Understanding the Context in which Sin Occurs

Parshat Nasso contains the source for the requirement for teshuva, repentance (5:6-7): “When a man or woman commits any of the sins against man to act treacherously against God, and that person is [found] guilty, they shall confess the sin they committed.” Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twersky z’l notes two phrases at the end of this quote that require further analysis and contain important lessons. First, the Torah starts by describing individuals (“a man or woman”) but then shifts to the plural (“they shall confess”). Rabbi Twersky suggests that the Torah is alluding to the role that a community plays in the behavior of the individual. While a person retains his/her free will, and a person will be rewarded and punished for their choices, we cannot ignore the role that community plays in influencing the individual. For example, a person is more likely to sin when s/he is surrounded by negative influences and negative peer pressure. A person is more likely to sin when s/he is surrounded by people who act similarly or who at least tolerate such behavior without protesting, correcting, or rebuking in any way. While holding the individual accountable, the Torah also wants us to consider the responsibility of the community in encouraging, allowing or contributing to the actions of the individual. While the Torah is focused on negative actions, the same can be said about positive actions. A person can be influenced for the good as well by his/her community.

Rabbi Twersky also notes that once the Torah states “they shall confess the sin”, then the phrase “they committed” seems superfluous. Here again, Rav Twersky encourages us to recognize that sin does not occur in a vacuum. When reflecting on the sin, a person should consider the antecedents to that sin. What caused him/her to sin? The Kotzker Rebbe said that the reason that a person should not sin is not only because it is forbidden. Rather a person should not sin because s/he should not have any available time to sin. If a person is engaged in Torah study and mitzvah performance, if s/he is engaged in daily activities with an awareness of how the Torah wants us to live our lives, then there would simply be no time left in one’s day to sin. The fact that sin occurred means that something broke down in the system. Either we didn’t do something that we were supposed to do, or we allowed ourselves to think in ways that brought us closer to sin, instead of keeping us far away. Confessing one’s sins is not only about the particular mistake. Teshuva is also about taking a long hard look at our lives and asking ourselves why and how sin was able to crouch into our actions. In both comments about a verse about confession and repentance, Rabbi Twersky encourages us to also think about increasing the good we do and not merely decreasing our mistakes. We can increase the good we do by 1) surrounding ourselves with positive peer pressure as well as being positive peer pressure for others and 2) keeping ourselves busy with Torah study and good deeds.