you,

but

go and appease your fellow.

And the explanation of the parable is:

Here too,

the matter can be resolved:

Here,

where it says, “May the Lord lift His countenance to you,” it is speaking

of sins between a person and God,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives the affront against Him.

Whereas

here,

where it says that the Lord does not show partiality, it is speaking

of sins between one person and another.

In such cases, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the person: Indeed, My affront is forgiven you, but go and appease your fellow.

Until Rabbi Akiva came and taught

another answer to the question of the convert Biloria: