Group None

Indeed, man’s wickedness on the earth is great.26See Genesis 6:5 No one seeks righteousness, and no one is truly enlightened through the fear of God,27Compare Psalms 14:2. setting aside fixed times to work on the fear of God, drawing out waters of understanding from the concealed faith that is hiding in the inner recesses of the heart, to broaden it and sustain it and to give it force and strength, to place on its shoulders the authority28Compare Isaiah 9:5. to govern the external limbs that they not breach its fences but act in accordance with the Torah.This, then, is the second type of transgression. It has no analogue in worldly matters; there is no person who, when faced with burdening troubles, would not take time to think about how to escape them. Moreover, it is not caused by lust. This sin is dumbfounding (pelia),29Such sinful behavior comes as a surprise, because it reflects an unexpected heedlessness, disregarding any consequences or punishment. and its name is unknowable (peli),30Based on Judges 13:18. for [in committing the sin] the sinner does not pay attention to and consider his punishment through fear of God and Mussar. Such sins cannot be of the first type, for desire is not strong enough to be their cause. Rather, they stem from the spiritual impurity that coils around a person to cause him to sin. And especially in sins of speech, “for what benefit is there to the one who speaks evil?,” as stated by our Rabbis, of blessed memory (Arakhin 15b). See further there.