Happy Is the One Whose Sin Is Forgiven on Yom Kippur

"A maskil of David. Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity" (Psalms 32:1-2). Let our master teach us: one who has a seminal emission on the Day of Atonement, what of him — may he wash as is his custom on the Day of Atonement? Thus our masters taught: one who saw an emission on the Day of Atonement washes as is his custom on the Day of Atonement (Tosefta Yoma 4), only that he should go and wash in a private place, for nothing is more beloved before the Omnipresent than modesty, "and walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Even though purification was permitted to you on the Day of Atonement — and why so? It is all for your purification, for on the Day of Atonement the Holy One, blessed be He, purifies Israel and atones for their iniquities, as it is said, "for on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you" (Leviticus 16:30). And should you say, for another nation? No, but for Israel alone, for so the prophet Micah said, "who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance" (Micah 7:18); for Israel alone He forgives. When David saw how the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives the iniquities of Israel and has mercy upon them, he began to call them happy and to praise them, "happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." "A maskil of David. Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." This is what Scripture says, "You forgave the iniquity of Your people, You covered all their sin, selah" (Psalms 85:3). You find on the Day of Atonement Satan comes to accuse Israel, and he details the iniquities of Israel and says, Master of the universe, there are adulterers among the nations of the world and likewise in Israel, there are thieves among the nations of the world and likewise in Israel. And the Holy One, blessed be He, details the merits of Israel. What does He do? He takes the beam of the scales and weighs the iniquities against the merits, and they are weighed, the iniquities and the merits, these against those, and the two pans of the scale are found balanced. And Satan goes to bring iniquities and to place them in the pan of iniquities to tip it; what does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? While Satan is going back to seek iniquities, the Holy One, blessed be He, takes the iniquities out of the pan and hides them under His royal robe, and Satan comes and does not find any iniquity there, as it is said, "the iniquity of Israel shall be sought and there shall be none" (Jeremiah 50:20). When Satan sees this he says before the Holy One, blessed be He, Master of the universe, "You forgave the iniquity of Your people" — astonishing! When David saw this he said, how does He forgive iniquity and cover their sin? He began to praise them, "happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." Another interpretation. "Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven [nesui]." Do not read it with a samekh but with a shin [nashui, "lent"]. Rabbi Berekhiah the priest said: He is the one who lends out our debts before Himself, for He forgives our iniquities every single year, as it is said, "and this shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel" (Leviticus 16:34), and so it says, "once a year he shall make atonement for it, throughout your generations" (Exodus 30:10). Therefore it says, "happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven." "Happy is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity." Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: to what may the matter be likened? To one who drank the bitter waters and was found pure. One began to say to her, happy is the mother who need not drink them at all. So David said, "happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, happy is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity. And who are these whose transgressions the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives? These are Israel, who are found worthy on the Day of Atonement and detail their iniquities and transgressions, and the Holy One, blessed be He, bears their iniquities. Scripture says, "he who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy" (Proverbs 28:13). Since Israel detail their iniquities and confess before the Holy One, blessed be He, He forgives them and passes over their transgressions, as it is said, "for on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you from all your sins; before the LORD you shall be clean" (Leviticus 16:30). When the prophet saw this, he began to praise the Holy One, blessed be He, for this and said, "who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance, and does not retain His anger forever, for He delights in steadfast love" (Micah 7:18).