Shevuot 13a — the Talmud in English

For it was taught: If one transgressed a positive commandment and repented, -

he does not move from there until they forgive him!?

And we answer:

Rabbi Zeira said:

Here, with what are we dealing? With one who did not repent, but

remained in his rebellion,

and nevertheless he is atoned for on Yom Kippur,

and it is Rabbi,

who holds that the deficiency of “the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination” exists every day except on Yom Kippur, which atones even for those who do not repent.

For it was taught: Rabbi says: For all the transgressions in the Torah, whether he repented or whether he did not repent, Yom Kippur atones. Except

for one who

casts off

the yoke,

who denies the fundamental principle,

and brazenly interprets the Torah,

who is insolent in his manner when he comes to expound the words of Torah, and speaks against it in a contemptuous manner,

and violates the covenant in the flesh,

the covenant of circumcision.

For

with these three, only

if he repented, Yom Kippur atones; but if not, Yom Kippur does not atone.

And the Gemara explains:

What is Rabbi’s reason?

For it was taught: “For he has despised the word of the Lord” -

this is one who casts off the yoke and brazenly interprets the Torah.

The explanation is lacking; see Rashi.

“And he has violated His commandment” - this is one who violates the covenant in the flesh.

“He shall surely be cut off” -

“cut off” before Yom Kippur, “he shall be cut off” after Yom Kippur.

One might

the soul be cut off

even if he repented? The verse says: “His sin is upon him” -

I said

that he shall be cut off

only when his sin is upon him!

And from the fact that the Torah revealed that with these three transgressions Yom Kippur does not atone unless he repented, it is proven that with the other transgressions Yom Kippur atones even without his having repented.

And the Rabbis,

how do they expound this verse?

“Cut off” -

in this world; “he shall be cut off” -

in the World to Come; “his sin is upon him” -

that if he repented

for these three transgressions

and died

after he repented, for we no longer read concerning him “his sin is upon him,”

death cleanses

[erases completely] his sin. But if he died without repenting for these three transgressions, death does not cleanse him; whereas with the other transgressions, Yom Kippur together with the death that follows cleanses him if he did not repent, but Yom Kippur alone does not cleanse even the other transgressions.

And we refute:

And can you establish it

for our Mishna

according to Rabbi?

But since the latter clause

of the Mishna

is Rabbi Judah, the first clause too is Rabbi Judah!

For it teaches in the latter clause: Both an Israelite and priests and an anointed priest

are atoned for, with regard to the other transgressions, by the scapegoat!

And who holds this view

that the priests are atoned for by the scapegoat? -

Rabbi Judah,

later in our chapter.

By implication, the first clause too is Rabbi Judah

and according to Rabbi Judah Yom Kippur does not atone if he did not repent!?

And we answer:

Rav Yosef said:

The first clause is

Rabbi,

who holds that Yom Kippur atones even without repentance,

and he agrees with Rabbi Judah

that the priests too are atoned for by the scapegoat.

Abaye said

to Rav Yosef: Is it

specifically that you said, “Rabbi agrees with Rabbi Judah”

that the priests too are atoned for by the scapegoat?

But Rabbi Judah

does not agree with Rabbi

that Yom Kippur atones without repentance, and the Mishna follows Rabbi alone and not Rabbi Judah.

Or perhaps, since Rabbi agrees with Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Judah too agrees with Rabbi.

And the Mishna follows also the opinion of Rabbi Judah.

However,

the reason you did not say to us that the Mishna is Rabbi Judah, and that he agrees with Rabbi that Yom Kippur atones without repentance, is because

it is the ordinary manner of the matter to teach, to say that the student

[of Rabbi]

agrees with his teacher

[Rabbi Judah], and not to say that the teacher agrees with his student.

He said to him

Rav Yosef to Abaye:

No. I said it specifically,

that the Mishna is

Rabbi,

who

agrees with Rabbi Judah

his teacher concerning the law of the scapegoat, which atones for the other transgressions even for the priests.

But Rabbi Judah

himself

does not agree with Rabbi

his student; rather, he holds that Yom Kippur atones only together with repentance.

For it was taught: One might Yom Kippur atone

both

for those who repent

and both

for those who do not repent?

And it is a logical inference

that it should not atone for those who do not repent:

Since a sin-offering and a guilt-offering atone, and Yom Kippur atones -

just as a sin-offering and a guilt-offering atone only for those who repent,

as it is written, “And they shall confess their sin” concerning a guilt-offering, and concerning a sin-offering it is written, “And he shall confess the sin for which he has sinned,”

so too Yom Kippur atones only for those who repent.

And if you should say:

What can be said concerning a sin-offering and a guilt-offering, which do not atone for intentional wrongdoing as for unintentional wrongdoing? Shall you say this concerning Yom Kippur, which atones for intentional wrongdoing as for unintentional wrongdoing, and since it atones for intentional wrongdoing as for unintentional wrongdoing, let it atone

also

for those who repent

and also

for those who do not repent? The verse says: “But

on the tenth day of this seventh month, it is Yom Kippur.” And we expound:

“But” -

a division,

for the verse comes to divide and say that Yom Kippur does not atone for everything; rather, it atones for those who repent and does not atone for those who do not repent!

And Rav Yosef infers:

The anonymous Sifra,

[Torat Kohanim on the Book of Leviticus], where this beraita was stated,

whose opinion is it? -

Rabbi Judah! And it says: Those who repent, yes; those who do not repent, no!

And he raises

a contradiction between this

anonymous Sifra,

which we established according to Rabbi Judah, who holds that Yom Kippur atones only for those who repent,

and another anonymous Sifra

:

For it was taught: One might Yom Kippur not atone unless he fasted on it, proclaimed it as a sacred occasion,

with the blessings, when he recites the blessing, “Who sanctifies Israel and Yom Kippur,”

and did not perform labor on it.

From where is it that even

if he did not fast on it, did not proclaim it as a sacred occasion, and performed labor on it, from where

is it that nevertheless Yom Kippur atones for him? -

The verse says: “It is Yom Kippur,” in any event!?

Abaye said: It is not difficult. This

anonymous Sifra, which says that Yom Kippur atones for everyone,

is Rabbi,

and

that

above, which says that it atones only for those who repent,

is Rabbi Judah.

Rava said: Both this and that -

are Rabbi.

Rabbi

they are

and Rabbi concedes

that Yom Kippur does not atone

for the karet of the day.

For the sins of Yom Kippur itself [which are eating and affliction], Yom Kippur does not atone without repentance.

For if you do not say so -

and is it so that

the karet of Yom Kippur

itself

does not apply according to Rabbi!?

For if Rabbi holds that Yom Kippur atones without repentance even for one who eats or performs labor on Yom Kippur, it follows that he would never become liable for karet for it; and why was the law of karet on Yom Kippur written in the Torah?

And accordingly, this beraita above, which says that Yom Kippur does not atone for those who do not repent, deals with one who eats or performs labor on Yom Kippur itself, while the second beraita, which says that it atones even if he ate or performed labor on Yom Kippur, deals with the other transgressions, for Yom Kippur atones for the other transgressions even when he desecrates Yom Kippur through eating and labor [for which Yom Kippur does not atone]!

And we refute what we said, that Rabbi necessarily concedes that Yom Kippur itself does not atone for the karet of Yom Kippur without repentance, for if you do not say so, the karet of Yom Kippur itself cannot be found -

Why not?

Can it not be found? But

it can be found, for example, if he performed labor at night

on Yom Kippur

and died

that same night,

so that the day did not come to atone for him,

for Yom Kippur atones only during the day, as it is written, “For on this day He shall atone for you.” And one may always say that if he lived until the morning of Yom Kippur, he would be atoned for even for the karet of the day?