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How can God wash away sins without teshuvah, and what does this washing actually accomplish? The shiur explains that sin affects body and soul differently - teshuvah repairs the soul's distance from God, but only divine mercy can cleanse the body's spiritual contamination. This distinction explains why even ba'alei teshuvah may carry physical traces of past sins despite their spiritual greatness.
This profound shiur examines the divine attribute of 'Over Al Pesha' (overlooks transgression) from the thirteen attributes of God, based on commentary from the Tomer Devorah. Rabbi Zweig addresses fundamental questions about how sin affects both body and soul differently, and how God's forgiveness operates even without repentance. The shiur begins with a perplexing question: how can God wash away sins without teshuvah, and what does 'washing away sin' actually mean? Rabbi Zweig explores the seeming contradiction between the Talmudic teaching that a Torah (תורה) scholar (even if a mamzer) is greater than a Kohen Gadol, yet practical halacha (הלכה) maintains distinctions between different categories of Jews.
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Tomer Devorah on the Thirteen Divine Attributes
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Up Next in this Series
How can we truly love our neighbor as ourselves without it being disguised selfishness? The shiur distinguishes between vicarious feelings (relating others' experiences back to ourselves) and genuine compassion (sharing their actual emotions regardless of cause). The test: when you cause someone's pain yet still feel their suffering, you've achieved true rachmanus - the divine attribute that lets Hashem share our pain even while punishing us.
If God's anger at sin is justified, why does it fade without repentance? The shiur explains that divine anger maintains a just claim for wrongdoing but doesn't prevent ongoing care and relationship. Unlike humans who withhold kindness until debts are paid, God's love remains unconditional and teaches us to separate consequences from relationship.
Why does God need angels to inform Him of our charitable deeds if He has perfect knowledge? The shiur explains that God operates through two levels of knowledge - immanent and transcendental - and chooses to judge us from His transcendental perspective to preserve human dignity and free will. Our acts of kindness demonstrate we are functioning positively in our earthly realm, justifying our existence and securing divine mercy.
Why does the Rambam place free will exclusively in Hilchos Teshuva rather than Yesodei HaTorah? The shiur argues that teshuva begins not with correcting specific sins but with recognizing that free choice grants us ability, not right—we must abandon the arrogance of self-centeredness and reposition Hashem at the universe's center. Only then can we achieve immediate closeness to Him.
Why is vidui (confession) the central mitzvah in Hilchos Teshuvah, rather than teshuvah itself? The Rambam distinguishes between teshuvah (establishing a prospective relationship with Hashem) and vidui (achieving kapara for the past). Vidui transforms the focus from self-improvement to recognizing Hashem as the "baal davar"—the injured party—and communicating directly to Him, which is what undoes yesterday's aveiros.
Why does the Rambam locate the essence of teshuvah in vidui (confession) rather than behavioral change? The shiur explores how vidui works even for shogeg (unintentional sin), showing that confession restores relationship with God even when one has pushed Him out of one's world. The connection between vidui and todah (thanks) reveals the deeper meaning of confession.
What does kapara really mean—erasing the sin or restoring the sinner? The shiur builds on Rambam Hilchos Teshuvah 1:3 to argue that kapara is not about making sins disappear but about going forward in a relationship with Hashem. The story of Yishmael read on Rosh Hashanah—"ba'asher hu shom"—teaches that the din focuses on who we are now, not on fixing the past.
