Promotion to a Position of Authority and Forgiveness
Question
I read that there are 3 people whose iniquities are forgiven. One who converts to Judaism. One who is promoted to high position. One who marries.
I understand marriage and conversion have power to cleanse iniquities. But what’s the connection between one’s promotion and the forgiveness of transgression?
Answers
The source for that statement is the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate 14a.
The Jerusalem Talmud offers a Torah source for the idea that someone who is recognized as a sage, someone who becomes a groom and someone who is anointed as king receives forgiveness for all of his sins. This is based on the juxtaposition of the verse, “And you should honor the elder” (Vayikra 19:32) with the next verse, “And when a convert lives among you.” Since a convert is considered to have begun a new life with a clean slate, so too someone recognized as an elder is also perceived as having a new beginning. The Maharsha, one of the classic commentaries on the Talmud, suggests that if God decreed that this individual should be recognized as a leader, we must assume that He has already forgiven his sins.
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