TISHREI Lev 19:30
כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י ה' תִּטְהָֽרוּ
alhatorah.org translation: “for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before Hashem.”
Wikipedia, “Yom Kippur”:
Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur (1878) Maurycy Gottlieb
כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י ה' תִּטְהָֽרוּ
“for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before Hashem.”
The month of Tishrei is the first month of the rabbinic calendar year. It is dedicated to repentance, judgment, and celebration. The most sacred day of the Jewish calendar year is the tenth day of this month, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Leviticus chapter 19 describes the central priestly ritual of the Day of Atonement, in which there is a special convergence of sacred space, sacred time, and the sacred religious office of the High Priest. The ritual atones for the sins of the people, cleansing them “on this day”.
The ambiguity in this verse is most readily discernible through consideration of punctuation: does the verse say that the ritual/day “will cleanse you from all your sins” and that “you will be cleansed before God”? or does it specify that “from all your sins before God you shall be cleansed”? Framed syntactically, the question is whether “before God” is adjectival, modifying “sins”, or adverbial, modifying “clean(se)” (either לטהר or תטהרו). A related grammatical/religious question comes into play in some of the commentaries is: who or what is the subject of יכפר? is it the day itself that atones, or God, or human action (sacrifice, prayer, scapegoat, repentance etc.).
Modern English translations follow the former, adverbial, inclusive, understanding, which I will designate READING A: “cleansed before God” (or “to cleanse you from all of your sins”).
ויקרא טז: ל
כי־ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה' תטהרו
NRSVUE (similarly: KJV; NJPS; alhatorah.org)
For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord.
READING A:
Reading A.1: For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you from all your sins; you shall be cleansed before God.
Reading A.2: For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be cleansed before God. + a variation: from all your sins you shall cleanse [yourself before] God.
Adverbial function of ‘לפני ה: how the people will be cleansed (modifying לטהר or תטהרו).
READING B: “from all your sins before God”
For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you from all your <sins before God>; from all your sins you will be clean.
Adjectival function of ‘לפני ה, modifying “sins”
The verse is quite straightforward in its original context, and READING A is followed not only by the modern English translations cited above, but also by all the traditional commentators who offer their own interpretation, instead of, or in addition to, citing the rabbinic midrashic alternative. READING B (found in mishnah Yoma 8:9 and Midrash Sifra), is a midrashic reading imposed on the text for homiletic reasons; it relies on a schematic rabbinic categorization of commandments as consisting of (religious and ritual) “commandments between a human and God” and (interpersonal) “commandments between a human and their fellow [human]”.
The MT cantillation tradition supports Reading A.2, with the zakef qaton on חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם separating this word from the following ‘לִפְנֵ֥י ה:
כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה תִּטְהָֽרוּ׃
Both readings appear together in the Mishna (compiled c. 200 CE), in tractate Yoma, devoted to Yom Kippur. The mishna, m.Yoma 8:9, presents the “derash” of R. Elazar on our verse, to support the statement that:
עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם, יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר. עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ, אֵין יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפֵּר, עַד שֶׁיְּרַצֶּה אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ.
<For> transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; however, for transgressions between a person and another person, Yom Kippur does not atone until the <perpetrator> appeases his fellow. (This derash is also found in Midrash Sifra Acharei Mot 8:1-2)
The mishna also presents the view of Rabbi Akiva,
Rabbi Akiva said: How fortunate are you, Israel; before Whom are you purified, and Who purifies you? It is your Father in Heaven, as it is stated: “And I will sprinkle purifying water upon you, and you shall be purified” (Ezekiel 36:25). And it says: “The ritual bath of Israel is God” (Jeremiah 17:13). Just as a ritual bath purifies the impure, so too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, purifies Israel.
אָמַר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, אַשְׁרֵיכֶם יִשְׂרָאֵל, לִפְנֵי מִי אַתֶּם מִטַּהֲרִין, וּמִי מְטַהֵר אֶתְכֶם, אֲבִיכֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְזָרַקְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם מַיִם טְהוֹרִים וּטְהַרְתֶּם (יחזקאל ל״ו:כ״ה). וְאוֹמֵר: מִקְוֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל יְיָ (ירמיהו י״ז:י״ג), מַה מִּקְוֶה מְטַהֵר אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים, אַף הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְטַהֵר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל
Rabbi Akiva provides other biblical prooftexts to support his statement about purification “before God”, but, in context, it is best to read his statement as a comment on our verse, a counter-interpretation R. Elazar’s derash, which reflects READING A, taking “before God” adverbially and inclusively.
Rabbi Elazar’s view is also cited in b.Keritot 25b-26a. This passage also presents an additional interpretation using READING B:
מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה׳ וגו׳ חטא שאין מכיר בו אלא המקום יום הכפורים מכפר…אלא מהא חטא שאין מכיר בו אלא המקום יום הכפורים מכפר ומינה חטא שאין מכיר בו אלא המקום הוא דיום הכפורים מכפר אבל דידע בה לא מכפר
Rabbi Elazar said: With regard to Yom Kippur the verse states: “From all your sins before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30). This indicates that Yom Kippur atones for a sin of which only the Omnipresent is aware, i.e., an uncertain sin for which one brings a provisional guilt offering. And from that statement it is derived that it is only for a sin of which only the Omnipresent is aware that Yom Kippur atones, but it does not atone for a sin about which the sinner is aware.
In this view, the Day of Atonement atones for “all your sins before God”, in the sense that these are sins known only to God, so the sinner himself cannot atone for them, and the day itself provides atonement. Perhaps, this interpretation makes a distinction between the main part of the verse and the final word:
(1) On the Day of Atonement, God (/the day) will atone for you for all your sins that are known only to God
כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י ה
(2) [for other sins]: purify yourselves! תִּטְהָֽרוּ. (Alternatively, this word could be understood to summarize the preceding part of the verse.
Targum Onkelos and Targum Neofiti reflect the Hebrew and do not disambiguate.
Targum Ps-Jonathan aligns with Rabbi Akiva, reading A, by inserting the word “and you” before “before God”, separating the verse at this point:
ארום ביומא הדין יכפר עליכון לדכאה יתכון מכל חוביכון ואתון קדם י״י תודון סורחנותכון ותידכון.
Hayward (The Aramaic Bible 1B, 1992): For on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you from all your sins. And on your part, you shall confess your sinfulness before the Lord, and you shall be clean. <Footnote 68: “Ps-J’s addition shows that the atonement that takes place on the Day of Atonement is not automatic and that it is effective only for those who repent. Cf. Schmerler, 1935, 127-128.”>
Lekach Tov (11th century) and Chizkuni (13th century) present the derash of R. Elazar ben Azariah recorded in the mishnah, READING B, and label it as derash.
R. Bahya (1255-1340), characteristically presents multiple interpretations.He presents and paraphrases the midrashic reading, READING B, of R. Elazar b. Azaria. While he does not specifically name the sage, he does note that the interpretation is a derash, stating, “this is what our sages of blessed memory expounded.” His comment also features an elaborate mystical and philosophical discussion of the word Lord in the expression “לפני ה' תטהרו”, which reflects a form of READING A: in discussing which name of God is recited in the Yom Kippur liturgy, and the implications of his position, R. Bahya takes the verse as describing how the high priest and the people atone for themselves before the Lord–taking the phrase “before God” adverbially, as modifying “you shall purify yourselves/become purified.”
Ralbag (1288 - 1344) also presents two alternative interpretations, both reflecting READING A, taking “before God” adverbially, with the distinction being whether “the day” itself atones for the people’s sins, or whether they will be cleansed specifically after they have cleansed themselves through proper repentance. Although the Ralbag does not explicitly address our ambiguity, his wording employs a typical disambiguating technique, as he rearranges the words, placing “יטהרו” prior to “לפני ה׳” rather than afterward:
שהם יטהרו לפני ה׳ בשובם אליו בזה האופן
Abarbanel (1437 -1508) does not refer to the midrashic interpretation; he gives an explanation that is based upon READING A-how the people shall cleanse themselves/be cleansed. He uses the expression found in Ralbag that shows adverbial usage: בזה האופן, “in this manner”, which, for him, relates to ritual conduct on the Day of Atonement–such that the state and manner in which the people must conduct themselves involves abstention from labor and “affliction of the soul.” The Sforno is similar to Abarbanel. The Shiurei Sforno on Lev 16:29 adds another understanding of purification “before God”, a variant on READING A, stating that for certain transgressions, the only way to achieve forgiveness and atonement is “before God” in the sense of: through divine punishment, through suffering, or death.
The Kli Yakar (1550-1619) mainly follows READING A, in two variations, and he also adds READING B, labelled as a rabbinic derash. Kli Yakar suggests reading “before” as temporal rather than spatial. He explains that the verse teaches that one must actively repent prior to being granted atonement by God. Here, the lexical ambiguity of “before” plays a role in the interpretation. His second comment, like Sforno’s second explanation, and similar to Rabbi Akiva’s interpretation, states that the purification process, identified with repentance, takes place in the presence of God, under God’s watchful and knowing eye. The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797) cites Mishna Yoma, bringing both rabbinic interpretations– that of Rabbi Elazar b. Azariah and that of Rabbi Akiva, reflecting READING A and READING B.
The Penei David (1724 - 1806) follows READING A. He divides the verse into different steps of atonement for different types of transgressions and concludes that “before the Lord” indicates a type of atonement executed by God–death, as the final stage of purification for sins involving desecration of God’s name. The phrase is adverbial– how atonement can be achieved, similar to Shiurei Sforno on Lev 16:29 . It is worth noting, though, that embedded in the interpretation of the Penei David is the understanding that this type of atonement is specifically for sins of desecration of God’s name. This could possibly be understood as deriving from an understanding of “sins before God” in which “before God” is adjectival, modifying “sins”.
R. Naftali Herz Wessely (1725-1805) interprets according to READING A. He presents both readings of the mishna, R. Elazar b. Azaria’s (READING B), which he identifies as derash and R. Akiva’s, which he aligns with his own view as peshat:
ובמשנה אמרו (יומא פה, ב) ״דרש רבי אלעזר בן עזריה… ״. ולפירושנו הוא כפשוטו שהטהרה שמטהר הכהן, מיד ה׳ היא לנו, שיתן בנו לב חדש, לב טהור.
Wessely’s understanding of the verse reflects his religious perspective, and his desire to understand the verse according to“peshat”; he appeals to other verses about divine purification (Psalms 51:4, 12). He may have been directly influenced by Rabbi Akiva’s interpretation in the mishna, or he may have arrived independently at his understanding.
R. Yitzchak Shemuel Reggio (1784 - 1855) and R. Yaakov Mecklenburg (1785-1865) follow READING A. In stating that the verse indicates that people will be purified by God for all their sins, they emphasize that the repentance takes place before God, and also specify that it is God who will effect the atonement. “Before God” describes the purification– seemingly, both the human repentance process that is done in God’s presence and the cleansing that is carried out by God. In addition, R. Reggio states inclusively that, “All your sins shall be cleansed before the Lord”, which seems to exclude the reading of R. Elazar b. Azariah. R. cites Rabbi Akiva’s opinion in the Mishnah, as well as Targum psJon as aligning with his interpretation. He may also add a temporal aspect to his understanding of “before”, as he emphasizes that repentance must precede atonement.
R. Shmuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865) seems to primarily follow READING A: he places emphasis upon God effecting the atonement. God can purify a sinner of all sins, including sins that the sinner himself may have forgotten. It is possible that his comment also, or instead, reflects READING B, with “before the Lord ” modifying sins. Logically, Shada”l’s intepretation is incompatible with R. Elazar b. Azaria’s restrictive reading, which takes the modifier “before the Lord” as limiting the efficacy of Yom Kippur to apply only to sins committed against God. Instead, Shadal’s interpretation is inclusive, broad, and even expansionist– saying that on Yom Kippur God purifies sinners even for sins that the sinner himself has forgotten. Of course, this purification cannot be conditional upon the sinner’s asking forgiveness from an aggrieved human party, as per R. Elazar b. Azaria. Still, like R. Elazar b. Azaria, Shada”l offers an interpretation in which “before God” modifies “sins”, similar to the interpretation presented in the name of Rabbi Elazar in b.Keritot 25b-26a.
R. Samson Raphael Hirsch presents both readings, but his primary interpretation follows READING A and even in his approbative presentation of the derash of R. Elazar b. Azariah, Hirsch doubles down on his understanding of “before the Lord” as describing the mode of purification and atonement: “only ‘before the Lord,’ the source of all freedom, can we free ourselves from the bonds of sensory desires and reawaken to become pure.” R. Hirsch cites Rabbi Akiva in the mishna, as interpreting similarly, and cites R. Akiva’s appeals to other scriptural verses describing God as purifier, Ezek 36:25 and Jer 17:13.
The MALBIM (1809-1879) explicitly addresses the syntactic aspects of the ambiguity of “יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה׳”, using conventional expressions for disambiguation. He follows READING A, and describes this using technical grammatical terminology:
דהא ״לפני ה׳ ״ מוסב על הכפרה; “before the Lord” refers to = modifies, the atonement, i.e., the verb יכפר. He states that the words are out of order, and he re-orders them:
הלשון בלתי מסודר שראוי לאמר ״יכפר עליכם לפני ה׳ לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתכם״.
Malbim further proceeds to explain the syntactic anomaly as the basis for R. Elazar b. Azaria’s derash, READING B: ״לפני ה׳ ״ מוסב על ״מכל חטאתכם״ , that “before the Lord” refers to ״מכל חטאתכם״, that is, that the sins are before the Lord, i.e., between man and God, and not sins between a person and fellow human.
The NETZIV; 1816-1893 primarily follows READING A, citing Rabbi Akiva in the mishna, and elaborating upon this. He understands “before God” as adverbial, modifying the verbs of purification. In fact, he takes the phrase as referring to both instances of the verb טהר, reading the first instance as spatial, and the second as temporal (using a parable, to clarify “prior to”).
ומפרש ר״ע האי תטהרו על שתי הכוונות ויהא מתפרש לפני ה׳ גם על לפניו גם על לאחריו וכאלו כתיב לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה׳. לפני ה׳ תטהרו.
The Meshekh Hochma (1843-1926) follows READING B. His first interpretation is not R. Elazar b. Azariah’s restrictive view, rather the interpretation in b.Keritot: “[Yom Kippur] also purifies you from concealed and hidden transgressions, and even sins that are not openly known to anyone but God.” He then proceeds to distinguish between sins between a person and God and sins between a person and their peer.
Rabbi David Zvi Hoffman (1843-1921) on Lev 19:29 seems to reflect both Readings A and B. Reading A seems to be reflected in “This is specifically before the Lord, who knows all”, but this interpretation is merged with the interpretation of R. Elazar in b. Keritot, which aligns more with Reading B: “While throughout the year, a sin-offering was brought for known sins, on this day, repentance is made even for transgressions that are known only to God.” R. Hoffman also brings the interpretation of R. Elazar b. Azaria from mishna Yoma, but without attribution: “"Before the Lord" – Yom Kippur does not atone for transgressions between a person and their peer.
The Torah Temimah (1860-1942) follows READING B. He presents Both the derash of R. Elazar b. Azaria from mishna Yoma, with attribution, that Yom Kippur only atones for interpersonal sins after appeasement of the aggrieved peer, and the view in b.keritot that Yom Kippur atones for sins of which one is unaware.
An additional observation: The language of the Yom Kippur Avoda service described in b.Yoma emphasizes that the High Priest confesses and prays for atonement for the sins that he and his household and the nation “have sinned before You”, perhaps echoing our verse, with the adjectival understanding, “sins that I/we have sinned before you”. (b.Yoma 35b; 41b; 66a)
Some secondary sources:
(1) http://shaalvim.co.il/torah/maayan-article.asp?id=320:
הרב ד"ר שלמה קסירר, 'עד שירצה את חבירו': בין מחילה להתאחדות: הרהורים תחביריים, פרשניים והגותיים בעקבות המשנה במסכת יומא ח, ט
(2) Nechama Leibowitz gilyonot:
2.1. Sections ג and ד . http://www.nechama.org.il/pages/99.html
ג.
"מכל חטאותיכם תטהרו" - מדברי התנאים
ד.
בביאור "לפני ה' תטהרו"
2.2 http://www.nechama.org.il/pages/970.html
(3) https://traditiononline.org/how-to-end-yom-kippur/
"How to End Yom Kippur," Shlomo Zuckier Tradition Online | October 2, 2022
An excerpt from source 3, Shlomo Zuckier, "How to End Yom Kippur":
If we compare the interpretations of R. Elazar ben Azaria and R. Akiva, they both derive their teachings from the same verse (Lev. 16:30) – mikol hatoteichem lifnei hashem titharu – but they do so through very different readings. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria understands the words lifnei Hashem, “before God,” as governing the first half of the clause – only sins that are exclusively against God, only hatoteichem lifnei Hashem (“your sins before God”), can be atoned absent engaging any harmed party. Rabbi Akiva parses the phrase differently, arguing that lifnei Hashem, “before God,” should be read along with titharu, explaining that the nature of purification and atonement here is by virtue of being in God’s presence.
In this way, Rabbi Akiva’s teaching is not only a homiletical ending to Massekhet Yoma. It has deep ties to the beginning of the Mishna: First, with the idea that Yom Kippur atones automatically and through the grace of God, by being in God’s presence on Yom Kippur. And second, by offering an alternative reading of Leviticus 16:30, reading lifnei Hashem as explaining not the types of sins that are atoned by Yom Kippur but the nature of that atonement by purification.