Taking it With You-Vidui-Ki Tisa

I heard from the Holy Maggid, Rabbi Dov Baer, that the name of each sin is the Life Force of that sin. It is with this Life Force that the sin is committed. A person who repents must therefore confess his sin before God. When he confesses, he takes this Life Force consisting of the sin’s name, and removes it from the domain of the Husks.

After the sin of the Golden Calf in this week’s portion, Moses said, “This people has committed a great sin, they have made gods of gold (Exodus 32:31).” [It is from this verse that the Talmud derives the law that one must specify his sin, Yomah 86b]

At first thought, it is quite difficult to understand why Moses emphasized the sin, saying that it was a “great sin.” But, the Maggid explained that Moses’ intent was to express it to the greatest possible extent, thus removing the sin’s name from the Husks and elevating it to its Root (Ginzei Yosef, Vayeishev).

Remember when reciting the Confession that with the mention of the name of each sin we are repairing its Life Force.