Teshuva Mekhaperet

The first sugya, Teshuva Mekhaperet, is drawn from the very last mishnah in Masechet Yoma. Witness how the Rabbis invent “teshuva” (relational repair) out of a sacrificial system. Track this journey and explore their understanding of who the Jewish tradition wants us to be and who we want to be.

This sugya might be a good fit for you if: you are hoping to deepen your experience learning mishnah, work through a kra proof, and explore how the Rabbis bring a new spiritual technology into practice. This sugya is in Hebrew only.

Get Your Materials

ALL LEARNING RESOURCES    ENLARGED RESOURCES

If you didn’t request a binder (or you left it at home), you can download all the learning resources for Teshuva Mekhaperet! You’ll also need your masechet or downloadable daf.

For the enlarged version of Teshuva Mekhaperet: download the 20pt font PDF for this sugya and download the Supplemental Resources separately. (The Supplemental Resources are not formatted in large print, but you can zoom in or print an enlarged copy on 11×17 paper.)

Find Your Sugya

You’ll find this sugya on Yoma 85b (:פה), starting with the first words of the mishnah: “מתני׳ חטאת ואשם ודאי מכפרין.” The sugya ends with the phrase “עד שירצה את חבירו.” Note that this phrase appears twice—you want to learn through the second appearance!

Text Breakdown & Recordings

We have divided this sugya into five sections, and we recommend learning it in 3-5 sessions with your chevruta. (You might combine sections 1 & 2 and/or 4 & 5 if you want to learn in fewer sessions.)

Once you’ve prepped the text in chevruta and  taken your best guess at your “inside translation” and “outside translation,” compare your understanding to the recordings of inside/outside translations found below, and use this as a launching point for the big questions that surface from the text.

1. חטאת ואשם ודאי מכפרין מיתה ויום הכפורים מכפרין עם התשובה

2. תשובה מכפרת על עבירות קלות על עשה ועל לא תעשה ועל החמורות הוא תולה עד שיבא יום הכפורים ויכפר

3. האומר אחטא ואשוב אחטא ואשוב אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה אחטא ויום הכפורים מכפר אין יום הכפורים מכפר

4. עבירות שבין אדם למקום יום הכפורים מכפר עבירות שבין אדם לחבירו אין יום הכפורים מכפר עד שירצה את חבירו

5. דרש רבי אלעזר בן עזריה מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה׳ תטהרו עבירות שבין אדם למקום יום הכפורים מכפר עבירות שבין אדם לחבירו אין יום הכפורים מכפר עד שירצה את חבירו

What’s Next?

Once you make it through this sugya, consider exploring some supplemental texts.

• The Sifra is a tannaitic midrash which emerged in the same period as the composition of the mishnah. In the Sifra’s midrash on Leviticus 16:30, we find a passage that directly parallels our mishnah. Compare these texts and notice if the differences reveal any new insights.
• The Mishneh Torah, Rambam’s 12th C. legal code, lays out the “official rules” of teshuva (as Rambam knows them!) in a section aptly titled “Hilchot Teshuva.” Halachot 1:3, 2:9, and 4:1 directly draw from and expand upon the ideas in this mishnah.