[Avodah] abuse vs gneiva

[saul newman]

[is the relevant question below   whether  one can ever  return the victim
to his original state in the case of  abuse  ?]---------- [from a blog]

I just received the following letter which raises a very important
question. It seems at first glance at this gemora that either our
evaluation of sexual abuse and sin is too high or that of theft is too low.

Dear Rav Eidensohn

I am just working on Yevamot (21a) and I came across this Gemara, which
states that the sin of uneven measures is worse than the sin of arayot,
because one can do teshuva for the latter:

*Yevamos (21a)[*Soncino translation and notes] For R. Levi said: The
punishments for [false] measures are more rigorous than those for
[marrying] forbidden relatives; for in the latter case the word used is El,
but in the former Eleh. — El implies rigour, but Eleh implies greater
rigour than El. Is not Eleh written also In connection with forbidden
relatives? -That [Eleh has been written] to exclude [the sin of false]
measures from the penalty of kareth. In what respect, then, are they more
rigorous? — In the case of the former, repentance is possible; in that of
the latter repentance is impossible. [Bava Basra 88b - One cannot by mere
repentance make amends for robbing. The return of the things robbed must
precede penitence. In the case of false measures it is practically
impossible to trace all the individual members of the public that were
defrauded.]

Perhaps this goes some way to explain why incest and other sexual crimes
are not treated as seriously as they should be in certain communities.
Firstly, the possibility of real teshuva is something which I imagine
psychotherapists would challenge. But the Gemara says it is possible. And
incest (or other sexual sins) are not as bad as stealing (though I know
that in some communities stealing is also not considered such a serious
sin).
                           Regards,
                             D.

*Artscroll *answers the question based on Rashi (Yevamos 21a) that as long
as a mamzer didn't result from the sexual sins it is possible to do
complete teshuva. In contrast stealing from the masses when it is not known
who the customers are and thus can't return what was stolen and thus can
never completely repent. Thus the gemora is not saying that sexual sins are
less severe than stealing but rather that the punishment from false
measures is more inevitable than for sexual sins. "Thus although the arayos
transgressions carry the harsher penalty (kares), the punishment for using
false measures is more severe in the aspect of its virtual inevitability,
due to the extreme difficult of performing proper penitence to preclude it."
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