Musar su Levitico 4:23

נפש כי תחטא וגומר או הודע אליו חטאתו . Both in the Zohar and in the Tzror HaMor much has been written about these verses (4,22-23). The words או הודע אליו חטאתו are understood to refer to pre-natal knowledge, information given to the soul of the person in question prior to his being born. These commentators compare the situation to Jeremiah 1,5: "Before I created you in the womb I selected you, etc." This proves that communication with man commences before he is born. His soul is exhorted to behave in a certain way once he is on earth. The subject is explained by Rabbi Simlai in Nidah 30: "While the embryo is in the womb of its mother it may be compared to a writing book folded over, his two hands at his sides, etc.. A light is lit near his head enabling him to view every corner of the globe. He is taught the entire Torah as we know from ויורני ויאמר לי יתמך דברי לבך, "He also taught me and said to me: 'let your heart retain my words'" (Proverbs 4,4). Another verse from scripture along similar lines is Job 29,4: ואומר בסוד אלוקה עלי אהלי, "When the secrets of G–d were in my tent," i.e. I was privy to the mystical aspects of Torah while still in the womb. The baby is not born until it has been made to swear to be a צדיק not a רשע. He is told that even though the whole world may describe him as a צדיק, he must still consider himself a רשע. He should remain aware of the purity of G–d and his angels, as well as of the purity of the soul he has been equipped with. He is warned that as long as he preserves the purity of his soul all is well and good, but should he fail to so preserve its purity, his soul will be removed from him. This is the gist of Rabbi Simlai's statement.

Man was thus forewarned of the consequences of improper conduct even before he was born. This will help him to refrain from sinning. Whenever he remembers this he will hasten to make amends. This is the meaning of the words או הודע אליו חטאתו אשר חטא in 4,28. Perhaps this is also the reason the Torah continues in the paragraph following with the words: ונפש כי תחטא ושמעה קול האלה, "When a person sins and hears the voice of the oath, etc." The "oath" in question may allude to the one he himself swore before he was born as described above by Rabbi Simlai. This may also be what David alluded to in Psalms 24,4 when he described someone who has never sworn a vain oath as a person fit to ascend the Mountain of G–d. [otherwise we could ask why such a person had to swear an oath altogether, seeing our sages frown on any oath. Ed.] The remainder of 5,1, i.e. והוא עד או ראה או ידע may also be understood as applying to an experience every person had prior to his birth when he was sworn to remain free of sin. The verse concludes with the statement ונשא עונו, that a person who ignores what he was taught as an embryo will bear his guilt.