Atonement in Judaism

"Kapparah" redirects here. For the ritual preceding Yom Kippur, see Kapparos.

Atonement in Judaism is the process of causing a transgression to be forgiven or pardoned.

In Rabbinic Judaism

In Rabbinic Judaism, atonement is achieved through some combination of

• repentance
• Temple service (e.g. bringing a sacrifice, now not possible)
• confession
• restitution
• the occurrence of Yom Kippur (the day itself, as distinct from the Temple service performed on it)
• tribulations (unpleasant life experiences)
• the carrying out of a sentence of corporal or capital punishment imposed by an ordained court (not now in existence)
• the experience of dying.

Which of these are required varies according to the severity of the sin, whether it was done willfully, in error, or under duress, whether it was against God alone or also against a fellow person, and whether the Temple service and ordained law courts are in existence or not. Repentance is needed in all cases of willful sin, and restitution is always required in the case of sin against a fellow person, unless the wronged party waives it.

The following table, based on Maimonides (Hil. Teshuva 1:1-4), gives an outline of the requirements for atonement in sins between man and God:

	Duress	Error	Willfulness
Positive commandment	none	none	Repentance + confession or Yom Kippur Temple service
Negative commandment	none	none	Repentance + confession + Yom Kippur or Yom Kippur Temple service
Severe negative commandment	none	Sin offering (if Temple exists) in some cases + confession	Repentance + confession + Yom Kippur + tribulations or Repentance + confession + Yom Kippur Temple service
Profaning God's Name	Repentance	Sin offering (if Temple exists) in some cases + confession	Repentance + confession + Yom Kippur + tribulations + dying

The sentence of an ordained court (when available) can also substitute for Yom Kippur + tribulations + dying. It is important to note that once a person has repented, he can be close to and beloved of God, even if his atonement is not yet complete (ibid. 7:7).

In other Jewish denominations

Some Jewish denominations may differ with Rabbinic Judaism on the importance or mechanics of atonement. Consult the articles on specific denominations for details.

Compared with Christian idea of atonement

While Christianity developed its concept of atonement out of the same roots in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), the different theology of Christianity led it to develop that concept in ways distinctly different from Judaism. In Christianity atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin through the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion. To some, this death is viewed as human sacrifice, and since the Hebrew Bible states that human sacrifice is an abomination in the sight of God (Lev. 18:21, 20:2-5, Deu. 12:31, Jer. 32:34-35), is a problematic view of atonement. However, Christians believe that Jesus is God and therefore, no "human" sacrifice exists and Jewish law does not apply. According to Jewish law, the blood of the atoning sacrifice was to be offered on the altar of the temple (Ex. 30:10, Lev. 16) and Jesus was crucified outside the temple. Moreover, the prophet Ezekiel speaks out against the idea of vicarious atonement, where one person can suffer punishment for another person's sin: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him" (Eze. 18:20). Thus although the Mosaic law prescribes animal sacrifices for ritual worship, this is by no means viewed as supporting the idea of vicarious atonement.

External links and Bibliography

• The Concept of Atonement in Early Rabbinic Thought and the New Testament Writings
• Targum Isaiah 53 and the New Testament Concept of Atonement