Five Sinners Whose Repentance God Accepted

What is written just above the matter? "Samaria shall bear her guilt" (Hosea 14:1), and after it is written, "Return, O Israel" (Hosea 14:2). Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman: This is like a province that rebelled against the king, and the king sent against it a commander to destroy it; but that commander was experienced and settled, and said to them, "Take counsel for yourselves, that the king not do to you as he did to such-and-such a province." So Hosea said to Israel, "My children, repent, that the Holy One not do to you as He did to Samaria." Israel said before the Holy One, "Master of the worlds, if we repent, will You accept us?" He said, "I accepted the repentance of Cain, and shall I not accept yours? A harsh decree was issued against him: 'When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you' (Genesis 4:12). And when he repented, half the decree was withheld from him. How do we know he repented? 'And Cain said to the LORD, my iniquity is too great to bear' (Genesis 4:13). And how do we know half the decree was withheld? 'And Cain went out and dwelt in the land of Nod' (Genesis 4:16) - it does not say 'in the land of wandering and roaming' (na va-nad), but only 'in the land of Nod.'" What is meant by "and he went out"? Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Aibu: like one tossing the matter behind his back, deceiving the Most High. Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Simeon: he went out like one appeasing and deceiving his Creator. Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Hanina son of Rabbi Isaac: he went out rejoicing, as it is said, "And behold, he comes out to meet you" (Exodus 4:14). As he was going out, Adam the first man met him and said, "What was done in your judgment?" He said, "I repented and was reconciled." At that moment Adam began striking his face and saying, "So great is the power of repentance, and I did not know it!" At that moment he said, "It is good to give thanks to the LORD" (Psalms 92:2). Rabbi Levi said: Adam composed this psalm, "A psalm, a song for the Sabbath day" (Psalms 92:1). "And shall I not accept your repentance?" "I accepted the repentance of Ahab; a harsh decree was issued against him, as it is written, 'In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs lick your blood, even yours' (1 Kings 21:19). 'And it came to pass, when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth' (1 Kings 21:27). And how much did he fast? If he had been accustomed to eat at the third hour, he ate at the sixth; if accustomed at the sixth, at the ninth. 'And went softly' (1 Kings 21:27) - Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said he walked barefoot. And it is written, 'The word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days' (1 Kings 21:28-29). And shall I not accept yours?" "I accepted the repentance of the men of Anathoth; a harsh decree was issued against them: 'Thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth... behold, I will punish them... and there shall be no remnant of them' (Jeremiah 11:21-23). And when they repented, they merited to be counted by lineage: 'The men of Anathoth, one hundred twenty-eight' (Ezra 2:23). And shall I not accept yours?" "I accepted the repentance of the men of Nineveh; a harsh decree was issued against them: 'And Jonah began to enter into the city... and he cried' (Jonah 3:4). 'And word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne... and he proclaimed in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles' (Jonah 3:6-7)." Resh Lakish said: The men of Nineveh made a repentance of deceit. What did they do? Rabbi Hunia in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta: they set the calves within and their mothers without, so that these would low within and their mothers without, and these would low here and these there, and they said, "If You do not have mercy on us, we will not have mercy on these." Rabbi Aha said: in Arabia too they did so. As it says, "How the beasts groan, the herds of cattle are perplexed" (Joel 1:18). "And let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily to God" (Jonah 3:8) - what is meant by "mightily"? Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta said: a brazen one prevails over a modest one, all the more so for the good of the world. "And let everyone turn from his evil way" (Jonah 3:8) - Rabbi Yochanan said: what was in their palms they returned, but what was in chest, box, and tower they did not return. "Rend your hearts and not your garments" (Joel 2:13) - Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: if you rend your hearts in repentance, you will not rend your garments over your sons and daughters. Why? "For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger" (Joel 2:13). Rabbi Aha and Rabbi Tanchum in the name of Rabbi Hiyya in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: it is not written "slow to anger" in the singular but in the plural [erekh appayim], for He is patient with the righteous and patient with the wicked. He is patient with the righteous and collects from them the few evil deeds they did in this world, in order to give them their full reward in the world to come; and He grants ease to the wicked in this world and repays them for their few good deeds here, in order to exact from them their full debt in the world to come. Rabbi Levi said: what is "slow to anger"? Far from wrath. This is like a king who had fierce legions, and the king said, "If they dwell with me in the city, when the citizens anger me these legions will rise up against them and destroy them. Rather, I will send them far off, so that when the citizens anger me, before I can summon the legions, the citizens will come and appease me, and I will accept their appeasement." Taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: "Behold, the LORD goes forth from His place" (Isaiah 26:21) - He goes forth from the measure of strict justice to the measure of mercy upon Israel. And shall I not accept your repentance? "I accepted the repentance of Manasseh; a harsh decree was issued against him, as it is written, 'And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not listen. So the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks' (2 Chronicles 33:10-11). They made for him a kind of bronze vessel, full of holes, and put him into it and kindled a fire beneath him. When he saw that his trouble was real, he left no idol in the world that he did not invoke; and when none availed at all, he said, 'I remember that my father used to make me read this verse: When you are in tribulation and all these things come upon you, in the latter days you shall return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, for the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not fail you nor destroy you (Deuteronomy 4:30-31). I will call upon Him; if He answers me, well, and if not, then all faces are alike.' And the ministering angels were stopping up the windows of the firmament, so that Manasseh's prayer should not ascend, saying before the Holy One, 'Master of the world, can a man who set up an idol in the Sanctuary have repentance?' He said to them, 'If I do not accept him in repentance, I am locking the door before all who repent.' What did the Holy One do? He dug for him a kind of tunnel beneath His throne of glory and heard his supplication, as it is written, 'And he prayed to Him, and He was entreated of him... and heard his supplication' (2 Chronicles 33:13). 'And He brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom' (2 Chronicles 33:13) - Rabbi Samuel bar Nachman in the name of Rabbi Aha said: He brought him back with a wind. 'Then Manasseh knew that the LORD, He is God' (2 Chronicles 33:13) - at that moment Manasseh said, 'There is justice and there is a Judge.' And shall I not accept your repentance?" "I accepted the repentance of Jeconiah; a harsh decree was issued against him, as it is written, 'Is this man Coniah a despised, broken vessel?' (Jeremiah 22:28). 'A vessel in which there is no pleasure' (Jeremiah 22:28). Rabbi Meir said: the Holy One swore that He would not raise up a king from Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, as it is written, 'Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on My right hand, yet would I pluck you thence' (Jeremiah 22:24)." Another interpretation: it does not say "I would pluck you" (etkacha) but "I will set you right" (atkenkha) - I will set you right through repentance; from the place of his uprooting will come his repair. Rabbi Aha bar Avun in the name of Rabbi Abba: great is the power of repentance, for it annulled the oath and annulled the decree. It annulled the oath, as it says, "As I live, says the LORD, though Coniah... were the signet" (Jeremiah 22:24), and it is written, "On that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel" (Haggai 2:23). It annulled the decree: "Write this man down childless" (Jeremiah 22:30), yet "the sons of Jeconiah: Assir, Shealtiel his son" (1 Chronicles 3:17). Rabbi Tanchum said: "Assir" - he was bound (asur) in prison. "Shealtiel" - that the kingship of the house of David was transplanted (hushtelah) from him. Rabbi Tanchuma said: "Assir" - the Holy One bound (asar) Himself by an oath; "Shealtiel" - He inquired (nish'al) of the heavenly court and they released Him from the oath.