Is repentance an essential part of the atonement process on Yom Kippur? Or does Yom Kippur have the power to offer atonement even when repentance is lacking?
The
Gemara on today’s
daf (=page) offers contradictory responses to those questions. One
baraita compares Yom Kippur to sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, which will only bring about atonement if the individual who brings them has the proper intention while doing do. Another
baraita points to the passage in
Sefer Vayikra (
23:28) that states that “it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.” This is understood to mean that even someone who works on that day and does not fast or recognize it as a Holy Day, nevertheless is granted atonement.
Abayye suggests that there is no contradiction, rather these are the teachings of two different Sages.
Rava argues that it is all one opinion, and that the
baraita that teaches that Yom Kippur does not offer atonement is talking about sins that were performed on Yom Kippur itself. His argument is straightforward – if Yom Kippur atoned even for sins that were done on Yom Kippur, then how would the punishment of
karet for working or eating on Yom Kippur – which is listed in the
Mishnah at the beginning of
Massekhet Keritot – ever be applied!?
What logic is there in the fact that Yom Kippur should offer atonement even without repentance?
In his Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Teshuva (1:1-3) the Rambam states clearly that there can never be atonement without repentance. During the time that the Temple stood, however, the Kohen Gadol – the High Priest – served as a representative of the people on Yom Kippur when he brought the unique se’ir ha-mishtale’ah – the scapegoat that is thrown from the cliff to Azazel as part of the Yom Kippur service (see Vayikra 16:5-22). The kohen gadol would recite the viduy – the confession – formula as a representative of the entire Jewish community, which would serve as a form of blanket repentance of the people on Yom Kippur. Today, however, with the destruction of the Temple and the loss of the kohen gadol as a representative of the people, every individual would be obligated to repent on his or her own.
