20th Century Jewish Religious Thought: Original Essays on Critical Concepts, Movements, and Beliefs

Sin

Sin Adin Steinsalz T he Hebrew language, in both biblical and postbiblical literature , has numerous names for the concept of sin, each with its own unique sense and shade of meaning. Moreover , from the books of the Bible-especially the prophets-to the latterday homiletic writings, Jewish literature is filled with reproachful discourses inveighing against all manner of sins. Nevertheless, the concept of sin in and of itself is never fully developed or clarified in Judaism. Despite the existence of so many definitions of an endless variety of sin, and despite the stern reproof voiced against sin and sinners, concern with sin itself occupies an insignificant place in Jewish thought. The problem of sin (and even, to a large extent, the problem of evil) is, in effect, treated as a secondary issue. Sin is viewed as a correlate of mi.~vah; it is treated not as a separate, independent entity but rather as a shadow-essence or even, at times, a reverse image of mi;vah. The concept of sin and the attitude taken toward it thus stem directly from how mi~vah is understood. For example, Judaism divides the world of religious activity into two groups of commandments, positive and negative. Since sin is 882 SIN defined, from both a halakhic and a theological point of view, as the negation of mi~ah, where positive commandments are concerned it consists of abstention and where negative commandments are concerned it consists of action. In every case, that is to say, it is conceived as the negation of something else, and not as an independent entity in its own right. The several theological understandings of sin to be found in Judaism are not concepts in their own right, and several of them appear in the extensive religious literature only by way of allusion. We arrive at them by first understanding the definition of mi~ah and then drawing conclusions with regard to the meaning of sin. But the various concepts of the nature of the mi~ot are only rarely to be found in distinct and defined form, and far more frequently (even in the case of fairly systematic thinkers) several of them come into play at once. The concept of sin, too, thus often has several ideational components coexisting alongside one another. One conception of mi~ah sees its principal significance in the divine command. The performance of a mi~ah is essentially an act of obedience, through which man approaches God by accepting the yoke of heaven, the supernal discipline. Sin, from this point of view, is thus primarily an act (by deed or default) of rebellion. The sinner is one who will not obey, one who, on account of external or internal factors, refuses to accept the "sovereignty of heaven" and prefers a different kind of rule, whether it be that of other men, other gods, or his own appetites. This conception in a sense gives equal value to all of the mi~ot, in that all of them alike express man's acceptance of the sovereignty of God. All sins, similarly, can be reduced to a single one-that of disobedience. Another understanding of mi~ah conceives of it as the right way, the straight and good path. The commandments, for example, as an expression that has its source in the Zohar would have it, are viewed as God's good counsel for man, his revelation of the true path that it is natural and right for man to follow as he makes his way through life. Sin, then, is conceived as a straying or deviation from this natural path. If it is committed unwittingly , it is the consequence of a mistake, of lack of knowledge or understanding . If, on the other hand, it is committed intentionally, it is essentially an act of perversity, an intentional distortion of nature. This conception, too, does not make a qualitative distinction between sins of different kinds. In a psychological sense, however, it does differentiate between obvious, easily recognizable distortions and those that can be known only to one who has already learned the true path. Another conception views the mi~ah essentially as an act of rectification or completion. The world is not a fully perfect entity, and the task of the SIN 883 mi~vah is to bring about the perfection that is lacking. Sin, then, is essentially the want of something, a defect in reality; if...