The word sin is distressingly overburdened with connotation in present day America. My use of the word is simply to mean "transgress the Will of the Creator." Nothing more nor less is implied. To violate the Torah, on the other hand, is do something proscribed by the Torah or to fail to do something that is required by the Torah. We usually equate those two concepts (with good reason!), but for today's purpose we need to separate them. For today we'll say, for example, that driving a deathly ill Jew to the hospital on Shabbos is a violation of the Torah. Of course, there is no greater mitzvah than to save a Jewish life and in that case it would be a grave sin not to drive on Shabbos.
One of the criteria by which we judge the sinfulness of a particular violation is why it was done. At the top of the hit parade, we have violations done knowingly; aka, במזיד. The worst sort of sin is to violate the Torah for no reason except to transgress the Will of the Creator; aka להכעיס. Hanging a loaf of bread from the lintel of one's front door during Pesach (only during Pesach, in fact) and taking every time he enters and exits falls in that category. One step down from there is to "scratch an itch"; aka לתאבון. The person would really rather than HaShem allowed us to eat lobster, but he just can't resist. Note, by the way, that the Hatzalah ambulance driver who is rushing a patient to the hospital on Shabbos is also violating the Torah במזיד, but is not sinning at all. Just to complete this category, I need to mention sinning -- actually sinning with intent -- that is does to achieve some higher purpose; aka עבירה לשמה. The sin of Lot's daughters falls in this category and is way, way beyond the scope of the present discussion.
The next level down is שוגג; loosely translates as "oops." This happens when the perpetrator had no intention at all to violate the Torah, but he messed up. For example, he wakes up Shabbos morning thinking it is Monday. He knows full well that shaving is forbidden on Shabbos, bus since he thinks it is Monday, he doesn't think he is doing anything wrong. Alternatively, he knows it is Shabbos, but he thinks what he is doing does not violate Shabbos. Taking all the bones out of the chicken cholent before serving it Shabbos day, for example. "What? That's בורר/forbidden selecting? No way!" These acts are obviously not done with the intention of violating the Will of the Creator... but they did. There is a lower culpability, but it is still a sin and could require a sin offering. Also, one needs to be very careful that he does not willfully work to not learn about Shabbos, kashrus, and whatnot. One who willfully decides to not learn will lose his שוגג/oops status and be promoted to במזיד according to what he could have learned.
There is one final level: מתעסק/preoccupied. The gemara's prime example is someone who reaches down to pick up a tomato on Shabbos... and finds -- to his shock and horror -- that it was still attached to the ground. The מתעסק certainly knew it was Shabbos and certainly knew it is forbidden to pluck a tomato from it's vine on Shabbos and had no intention to do anything but enhance his enjoyment of Shabbos with an ultra fresh tomato. All that is true, but it is also true that he has violated the Torah. The question is, though: has he sinned?
What difference does it make? Since it is done unwittingly, it can neither be avoided nor sought. Not knowingly, anyway. However, the question is: are you allowed to set someone up to be a מתעסק? Why would you want to? I have two examples off the top of my head. Case One: You have broken the beam of an electric eye that was inadvertently left activated. Can you call someone over to stand between you and the sensor? (You don't tell him why you are calling him over; you just call him over to talk with him.) Then you can walk away, because you will now not activate the circuit; your buddy will walk about also -- because he doesn't know about it; thus becoming a מתעסק. Case Two: Our raincoat with the muktzeh pocket from a previous TftD. Certainly I, as the coat's knowledgeable owner, am not allowed to use the pocket. However, if I lend it to a friend (who has no idea about the recent history of that pocket), do I need to adjure to not use the pocket? Or no... he is מתעסק, so is doing nothing wrong.
As it happens, this is a strong machlokes between the N'sivos and R' Akiva Eiger. When I asked R' Fuerst how we pasken, he replied, "You do not want to be in the middle of that machlokes!" Then I mentioned those two case and he started klairing... "Hmm... d'rabbonan... not a direct action.... hmm... Tell you what. Call me on a Friday afternoon, so I can spend some time without the phone ringing on Shabbos looking into it." I plan to do that... though it turns out that I am not the only one standing on line with interesting questions the rabbi would like to investigate over Shabbos...
One of the criteria by which we judge the sinfulness of a particular violation is why it was done. At the top of the hit parade, we have violations done knowingly; aka, במזיד. The worst sort of sin is to violate the Torah for no reason except to transgress the Will of the Creator; aka להכעיס. Hanging a loaf of bread from the lintel of one's front door during Pesach (only during Pesach, in fact) and taking every time he enters and exits falls in that category. One step down from there is to "scratch an itch"; aka לתאבון. The person would really rather than HaShem allowed us to eat lobster, but he just can't resist. Note, by the way, that the Hatzalah ambulance driver who is rushing a patient to the hospital on Shabbos is also violating the Torah במזיד, but is not sinning at all. Just to complete this category, I need to mention sinning -- actually sinning with intent -- that is does to achieve some higher purpose; aka עבירה לשמה. The sin of Lot's daughters falls in this category and is way, way beyond the scope of the present discussion.
The next level down is שוגג; loosely translates as "oops." This happens when the perpetrator had no intention at all to violate the Torah, but he messed up. For example, he wakes up Shabbos morning thinking it is Monday. He knows full well that shaving is forbidden on Shabbos, bus since he thinks it is Monday, he doesn't think he is doing anything wrong. Alternatively, he knows it is Shabbos, but he thinks what he is doing does not violate Shabbos. Taking all the bones out of the chicken cholent before serving it Shabbos day, for example. "What? That's בורר/forbidden selecting? No way!" These acts are obviously not done with the intention of violating the Will of the Creator... but they did. There is a lower culpability, but it is still a sin and could require a sin offering. Also, one needs to be very careful that he does not willfully work to not learn about Shabbos, kashrus, and whatnot. One who willfully decides to not learn will lose his שוגג/oops status and be promoted to במזיד according to what he could have learned.
There is one final level: מתעסק/preoccupied. The gemara's prime example is someone who reaches down to pick up a tomato on Shabbos... and finds -- to his shock and horror -- that it was still attached to the ground. The מתעסק certainly knew it was Shabbos and certainly knew it is forbidden to pluck a tomato from it's vine on Shabbos and had no intention to do anything but enhance his enjoyment of Shabbos with an ultra fresh tomato. All that is true, but it is also true that he has violated the Torah. The question is, though: has he sinned?
What difference does it make? Since it is done unwittingly, it can neither be avoided nor sought. Not knowingly, anyway. However, the question is: are you allowed to set someone up to be a מתעסק? Why would you want to? I have two examples off the top of my head. Case One: You have broken the beam of an electric eye that was inadvertently left activated. Can you call someone over to stand between you and the sensor? (You don't tell him why you are calling him over; you just call him over to talk with him.) Then you can walk away, because you will now not activate the circuit; your buddy will walk about also -- because he doesn't know about it; thus becoming a מתעסק. Case Two: Our raincoat with the muktzeh pocket from a previous TftD. Certainly I, as the coat's knowledgeable owner, am not allowed to use the pocket. However, if I lend it to a friend (who has no idea about the recent history of that pocket), do I need to adjure to not use the pocket? Or no... he is מתעסק, so is doing nothing wrong.
As it happens, this is a strong machlokes between the N'sivos and R' Akiva Eiger. When I asked R' Fuerst how we pasken, he replied, "You do not want to be in the middle of that machlokes!" Then I mentioned those two case and he started klairing... "Hmm... d'rabbonan... not a direct action.... hmm... Tell you what. Call me on a Friday afternoon, so I can spend some time without the phone ringing on Shabbos looking into it." I plan to do that... though it turns out that I am not the only one standing on line with interesting questions the rabbi would like to investigate over Shabbos...
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