​Rosh Hashanah, 5787, 2026: "Sin and Teshuvah"

Rabbi David Etengoff

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
In a few days we will be standing before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah. Each of us will ask for HIs forgiveness for sins we committed over the course of the preceding year. Since this is the case, we must ask a deceptively simple question: “What is sin?”
 
In broad terms, sin is any violation of Hashem’s will. More specifically, however, three different kinds of sin are mentioned in the Torah passage that follows the most grievous violation we committed as a nation, namely, the Eigel HaZahav—the Sin of the Golden Calf:

And the Hashem passed before him [Moshe] and proclaimed: “Hashem, Hashem, God, Who is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving avon—iniquity and pesha—rebellion and chata’ah —sin…” (34:6-7, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emphasis and emendations for the purpose of clarity)
 
In this pasuk, Hashem teaches us that He forgives three distinct types of sin: avon, pesha, and chata’ah. In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains avon as a purposeful sin, a sin performed with full knowledge that it is wrong; and the person’s better judgment is overcome. Such an individual has lost the battle and has succumbed to base and lowly instincts. Hedonistic pursuits have become his master. Avon takes place when an individual loses self-control and is ruled by raw desire. Nonetheless, such people have not forsaken their relationship with Hashem, rather, they have forsaken their relationship with themselves by desecrating their intrinsic holy status.
 
Pesha is a far more grievous type of sin than avon. Rashi explains that it refers to purposeful acts of rebellion against Hashem. When one performs a pesha, he simultaneously challenges and rejects the Almighty’s role as Master of the Universe. Those who commit a pesha repudiate the Almighty’s hegemony and power and, instead, so to speak, place themselves on His throne. Their rebellious actions undertaken with knowledge, forethought and temerity falsely proclaim they are the ultimate authority in the universe.
 
Chata’ah is different in kind and degree than the previous types of sin for, in such an instance, there is no desire to do wrong. There is no pleasure-seeking urge run amok, or impetus to dethrone Ribono shel Olam. Rather, one who is involved in a chata’ah does so based upon a lack of the requisite Torah knowledge that would have prevented the forbidden action; as such, it is an inadvertent sin. Chata’ah teaches us that a failure to learn Torah precludes the possibility of correctly living according to its precepts. In short, chata’ah occurs when people fail to live up to all that they could have been—if only they would have engaged in sincere Torah study that would have prepared them to properly follow Hashem’s mitzvot.
 
Teshuvah, returning to Hashem, is the ultimate antidote against sin’s destructive poison. Moreover, it is one of HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s greatest gifts as it enables us to once again walk upon the correct path and reestablish our relationship with Him. My rebbi and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), gave eloquent voice to these ideas:
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What, therefore, is teshuvah in contrast to sin? Ascent versus descent. Through sin one is an object, while teshuvah allows one to again become a subject. Through sin man is acted upon, while through teshuvah man can act once again. Through sin he is a thing, while through teshuvah he becomes a person. Through sin gravity overwhelms, while through teshuvah gravity is overcome. (From a 1974 lecture, summarized by Dr. Arnold Lustiger in Before Hashem You Shall Be Purified: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on the Days of Awe, page 34)
 
In sum, authentic teshuvah allows us once again to ascend in kedushah, become a subject, actor, person, and finally, so to speak, overcome gravity and authentically reach out to Avinu b’Shamayim in true contrition.
 
When we stand in prayer this Rosh Hashanah in order to encounter the Master of the Universe, let us remember Yirmiyahu’s celebrated words and take them truly to heart: “Hashiveinu Hashem alecha v’nashuvah…Cause us to return unto You, Hashem, so we may return [in teshuvah shlaimah]!” (Megillat Eichah 5:21, brackets my own)  V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom, Kativah v’Chatimah Tovah
 
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