Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת־עֲוֹנָם וְאֶת־עֲוֹן אֲבֹתָם בְּמַעֲלָם אֲשֶׁר מָעֲלוּ־בִי וְאַף אֲשֶׁר־הָלְכוּ עִמִּי בְּקֶרִי׃
אַף־אֲנִי אֵלֵךְ עִמָּם בְּקֶרִי וְהֵבֵאתִי אֹתָם בְּאֶרֶץ אֹיְבֵיהֶם אוֹ־אָז יִכָּנַע לְבָבָם הֶעָרֵל וְאָז יִרְצוּ אֶת־עֲוֹנָם׃
They shall confess their sins and the sins of their parents, because they betrayed Me, and treated me carelessly.
So I will also be careless with them and I will bring them to the land of their enemies, then at last their stubborn hearts will be humbled, and they will atone for their sins.
The connection between these two pesukim is troubling. In the first pasuk, the people, who have just suffered terrible punishments, confess their sins. So, why does God continue punishing them in the second pasuk? Why doesn’t God forgive them right away?
Our פַּרְשָׁנִים (parshanim, commentators) offer different explanations.
וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת־עֲוֹנָם קְצָתָם כְּמוֹ דָּנִיֵּאל וְעֶזְרָא וְזוּלָתָם.
They shall confess their sins—only a few of them, like Daniel and Ezra.
וְהֵבֵאתִי אֹתָם – אֲנִי בְּעַצְמִי אֲבִיאֵם. זוֹ מִדָּה טוֹבָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל.
I will bring them—I Myself will take them. This is an act of kindness for Israel.
- How do you understand Sforno’s justification for the harshness of the second pasuk? Can a small number of people do תְּשׁוּבָה (teshuvah, repentance) on behalf of the larger group, or does everyone have to participate?
- Rashi says that the second pasuk isn’t actually so harsh! Can you read this pasuk as a statement of God’s kindness? What might have been kind about God personally bringing Benei Yisrael to their גָּלוּת (galut, exile from the Land of Israel)? Is there a way you can see God with you even when things look bad?
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