Avoda Zara (04b) R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai: David was not the kind of man to do that act (Basheva), nor was Israel the kind of people to do that act (Golden Calf). David was not the kind of man to do that act, as it is written, My heart is slain within me; nor were the Israelites the kind of people to commit that act, for it is said, O that they had such a heart as this alway etc. Why, then, did they act thus? God predestined it so in order to teach thee that if an individual hath sinned and hesitates about the effect of repentance he could be referred to David, and if a community commit a sin they should be told: Go to the community. And both these instances are necessary; for if the case of the individual only were mentioned. it might have been thought that pardon is granted because his sin is not generally known, but in the case of a community whose sins are publicly known it might not be so; if, on the other hand, the case of a community only were mentioned, it might have been thought, because they command greater mercy, but with an individual, whose merits are not so numerous, it is not so; hence both are necessary.
Yes, I'm not the kind of person to eat in McDonalds, but that cheeseburger was great this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteAlso not the kind of person who is a menuval, but my local midianite woman is quite persuasive.
In any case, my Rov taught me not to get too frustrated by sin, and just do teshuva the morning after the night before.
Wasn't there a trend amongst the Chasidim to sin l'shem mitzvah at one point?
ReplyDeleteIf you mean the brocho "mattir issurim", that was the sabbateans
DeleteNo, it's was a rebbe (the Izhbister?) who said that one had to sin in order to perform the mitzvah of teshuvah.
DeleteOh yes, Adam never sinned either. Was just bringing himself down to the level of the physical world
DeleteAnd then there's the obvious contradiction.
DeleteHere we're told that David HaMelech, a"h, sinned and did repentance to set an example for individuals. Yet then the Gemara says "No, no, no. It's a mistake to think he sinned. He just played with technicalities that aren't mentioned anywhere in the text of the story."
So why burn up sinners working the land, if it was predestined that they do it?
DeleteOh, wait, that's another thread..