Our Gemara on Amud Aleph discusses the liabilities of one who trips, and then another trips on him. Even though there is a dispute about this liability between Rabbi Meir and the Chachamim, all agree that if the person tripped and did not get up within a normal interval, he then becomes liable if someone trips on him.

The Aramaic word used in the Gemara is Niskal, which is phonetically and linguistically equivalent to the Hebrew word nichshal, which is used to connote more than literal stumbling. It also connotes erroneous ideas, and even sin. See for example verses in Vayikra (19:14 according to rabbinic interpretation it is referring to poor advice, not literally a stumbling block) and Hoshea (14:10). Given this introduction, we can understand a metaphoric explanation of this legal sugya. Sefer Toldos Shem (Siman Aleph, p. 55) explains that when a person sins, they might be able to excuse themselves saying that they stumbled. After all, to err is human and our desires can get the better of us. To paraphrase Reish Lakish, sin, in and of itself, is a temporary form of insanity (Sotah 3a.) However, that is all fine and good and acceptable at the moment of the initial stumble. However, if one does not get back up right away, that is repent and correct his actions, then he is held liable, even for the fact that he stumbled.

This is an important perspective on sinful behavior. There is no need to get caught up in too much self recrimination or despair if one stumbles and sins, so long as they get back up and correct themselves. Notably, Ezer Mikodesh (EH 23:3) rules that one is not liable for a transient forbidden lustful thought. It is only forbidden to dwell on the fantasy. In studying the patterns of addiction and recovery it is found that the problem is not the breaking of sobriety. The problem is that once sobriety is broken, there is difficulty in returning back to the earlier state. The key is to immediately get right back on the wagon. Think of being on a diet. Having a slice of cake is not great for your diet but the fact of the matter is the body's metabolism can easily adjust to an extra few hundred calories; this will not make or break anything. The problem is once you have that piece of cake and you break your momentum, you might binge for hours or days. The decisive factor is not to avoid stumbling, but rather how to learn to get right back up again.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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