Law-Abiding Citizen
‘That Which Is Crooked Cannot Be Made Straight…’
(Yevamos 22a-b)
If a person wounds or curses his father, he is liable to capital punishment (Shemos 21:15,17).The Mishnah says that every son, without exception, is subject to this penalty, even a mamzer.However, the Gemara states that the prohibition to curse a father applies only if the father is “oseh ma’aseh amcha,” only if he follows the laws of the Torah. Therefore, the Gemara rules that a mamzer is not subject to a penalty for cursing his father unless his father repented for his immoral act and is thus no longer considered a sinner.
Nevertheless He Repented
The Gemara wonders how it is possible to achieve atonement for fathering a mamzer considering that it is a sin that produced an irrevocable result. (Shimon b. Menassiah [Chagiga 9a] taught that fathering a mamzer falls under the category of “Me’uvas lo yuchal liskon – That which is crooked cannot be made straight” [Ecclesiastes 1:15].)
The Gemara concludes that even though fathering a mamzer is a misdeed that cannot be remedied, if the father repents he is once again considered someone who is observant of Torah laws whom cursing is forbidden.
There are several ways to understand the Gemara’s conclusion.
Suffering A Constant Reminder
Rabbenu Chayim (Tosafos, Bava Basra 89b) maintains that an immoral father who does teshuvah is considered observant because repentance fully eradicates all sins (even if one of them produced an irrevocable outcome). When Shimon b. Menassiah said that fathering a mamzer is a misdeed without remedy, he simply meant that the sinner will suffer endless humiliation since the effect of his immoral act will constantly remind him of what he did (Tosafos, Chagiga 9a. s.v. “zeh”).
“Sufficient” Teshuvah
Rashi (21a s.v. “arayos” and Chagiga 9a s.v. “ve’holid”) indicates that even according to the Gemara’s conclusion, the sin of immorality cannot be entirely eradicated if a mamzer was produced since the effects of the sin are present in the world. The Gemara explains, however, that although teshuvah for such a sin is not entirely effective, it is sufficient to remove the sinner classification from the father, thus making the son liable to a penalty for cursing him.
Two Aspects Of Teshuva
Kovetz He’aros (end of siman 21) explains that the novelty of teshuvah is that Hashem not only cleanses one’s sins but usually eradicates all traces of the sin retroactively – as if the sin was never committed. Concerning the sin or fathering a mamzer, however, Shimon b. Menassiah teaches that the sin cannot be eradicated retroactively since a visible trace of the sin still exists. The Gemara explains, nevertheless, that if the father repents, his son may not curse him because he is no longer considered a sinner.