Would any sources seem to indicate that if one states when talking to Hashem “HaShem if I ever regret any of my mitzvot, I don’t really regret them.” then any regrets he would have in the future would not take away the reward for his mitzvot?
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1It sounds similar to saying in the morning all the attributes of hashem and then saying that they should apply each time I mention his name although I dont know or think of them at the time.– interestedCommented Aug 31, 2020 at 12:30
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7Up for the easy way, aren't we? ;)– user16556Commented Aug 31, 2020 at 12:57
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2How is this different from saying, "Hashem, if I ever think forbidden thoughts, I'm not really thinking them" and thus any sinful thinking he would have in the future wouldn't count? If there is a reason to differentiate, the question would be strengthened by incorporating it.– JayCommented Aug 31, 2020 at 15:47
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2@robev you can't just shake it off by saying you don't think it's relevant. If we will entertain that a person can stipulate that his thoughts of regret shouldn't count, we can entertain that he can stipulate his thoughts of avoda zara don't count. Seems relevant to me. I'm pretty sure az is the single sin that can be transgressed by thought alone. Although if you want to get into thought plus action we can expand it to include lo sachmod and pigul etc (assuming thought means thought and not speech, which is wrong according to some opinions)– user6591Commented Sep 2, 2020 at 3:00
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1@Daniel I have no sources to offer just a personal opinion. I would be inclined to say it would not work. The mechanics don't add up in my eyes. Let's make a timeline. Monday he stipulates regrets shouldn't work. Tuesday he does the mitzvah. Wednesday he regrets the mitzvah. Wouldn't he also regret the stipulation? Would we ever say he can regret away a mitzvah but not a stipulation? And what happens if someone regrets having regretted? Does his schar mitzvah come back? I'm not sure how far we can extend this idea of regret before we exit the realms of logic.– user6591Commented Sep 2, 2020 at 3:32
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3 Answers
There is something along those lines for when one is on his deathbed (r"l) or shortly before it. It's called מסירת מודעה לשכיב מרע.
This booklet gives several versions of the text from various sources (Yesod Veshoresh Ha'avodah, Keses Yehonasan, Shevet Mussar). The heart of all of them is about the same: the person is declaring in advance that if, when near death and not completely sound of mind, he says or thinks anything that amounts to denial of Hashem or His Torah, then he's pre-annulling it.
The question reminds me of “Kol Nidrei”.
In KN, the request is to annul vows. These, say Wikipedia
are almost exclusively religious pledges of various kinds: That something will be done (or not done) or given in exchange for a prayer being answered, that something will be done (or not done) for religious purposes or to show religious devotion, that a thing will be used only for religious purposes (e.g., as a tool used only for building or repairing the Temple) and never for mundane purposes, that a thing will be given to the Temple or treated as if it were already given to the Temple, and so forth.
The Kol Nidrei declaration can invalidate only vows that one undertakes on his own volition. The invalidation of future vows takes effect only if someone makes the vow without having in mind his previous Kol Nidrei declaration. But if he makes the vow with Kol Nidrei in mind—thus being openly insincere in his vow—the vow is in full force.
So it is possible to nullify in advance promises to do something good. The question wants to nullify in advance a promise to do something bad (regret doing a mitzvah).
I could suggest that as we know that the deep-down intention of a Jew is to do good things (example from forcing a man to bring a korban, see here) a bad thought is essentially not what he desires and therefore it should be possible to annul it in advance.
answered Sep 2, 2020 at 17:25
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1We also have hataras nedarim every year, so we don't rely on kol nidrei. We don't assume that it works for the future.– JayCommented Sep 2, 2020 at 19:05
In Chayav Inish, the Alter Rebbe explains how the Jewish soul - being one with Hashem in the deepest sense - cannot bear to separate itself from Him in any way. This explains why even simple Jews, even sinful Jews, throughout history have given up their life rather than renounce their Judaism in any way. The claim, therefore, is that the possibility of a Jew regretting doing a Mitzva is not a realistic possibility, and even if he does, it is just a superficial regret.
