עברית
Halachot and Customs
The Halachic Status of a Woman Who Committed Adultery
Question
Hello Rabbi, I understand (1) that there are three severe transgressions in the Torah for which all of Torah is set aside. (2) There is nothing that stands before repentance. My question is this: If, for example, a Jewish person murdered someone, what is their status every moment they are alive after the sin? (Is it similar to a woman who commits adultery against her husband, where every moment she is with him she is forbidden to him and sins—so is someone who transgressed a sin punishable by death, and continues to live, also sinning?) This does not quite add up for me, because on one hand Hashem prefers that the person die, and that person prefers life and did not withstand the test and murdered, so how does it work? And also, how is it that repentance atones for this? When a woman commits adultery against her husband, can she also repent and continue to be with him?
Answer
Greetings and blessings.
For every sin, true and complete repentance is effective and atones for everything—there is nothing that stands before repentance. When a person sincerely repents, their sin is not remembered at all. Certainly, a murderer who repents completely is not subject to the death penalty and can live!
However, a woman who is forbidden to her husband due to adultery will not be permitted even after repentance, and one of the conditions of her repentance is that she must leave her husband whom she betrayed.
It is important to know that in a case where there are no witnesses to the adultery, the husband does not have to believe her, and he is permitted to continue living with her since he is not obligated to believe that she actually committed adultery against him.
If there are still doubts, please ask again.
With blessings,
Binyamin Shmueli
