B”H
NASO
DETOXING
Confession in the Plural
In the first parsha we read after the Festival of Shavuos, the season of the giving of the Torah, parshas Naso, we read about a person who has committed theft.
To make amends for his crime, the Torah requires that he confess his sin. However, while the Torah speaks to an individual offender it expresses this obligation to confess in the plural: “They shall confess their sin” rather than “he should confess.” This is in contrast to the way the Torah describes the commission of the sin, where it uses the singular, “and that person feels guilty.”
[True, the Torah begins this section with the plural: “When a man or a woman commits…” The word in Hebrew for “commits” is plural. However, it makes sense there because the verse begins with “man or a woman,” speaking of two people.]
Another question raised by commentators is: why is the obligation for a sinner to confess his sin mentioned by the Torah specifically in the context of the sin of theft? Isn’t confession required for all transgressions? Indeed, an integral part of Teshuvah (repentance or return) is to express remorse for the past misdeed, resolve not to repeat the transgression in the future and verbalize one’s guilt through confession. Why does the Torah mention this requirement specifically with respect to theft?
We also should explore the connection of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai which we just celebrated, bearing in mind the well know tradition that the weekly Torah reading has some connection to the Holidays that are in close proximity.
“All of Israel Is Responsible for One Another”
One answer to the question about the plural usage is that when we confess our sins on Yom Kippur we confess sins that we’ve never even come close to committing. The Arizal explains that since our Sages teach us that the Jewish people are responsible for one another, we therefore individually confess all of the sins of the entire Jewish nation.
Thus, when the Torah speaks of confession, it does so in the plural because it is an expression of collective guilt and responsibility.
We can apply this lesson to the performance of a Mitzvah. When one Jew does a Mitzvah, it has an impact on all of the Jewish people, just as our sins have a negative impact on the entire nation.
However, the second and third questions remain. Why does the Torah mention confession specifically in the context of theft? And, what is the connection between confession and the giving of the Torah?
Sinning is Stealing
One may answer all three questions by interpreting this verse in a broader context. Although the Torah refers to the specific sin of theft, it actually has a broader application in mind: it refers to the fact that we are guilty of theft when committing any transgression. And as we will see, this broader understanding of theft applies to the totality of Judaism. The Torah that we received on Mount Sinai provided the world with its statement of purpose and entrusted us with a very special mission. To stray from that mission is to be guilty of theft of a universal nature.
We have been sent into this world to fulfill G‑d’s plan of making it a “dwelling place for Him.” Each one of us is G‑d’s emissary, charged with bringing Divinity into the world by performing the 248 positive Mitzvos and avoiding transgressing the 365 negative Mitzvos.
To this end, G‑d endowed us with talents and energy. When we divert our G‑d given talents into areas that are not directed towards the 613 commandments, we are guilty of “grand larceny.” It impairs the entire cosmos because the universe was created so that we could bring it to its intended state of completion.
When we transgress or fail to perform the Mitzvos, we force the world into a deeper state of Galus, which means alienation from G‑d. The more we become alienated from G‑d, the more we stray from our mission.
To use an analogy: Transgression is like starting a fire that generates toxic fumes. These fumes sicken and desensitize us, making it easier for us to stray even further.
The Mission
We were sent into exile after the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash with a mission: to detoxify the world. We must transform the inhospitable world for G‑d into an extension of the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. This paves the way for the Messianic Age, at which time, as our Sages tell us, the Land of Israel’s holiness will spread to the entire world.
When one is sent by G‑d or His chosen leaders such as Moses, the mission itself protects him from becoming contaminated by Galus conditions and one is vested with the requisite power to change Galus.
When, however, a person transgresses, it magnifies the person’s challenge because Galus has the power to desensitize a person; the more we’re affected by Galus insensitivity, the more we fall prey to its toxic environment, which leads to more desensitization. It is ultimately an act of thievery because we’ve taken G‑d’s most potent powers, entrusted to us for the success of the mission, and diverted them away.
This explains why the Torah chose to command the penitent to confess in the context of the specific sin of theft, because, in truth, it is not a specific sin; it is the underlying basis of all sins. We can also understand its connection to Shavuos, which is when G‑d set forth our mission and gave us the energy and capacity to fulfill it. Sinning undermines that mission and robs the world of the investment of that energy.
This now explains the function of confession. The first step in getting out of the toxic Galus environment is the acknowledgment that one is indeed affected by the Galus miasma. Once that recognition occurs, the person will try to get out of the toxic environment.
The Jewish Nation’s Fire Brigade
The Torah states that “they [plural] confess their sin.” Once a person sins it is no longer just the concern of that individual. The whole world has now been exposed to Galus pollution.
Thus, the process of confession, which is essentially an effort to recognize the threat, has now transitioned from exclusively the concern of the perpetrator of the sin, to the entire nation. The nation must now assume responsibility to decontaminate the atmosphere and get rid of the added Galus toxicity.
Confession is our way of acknowledging the threat that we are facing, whether we caused it or not; what matters now is that we have the obligation to recognize it and do whatever we can do to neutralize the threat.
Just as if someone started a fire, the entire community must put out the flames. Otherwise, the flames and their fumes will spread and destroy other homes and threaten other lives.
This gives us the answer to the question: why does the Torah use the plural after describing the sin itself in the singular? In this verse the Torah describes the transition from the responsibility of the one who committed the sin to the responsibility that now rests upon the entire community.
From Noxious Fumes to Sweet Fragrances
The discussion above is relevant to our own day and age. When we witness the world plunging into more violence, immorality and other negative behaviors, it means that in these last moments of Galus the “other side” is trying to make its last stand. Galus is emitting the most toxic fumes it has at its disposal. When we see this evil rear its ugly head, we must first acknowledge that these are Galus conditions and redouble our efforts to fumigate the world by engaging in Geulah oriented behaviors, especially by adding more light.
The word for confession in Hebrew “Viduy” will then acquire the alternate translation of “gratitude.” We will express our profound gratitude to G‑d for the Final Redemption, when the noxious fumes will give way to the sweetest of Divine fragrances.
