Naso: Confessing to an Omnipotent God
Do YOU know the source in the Written Torah for the mitzvah of vidui (confession of sins)? And if you do, can you explain why it's presented in this context? Here's my attempt to answer that question
This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Isaiah Blanks and Joey & Estee Lichter in honor of Tamar Lichter Blanks receiving her PhD in mathematics.
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Naso: Confessing to an Omnipotent God
The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 1:1) introduces the mitzvah of vidui (confession for sins) as follows:
All the mitzvos in the Torah, whether positive or negative, if a person transgressed one of them, whether intentionally or unintentionally – when he does teshuvah and returns from his sin, he is obligated to confess before God (blessed is He), as it is stated: “When a man or a woman does any of the sins of man … they shall confess their sin which they did” – this refers to a verbal vidui, and this vidui is a positive mitzvah.
You’ll notice I didn’t identify the pasuk cited by the Rambam as the source for this mitzvah. If you had to guess the context in which this pasuk appears, what would you say? Here are some reasonable guesses: in Sefer Vayikra, where the topic of sin-offerings is first introduced; in Acharei Mos, where the Torah discusses Yom ha’Kippurim; one of Moshe Rabbeinu’s speeches in Devarim, when he speaks about teshuvah; in one of the “mitzvah-heavy parshiyos,” such as Mishpatim, Kedoshim, or Ki Seitzei. But the actual context is a strange paragraph in Naso:
Speak to the Children of Israel: A man or a woman who does any sins of man, committing treachery against Hashem, and that person shall become guilty – they shall confess their sin that they did; he shall make restitution for his guilt in its principal amount and add its fifth to it and give it to the one to whom he is indebted. If the man has no kinsman to whom the debt can be returned, the returned debt is for Hashem, for the kohen, etc. (Bamidbar 5:6-8)
This is incomprehensible without Torah she’baal Peh. Rashi (Bamidbar 5:6) explains that this entire paragraph is a repetition of a topic that was discussed earlier (Vayikra 5:20-26). The pesukim there teach that if one person swears falsely, denying possession of another person’s money or property, he must confess his sin and pay back the principal amount plus a fifth. This topic is repeated in our paragraph to teach the halacha for a specific case in which the victim “has no kinsman to whom the debt can be returned.” This is the case of gezel ha’ger (a robbed convert), who has no relatives to whom restitution can be made. Why is vidui presented in this specific context?
The Sefer ha’Chinuch’s (Mitzvah #364) explanation of the reason for vidui provides an important clue:
At the root of this mitzvah lies the reason that by the verbal acknowledgment of a sin, the thought and mind of the sinner are revealed, [namely,] that he truly believes that all his actions are revealed and known before God (blessed is He), and [thus,] he does not regard the seeing eye [of God] as though it does not see.
In other words, vidui is not for Hashem, but for the sake of the repentant sinner, to demonstrate his belief in the Omniscient God against Whom he sinned. Why else would the sinner refuse to verbalize his sin if not for an unconscious belief that by keeping it to himself, Hashem won’t know about it?
The Hoil Moshe (Bamidbar 5:6) invokes a similar explanation for the halacha of gezel ha’ger. He writes:
"sins of man" [means] sins against human beings, which ipso facto constitute treachery against Hashem ... his initial sin [of stealing] is against human beings, but he also sinned against Hashem by treating the eye above as though it doesn't see. Therefore, if that man dies and has no inheritors, he is obligated to return the guilt-payment to Hashem, Who is the second wronged party … In lieu of Hashem, he must make restitution of the guilt to [Hashem’s] agent, namely, the kohen.
We can now answer our question. Indeed, there are many contexts in which the mitzvah of vidui could have been introduced. Hashem nevertheless “went out of His way” (so to speak) to write an otherwise redundant paragraph to highlight the case of gezel ha’ger: a crime against a victim on the margins of society whose plight is prone to be overlooked – especially after the victim’s death, with no relatives who will demand justice. The mitzvah of vidui is paired with gezel ha’ger to underscore the message that nothing is hidden from Hashem. In this sense, one who refuses to confess is equal to one who pretends that an undetected crime didn’t happen. The only remedy is to act in accordance with the reality of God’s Omniscience: through vidui and restitution, initiated by the sinner.
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