Does Yom Kippur atone for sins even in the absence of personal teshuvah — repentance? This is the intricate question at the heart of a discussion on today’s daf. In the midst of a lengthy discussion of sacrifices that atone for sins, the gemara on yesterday’s daf brings a quote from our mishnah about the most all-encompassing form of atonement:
For all other transgressions that are stated in the Torah, whether they are the minor ones or the major ones, whether they were intentional or unwitting, whether one became aware of them before Yom Kippur or did not become aware of them until after Yom Kippur, whether they involve a positive mitzva or a prohibition, whether the transgressors are subject to excision from the World-to-Come [karet], or to one of the court-imposed death penalties, the scapegoat sent to Azazel on Yom Kippur atones.
The Gemara on today’s daf struggles to understand how the scapegoat of Yom Kippur could atone for the purposeful violation of positive commandments:
What are the circumstances of this positive mitzvah in the mishnah? If it is a case where he did not repent, the verse states: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination.” (Proverbs 21:27) If he did repent, then he will achieve atonement on any other day as well, as it is taught in a beraita: If one transgressed a positive mitzvah and repented, he does not move from there until he is forgiven.
According to this teaching, if a person remains unrepentant, then their insincere attempts at “atonement” will be ineffective — even the Yom Kippur scapegoat does not clear the slate. And if they do repent, then they are forgiven even prior to Yom Kippur. So what purposeful violation of a positive commandment requires atonement through the scapegoat?
Rabbi Zeira said: The mishnah is referring to a case where the person persists in his rebellion, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, as it is taught: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: For all transgressions that are stated in the Torah, whether one repented, or whether one did not repent, Yom Kippur atones, except for one who divests himself of the yoke of Heaven, and one who reveals facets of the Torah and one who nullifies the covenant of circumcision of the flesh. For these, if one repented, Yom Kippur atones, and if not, Yom Kippur does not atone.
According to Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, Yom Kippur and its rituals have the power to atone for most intentional sins even if a person has notdone any internal or material repentance. Some sins are so egregious, however, that atonement is only achieved through the power of repentance and the Yom Kippur scapegoat. These sins are: denying God’s sovereignty, misportraying the Torah, and reversing a circumcision. However, the Gemara cites a midrash in the Sifra (a book of midrash in Leviticus) that contests Rebbe’s portrayal of the atonement process:
As it is taught: One might have thought that Yom Kippur would atone for those who repent and for those who do not repent, and this would be a logical inference: Although it would appear that since a sin-offering and a guilt-offering atone and Yom Kippur atones, it should follow that just as a sin-offering and a guilt-offering atone only for those who repent, so too, Yom Kippur atones only for those who repent. One can claim: What is notable about a sin-offering and a guilt-offering? They are notable in that they do not atone for intentional sins like they do for unwitting sins. Can you say the same about Yom Kippur, which does atone for intentional sins as it does for unwitting sins? Since it is the case that the atonement of Yom Kippur is more far-reaching in that it atones for intentional sins as it does for unwitting sins, it follows that it should atone both for those who repent and for those who do not repent. To counter this, the verse states: “Yet on the tenth day of this seventh month it is Yom Kippur” (Leviticus 23:27). The word “yet” serves to divide and limit the atonement of Yom Kippur in that it atones only for those who repent.
On the one hand, Yom Kippur is more powerful than any other purification processes in that it cleanses people of both intentional and unintentional sins. However, the sages can’t agree on just how far-reaching this power is. In many ways, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi’s view, seen above, seems to more closely align with our portrayal of Yom Kippur in the Torah, in which there appears to be something of a “magical” effect — one in which these rituals, if performed correctly, relieve the people of all their sins, regardless of their personal teshuvah. However, in rabbinic texts like this one quoted from the Sifra, we also see an increased focus on the process of spiritual and material repentance and repair carried out by individuals. This tension is found elsewhere in rabbinic text. Mishnah Yoma, which deals directly with this question, takes a middle ground, declaring that while Yom Kippur atones for violations against God, it only atones for violations against other people if one has made amends with the person they harmed. There, as in the Sifra, the notion that Yom Kippur could atone even for those sins a person does not regret and has not repented of feels foreign.
Read all of Shevuot 13 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on May 14, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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