Mutual Responsibility And Justice
למען ספות הרוה כו' שגגות כזדונות
"In order that the watered one be swept away with the thirsty" (Devarim 29:18) — this hints that unintentional sins (shegagos) become like willful sins (zedonos).
The Sfas Emes opens with a pasuk that warns how the watered (the secure) is swept away along with the thirsty, reading it as a hint that even unintentional sins can take on the gravity of willful ones.
והיא פלא השופט כל הארץ ל"י משפט
And this is a wonder: shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice (Bereishis 18:25)?
He raises the apparent difficulty: how can it be just that a person's shegagos should be treated as zedonos, when Hashem is the Judge of all the earth who surely does justice?
ויש לבאר הענין ע"פ מאמרם ז"ל זכה נוטל חלקו וחלק חבירו בג"ע וכן הרשע נוטל חלק הצדיק בגיהנם
The matter may be explained according to the teaching of Chazal that one who merits takes his own portion and his fellow's portion in Gan Eden, and likewise the wicked one takes the portion of the tzaddik in Gehinnom.
He answers by invoking Chazal's teaching that the tzaddik inherits both his own share and the wicked person's forfeited share in Gan Eden, while the rasha inherits the tzaddik's share in Gehinnom.
ופי' הענין כי זדון הרשע מביא הצדיק לשגגות
And the explanation of the matter is that the willful sin (zadon) of the wicked one brings the tzaddik to unintentional sins (shegagos).
He explains the mechanism: the brazen sinning of the rasha creates a spiritual atmosphere that causes even the tzaddik to stumble into unwitting shegagos.
וגם שגגת הצדיק מביא הרשע לזדונות [ואולי ז"ש שגגת תלמוד עולה זדון] כי כל ישראל ערבין זב"ז
And also the unintentional sin (shegagah) of the tzaddik brings the wicked one to willful sins (zedonos) — and perhaps this is what is meant by "a shegagah in learning is reckoned as a zadon" (Avos 4:13) — for all of Bnei Yisrael are areivim, responsible one for another.
Conversely, the tzaddik's own lapse in learning emboldens the rasha to sin willfully, since all of Bnei Yisrael bear mutual responsibility (areivus) for one another — which is why a shegagah in Torah study is counted as a zadon.
ומצד זה נוטל זה חלקו כנ"ל:
And from this aspect, this one takes his portion, as explained above.
Because of this shared accountability, each one ultimately receives the portion that flows from his influence on the other, resolving the difficulty about Hashem's justice.
Summary: The Sfas Emes wrestles with the pasuk in Nitzavim that warns how the watered is swept away with the thirsty, which suggests that unintentional sins (shegagos) can be reckoned as willful ones (zedonos). He asks how this squares with the truth that Hashem, the Judge of all the earth, does perfect justice. Drawing on Chazal's teaching that the tzaddik inherits the rasha's share in Gan Eden and the rasha inherits the tzaddik's share in Gehinnom, he explains that the two are spiritually bound: the rasha's brazenness drags the tzaddik into shegagos, while the tzaddik's own lapse emboldens the rasha toward outright zedonos. Since all of Bnei Yisrael are areivim, responsible one for another, each rightly takes the portion that results from his effect upon his fellow, and Hashem's justice stands fully intact.