Commentary for Avodah Zarah 33:9
למימרא דכל הפורש ממינות מיית והא ההיא דאתאי לקמיה דרב חסדא ואמרה ליה קלה שבקלות עשתה בנה הקטן מבנה הגדול ואמר לה רב חסדא טרחו לה בזוודתא ולא מתה
Does it mean then that those who repent from minut die? Was there not a woman who came before R. Hisda confessing to him that the lightest sin that she committed was that her younger son is the offspring of her older son? Whereupon R. Hisda said: Get busy in preparing her shrouds — but she did not die.
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
The story brought here is of a woman whose least sin was having a child with her son. Since this is the least of her sins, she is presumed to have also acted in the ways of minut. So why didn’t she die when she repented?
The answer is that she did not wholeheartedly repent. Somewhat bafflingly, partial repentance does not cause a person to die, but full repentance does.
The answer is that she did not wholeheartedly repent. Somewhat bafflingly, partial repentance does not cause a person to die, but full repentance does.
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