Pemikiran Yahudi Mazmur 51:6: Derashot HaRan & Duties

The attention of our sages was drawn to all of these points in this Midrash, and they apprised us of the truth and essence of the matter. And that is that the Blessed One is full of mercy and forgives even the gravest of sins between man and G-d, but wherever forgiveness of the sin would result in injury to others it is impossible to erase it in any way whatsoever. This is the intent of the words of King David, may peace be upon him (Psalms 51:6): "To You alone have I sinned, and what is evil in Your eyes have I done." And Moses therefore said to the Jews: "And the L-rd was angry with me for your sake," to indicate to them the eminence of the congregation. For he had sinned to the Blessed One and had intoned many prayers and supplications over it and not been answered, the reason being the presence in his sin of a slight to the honor of Israel. And though this was not his real sin the Blessed One indicated that he should in no way be forgiven so as to serve as an example to future generations that all men be extremely circumspect not to slight the honor of the congregation. For the congregation, by virtue of its plurality, attains an eminence and a distinction that it is impossible for the individual to attain.

And there are three considerations which cause me special concern in respect to two sins that men are constantly guilty of — the first, vows and oaths; and the second, causeless hatred. What leads me to say this is that I find even one of these considerations to intensify a transgression and make it more serious. The first consideration is the severity of the sin in itself, its being comparable to idol worship, murder, and adultery. The second, the fact that one constantly falls into it. The slightest thing in the world if it is doubled over many times, becomes extremely strong — as we see a constantly redoubled strand of flax to be stronger than a fiber of iron. And, as our sages commented on the verse introducing this parshah (Devarim 7:12): "And it shall be ekev you hear" — (Tanchumah Ekev 1): "If you hear [observe] the slight mitzvoth that one is prone to tread down with his heel [ekev]." And this is the intent of (Psalms 49:6): "Why should I fear in the days of evil? The sin of my heels encompasses me." That is, I do not fear the major transgressions, for I do not go astray in them, but I do fear the lesser ones, which, because one regards them as minor, he transgresses constantly, as a result of which they are transformed to the severest of the severe. Repetition of a sin, then, intensifies and strengthens it. The third consideration — its being a sin to which man's nature is not prone. For a man can offer some rationalization for what his nature is prone to, as it is written (Ibid 51:6): "Behold, I was shaped in sin, and in sin did my mother conceive me." And our sages have stated (Yoma 19b): "And what does the Holy One Blessed be He say? — (Bereshith 4:7): 'Sin lies at the door [of life]'" But a man cannot rationalize what he is not naturally prone to. And if even one of these three factors in itself intensifies and strengthens a sin, how grave must a transgression be in which they are all combined! And in the sin of vain and false oaths I see men constantly going astray in these three areas. They take oaths on anything and everything until it becomes virtually a custom or force of habit for them to do so — and they do not take heed as to whether they are swearing truly or falsely. There is no doubt that this transgression in itself is one of the gravest in the Torah, for concerning it it is written (Shemoth 20:7): "For the L-rd will not absolve…" Those who swear falsely have been likened to those who incur the penalty of cutting-off [kareth] or the judicial death penalty, for it is as if they deny the Holy One Blessed be He. They imply that what they are swearing to is as true as the Holy One Blessed be He, and if they swear falsely, see what they have wrought! This sin, then, is found to be severe in itself and in point of its being constantly repeated. For there is no end to the oaths that the habitué pours forth from his mouth. And as to the populace in general, they pour forth literally a flood of oaths. There is no rationalizing this sin because the nature of man is not prone to it. This one transgression, then, is found to contain all three elements which place the stamp of gravity on any sin whatsoever. Community oaths are also extremely severe, and they require amendment. And causeless hatred also falls into this class in that it is a transgression that one constantly persists in and that affords no benefit or enjoyment to a man which would cause his nature to incline towards it. It is for this reason that our sages placed causeless hatred over and against three transgressions: idol worship, illicit relations, and murder — for man's nature inclines more to these three than it does to causeless hatred (to explain the how and why of this would take too long) and because it is only once in a long while that one succumbs to them, whereas one constantly succumbs to causeless hatred.

The faith of the believer is not complete unless he knows the meaning and the reasons of his belief. And this knowledge that enables one to fulfill the duties of the heart, is the hidden wisdom that is the light of hearts and the bright effulgence of souls; and concerning it Scripture says:—(Ps. li. 6) "Behold Thou desirest truth in the inward parts and in the hidden, Thou wilt make me to know wisdom." It is only those of weak intellect who are not culpable if they take on trust what it is man's duty to search out. But whoever has the strength of intellect, and the power to sift and prove, is sinful if he neglects to do so, and also even his lack of knowledge is a sin.