The Rambam writes (Hilchot Teshuva 1:1-2):

1. All the mitzvot of the Torah, whether positive precepts or negative precepts, if a person (“Adam”) transgresses one of them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, when that person repents and returns from his sin, he is obligated to confess before G-d, etc….

2. Since the scapegoat (“seir hamishtaleach”) is a kappara for all of Israel, the High Priest confesses upon it (i.e., recites a confession) for “All of Israel”, and confesses upon it all the sins of all of Israel…

(Rambam-Rabbi Moses ben (son of) Maimon, or Maimonides (1135–1204)-was born in Cordoba, Spain and eventually settled in Fustat (old Cairo), Egypt. Maimonides is one of the best known figures in Jewish history. While practicing medicine in the court of the Caliph, he achieved renown as a major authority in Jewish law and in philosophy as well. His major works include the Mishneh Torah, the first systematic code of Jewish law, and The Guide of the Perplexed, a philosophical work directed at Jews who sought guidance in combining their secular education with their traditional Jewish belief system.)

These two laws in the Rambam use very different terminology. In the first law, the Rambam speaks of Adam – humanity: “… if a person (“Adam”) transgresses one of them…,” that person must confess before G-d. On the other hand, the second law describes an institutional confession by a representative of the people of Israel, on behalf of the people. The purpose of this confession is to effect kappara for the people of Israel, via the ritual of the scapegoat. (Note that throughout this article, terms such as “Israel”, “the people of Israel”, etc. are used to refer to Jews. This follows the Rambam’s way of referring to Jews. The modern political entity of the State of Israel is not referred to.)

The Rambam is defining two different processes for repentance. One is a universal process, in which an “Adam”, a human, confesses his sin before G-d. In contrast, the other is a particular process, linked with the rituals of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), by which the people of Israel attain kappara. This understanding of the Rambam’s use of “Adam”, as distinguished from the Rambam’s use of “Israel” is highlighted in the third chapter of the laws of repentance. In Chapter 3, the Rambam wants to define a righteous person, a tzadik: “Each and every person (“Adam”) has merits and sins. One who has more merits than sins is righteous, and one whose sins exceed his merits is evil. If his sins and his merits are equal, he is in-between (“benoni”). And the same principle applies to a country: if the merits of all its inhabitants exceed their sins, the country is righteous, and if the sins of the inhabitants exceed their merits, that country is evil. This same principle applies to the whole world.” By referring to “Each and every person,” and “a [generic] country,” and “the whole world,” the Rambam makes it clear that he is referring to humans, Adam, and not just the people of Israel.

In fact, if one looks at the many instances in the Laws of Repentance where Rambam refers to “Adam” (90 occurrences), as opposed to “Israel” (40 occurrences), discounting those cases where Rambam is quoting (and thus the usage of language can be attributed to the quoted text rather than Rambam himself), one sees that the Rambam generally uses the term “Adam” in a generic fashion – namely, humanity.

All of this proves, at least according to Rambam, that just as Jews have 613 commandments to observe and must repent if he transgresses them, non-Jews also have seven biblical precepts to observe (1. Not to kill; 2. Not to steal; 3. Laws of incest and adultery; 4. Not to blaspheme; 5. Not to commit idolatry; 6. To establish a legal system; and 7. Not to eat the flesh of a live animal [Rambam, Laws of Kings, 9:1]) and must repent if they transgress them.

In other words, the existence of a commandment, any commandment, implicitly carries with it a second commandment to repent if the commandment is violated, regardless of whether the commanded person is “Adam” or “Israel”. If a person transgresses, that person must repent from his transgression. The astute reader will no doubt point out that, in the second of the laws of repentance cited above, it says that a Jew must not only repent but must also obtain kappara. But the need for kappara is related to the Jewish dimension of the person’s being. Nevertheless, Jews have another primary dimension to their being, namely, that they are “Adam”, human. In other words, the first law cited above applies to all persons, including Jews.

This is stressed by the practice of the people of Israel on that great and awesome day, the day that, by its very nature, is dedicated to kappara – namely, Yom Kippur. As the day draws to its climax, the people of Israel stop and read the Book of the Prophet Jona. The story of Jona is well known – the prophet flees his mission, is swallowed by a huge fish, is later expelled from the fish’s belly, and goes on to call on the people of Nineve to repent (Nineve is modern day Mosul. During the summer of 2003, there were reports in the media about an American Army Rabbi who visited what is, by tradition, the tomb of the prophet Jonah [see, for instance, http://www.afsi.org/oregon/RecentComments/Rabbi_in_Iraq.htm]). The crucial point of the whole story is that the prophet is sent, not to deliver his message to the city of Dan or Beer Sheva, but to to Nineve, a city of non-Jews. At the end of the book, Jona has a fascinating argument with G-d. After delivering his message, Jona departs Nineve, and sits outside the city to see what will become of it. A vine grows over Jona providing him with shade. G-d makes the vine wither and die. As Jona is about to pass out from the heat, he proclaims (Jona 4:8), “Better that I should die than live!”

G-d says to Jona, “Why should you be angry about the vine?” (Jona 4:9)

Jona responds (Jona 4:9), “I am angry enough to die.”

Then G-d responds, “You took pity on this vine, which you did not tend or grow. It sprang up overnight and withered. Shall I not take pity on Nineve, the great city, which has more than 120,000 people who do not know their right from their left, and many cattle.” (Jona 4:10-11) G-d cares about all the inhabitants of the world – their moral well-being is of His concern.

This is the lesson we read.

This article is an excerpt from “Tishrei, The Mitzvah of Teshuvah, and Universalism” and was originally published in Chidushei Torah Volume 6, 2005 http://www.nds.com/z/chidusheitorah/pdf/2005/atlow.pdf