# Jewish views on sin

Part of a series on :
Jews and Judaism :
Etymology
Who is a Jew? :
Religion
God in Judaism (names)
Principles of faith
Mitzvot (613)
Halakha
Shabbat
Holidays
Prayer
Tzedakah
Land of Israel
Brit
Bar and bat mitzvah
Marriage
Bereavement
Baal teshuva
Philosophy
Ethics
Kabbalah
Customs
Rites
Synagogue
Rabbi :
Texts
Tanakh
Torah
Nevi'im
Ketuvim
Talmud
Mishnah
Gemara
Rabbinic
Midrash
Tosefta
Targum
Beit Yosef
Mishneh Torah
Tur
Shulchan Aruch
Zohar :
History
General
Timeline
Land of Israel
Name "Judea"
Antisemitism
Anti-Judaism
Persecution
Leaders
Modern historiography
Historical population comparisons
Ancient Israel
Twelve Tribes of Israel
Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Israel
Jerusalem (in Judaism
timeline)
Temple in Jerusalem (First
Second)
Assyrian captivity
Babylonian captivity
Second Temple period
Yehud Medinata
Maccabean Revolt
Hasmonean dynasty
Sanhedrin
Schisms (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii)
Second Temple Judaism (Hellenistic Judaism)
Jewish–Roman wars (Great Revolt, Diaspora, Bar Kokhba)
Rabbinic period and Middle Ages
Rabbinic Judaism
History of the Jews in the Byzantine Empire
Christianity and Judaism (Jews and Christmas)
Hinduism and Judaism
Islamic–Jewish relations
Middle Ages
Golden Age
Modern era
Haskalah
Sabbateans
Hasidism
Jewish atheism
Emancipation
Old Yishuv
Zionism
Soviet Union
The Holocaust
Israel
Arab–Israeli conflict :
Communities
Ashkenazim
Galician
Litvak
Mizrahim
Sephardim
Teimanim
Beta Israel
Gruzinim
Juhurim
Bukharim
Italkim
Romanyotim
Cochinim
Bene Israel
Berber
Related groups
Bnei Anusim
Lemba
Crimean Karaites
Krymchaks
Kaifeng Jews
Igbo Jews
Samaritans
Crypto-Jews
Anusim
Dönmeh
Marranos
Neofiti
Xueta
Mosaic Arabs
Subbotniks
Noahides :
Population
Judaism by country
Lists of Jews
Diaspora
Historical population by country
Genetic studies
Israel and Palestine
Old Yishuv
New Yishuv
Israeli Jews
Palestinian Jews
Africa
Algeria
Angola
Bilad-el-Sudan
Botswana
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Benin
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Ethiopia
Eritrea
Eswatini
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nigeria (Igbo)
Republic of the Congo
São Tomé and Príncipe
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
Sudan
Tanzania
Tunisia
Uganda (Abayudaya)
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Bahrain
Cambodia
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kurdistan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Syria
Tajikistan
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen
Europe
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Spain
Sweden
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Northern America
Canada
United States
Greenland
Latin America and Caribbean
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Mexico
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Oceania
Australia
Fiji
Guam
New Zealand
Palau :
Denominations
Orthodox
Modern
Haredi
Hasidic
Reform
Conservative
Karaite
Reconstructionist
Renewal
Science
Haymanot
Humanistic :
Culture
Customs
Minyan
Wedding
Clothing
Niddah
Pidyon haben
Kashrut
Shidduch
Zeved habat
Conversion to Judaism
Aliyah
Hiloni
Music
Religious
Secular
Art
Ancient
Yiddish theatre
Dance
Humour
Cuisine
American
Ashkenazi
Bukharan
Ethiopian
Israeli
Israelite
Mizrahi
Sephardic
Literature
Israeli
Yiddish
Judeo-Tat
American :
Languages
Hebrew
Biblical
Yiddish
Yeshivish
Jewish Koine Greek
Yevanic
Judeo-Tat
Shassi
Judaeo-Iranian
Judaeo-Spanish
Judeo-Gascon
Ghardaïa Sign
Bukharian
Knaanic
Zarphatic
Judeo-Italian
Judaeo-Georgian
Judeo-Aramaic
Judeo-Arabic
Judeo-Berber
Judeo-Malayalam
Domari :
Politics
Jewish political movements
Autonomism
Bundism
Feminism
Leftism
Secularism
Territorialism
World Agudath Israel
Zionism
General
Green
Labor
Kahanism
Maximalism
Neo-Zionism
Religious
Revisionist
Post-Zionism :
Category
Portal :
vte :
Judaism regards the violation of any of the 613 commandments as a sin. Judaism teaches that to sin is a part of life, since there is no perfect human and everyone has an inclination to do evil "from youth", though people are born sinless. Sin has many classifications and degrees.
Unintentional sins are considered less severe sins. Sins committed out of lack of knowledge are not considered sins.
When the Temple yet stood in Jerusalem, people would offer korbanot (sacrifices) for their misdeeds. The atoning aspect of korbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, korbanot only expiate unintentional sins committed as a result of human forgetfulness or error. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress or through lack of knowledge, and for the most part, korbanot cannot atone for malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, korbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents of his or her actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person(s) harmed by the violation.

## Terminology

The Hebrew Bible uses several words to describe sin. The standard noun for sin is ḥeṭ (verb: hata), meaning to "miss the mark" or "sin". The word avon is often translated as "iniquity", i.e. a sin done out of moral failing. The word pesha, or "trespass", means a sin done out of rebelliousness. The word resha refers to an act committed with a wicked intention. In several Biblical verses, a person confesses to several such categories of sin one after the other.
According to the rabbis, these terms refer to sins of different severities: ḥeṭ refers to unintentional sin, avon to intentional sin (not done to defy God), and pesha to rebellion. A person is responsible for each of these sins, though least responsible for unintentional sins and most responsible for sins of defiance and rebellion. Situation in which there is no responsibility include oness (one was forced to commit a sin by factors beyond their control); tinok shenishba (a person who was raised in an environment that was assimilated or non-Jewish, and is not aware of the proper Jewish laws); and heresh, shoteh, katan (deaf-mute, insane, minor - people who are presumed not to have mental capacity to understand their sin).
A term for sin often used in rabbinic Hebrew, but not appearing in the Bible, is aveira (meaning "transgression"). The related phrase la'avor brito ("to transgress His covenant") does appear in the Bible.

## View of human nature

Judaism rejects the idea of original sin: it believes that humans enter the world pure, with the ability to choose either good or evil via their free will. A person always has the power to avoid sin and its negative effects. Due to free will, goodness is not impossible, only difficult at times. This ability to choose freely is what makes humans responsible for those sins they do commit.
The Bible states that the tendency of the mind is to evil: "For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" However, in the biblical verses this is brought as an argument for divine mercy, as humans cannot be blamed for the nature they were created with. Therefore God in His mercy allowed people to repent and be forgiven. God is said to temper justice with mercy, and to follow the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in order to forgive sins.
Judaism teaches that humans contain a yetzer, or human instinct. Many sources speak of both a yetzer hatov ("good inclination") and a yetzer hara ("evil inclination") in the human soul. The yetzer hatov is conceptualized in different sources as a tendency towards goodness, productivity, or concern for others, while the yetzer hara is conceptualized as a tendency towards evil, selfishness, or base or animal behavior. In some sources the character of Satan, too, is equated with the human psychological inclination for evil (in contrast to the fallen angel of traditional Christianity). People have the ability to master their evil inclination (Genesis 4:7) and choose good over evil (Psalm 37:27).
Being a psychological inclination, the rabbis saw positive aspects even in the yetzer hara: without it, humans would not be motivated to marry, bear children, or conduct business (as these activities are often motivated by lust or greed). A similar attitude appears in Hillel's famous statement: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?"
According to the Talmud, just four individuals in all of history never sinned: "Benjamin, son of Jacob; Amram, father of Moses; Jesse, father of David; and Chileab, son of David". By implication, the great heroes of the Bible - including Jacob, Moses, and David, mentioned in this very passage - did sin, as does every other person in history. In fact, the whole Tanakh is full of references to sins committed by leading people, which teaches that no one is perfect, everyone stands in trials/tests, and people should try their best to learn from their own mistakes.
In Judaism, a person is not judged in comparison to an ideal of no sin, or in comparison to great figures like Moses, but rather in comparison to their own personal potential, given their abilities and circumstances. This idea is exemplified by the following story:
   Zusha, the great Chassidic master, lay crying on his deathbed. His students asked him, "Rebbe, why are you so sad? After all the mitzvot and good deeds you have done, you will surely get a great reward in heaven!". "I'm afraid!" said Zusha. "Because when I get to heaven, I know God's not going to ask me 'Why weren't you more like Moses?' or 'Why weren't you more like King David?' But I'm afraid that God will ask 'Zusha, why weren't you more like Zusha?' And then what will I say?!"

## Types of sin
### Sins between man and his fellow

Jews recognize two kinds of sin, offenses against other people, and offenses against God. As such, in Judaism the term "sin" includes violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality.
According to some sources, sins between people are considered more severe than sins between man and God, as the very purpose of the Torah is to prevent suffering. Other sources say it is impossible to determine the relative severity of different sins.

### Many small sins vs. One big sin

A story is told of two Jews who visited their rebbe, seeking advice regarding sins they had committed. One had committed a large sin which seemed unforgivable, while the other was less worried, only being guilty of the usual variety of minor sins. The rebbe told them to go outside and collect stones corresponding to the number and magnitude of their sins, and then to scatter those stones again in the field. Having accomplished this, they returned to the rebbe who told them to gather the scattered stones. He who had committed a single large sin found his large stone easily, while he who had committed many sins had trouble identifying and collecting all of his stones. The rebbe stated that the stones were comparable to sins: "You who committed a great sin was aware of having sinned, and with sincere repentance can repent. But you who committed many minor sins will find it hard to catch up with your sins until you realize that even small deeds matter."

### Contract

Offenses against God may be understood as violation of the contract, or covenant, between God and Israelites. The Bible records several such covenants, by which the Israelites committed to obey God's commands, and in return God promised to reward them. As such, disobeying God's commands would constitute a breach of the covenant. Similarly, the poem of Jeremiah 2:1–3:5 shows evidence of a covenant broken by Israel.

### Other situations

Sforno suggests that Leviticus 4:22, which discusses a leader who has sinned, begins with the term "when" (rather than "if") in order to imply that leaders - being powerful and wealthy people - will almost inevitably sin. This Torah verse concludes with the words "realizes his guilt" because it is essential that powerful people acknowledge and feel remorse for their sin, lest they sin again.
In Judaism one is not only permitted but required to perform most sins, if necessary in order to save human life. This principle is called pikuach nefesh. The only exceptions are the three exceptional sins (murder, idolatry, and sexual misconduct), which one must die rather than commit.

## Reward and punishment
### Divine punishment

Divine reward and punishment is a central belief in Judaism, according to which God rewards the righteous and punishes sinners for their deeds. Such punishment may occur in this world (for example by receiving a bad harvest), or in the afterlife. The issue of theodicy is discussed in the Bible as well as rabbinic literature; according to one rabbinic opinion, mostly-righteous individuals are punished in this world for the sins they have committed, in order that they may be purely rewarded in the World to Come.

### Human punishment

During the time of the Temple, Jewish courts punished certain sins with varying forms of punishment depending on the exact sin, as depicted in the Torah. These punishments included lashes, fines, and execution. After the destruction of the second Temple and the Sanhedrin, physical punishments were no longer given due to the necessity of the Sanhedrin for their execution.

## Atonement

Judaism describes various means of receiving atonement for sin, that is, reconciliation with God and release from punishment. The main method of atonement is via repentance. Other means (e.g. Temple sacrifices, judicial punishments, and returning stolen property) may be involved in the atonement process, together with repentance.