Atonement in Judaism

[Alex_H]

If a Jewish person sins, how do they reconcile themselves with God?

 

[Thom18]

I’m not sure if there’s anything they can really do anymore, since their temple was destroyed. Perhaps repentance and good deeds?

 

[RPRPsych]

If a Jewish person sins, how do they reconcile themselves with God?

Become a Catholic?

 

[StGerardMajella]

If a Jewish person sins, how do they reconcile themselves with God?

Hosea 14:2. In the Jewish siddur (prayer book), there is a section called the “korbanos” which gives a shortened summary of the animal sacrifices, incense, etc. of the daily Temple ritual. A prayer is included, referencing Hosea 14:2, where “our lips will compensate for the bulls”, meaning verbal and mental prayer is in place of the Temple sacrifices, now that the Temple is destroyed.

The Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur - is still celebrated annually as well. This is a rather long prayer service about atonement for sins.

Lastly, the morning prayer service has an optional prayer at the end called Viddui, which is a confession of sins before the Creator, asking for forgiveness. It is a very powerful prayer. The Shemonei Esrei prayer, at the highlight of the morning prayer service, includes beating one’s chest twice asking for pardon forgiveness.

So, the short answer is that sin is atoned via prayer and fasting.

 

[RPRPsych]

Hosea 14:2. In the Jewish siddur (prayer book), there is a section called the “korbanos” which gives a shortened summary of the animal sacrifices, incense, etc. of the daily Temple ritual. A prayer is included, referencing Hosea 14:2, where “our lips will compensate for the bulls”, meaning verbal and mental prayer is in place of the Temple sacrifices, now that the Temple is destroyed.

The Day of Atonement - Yom Kippur - is still celebrated annually as well. This is a rather long prayer service about atonement for sins.

Lastly, the morning prayer service has an optional prayer at the end called Viddui, which is a confession of sins before the Creator, asking for forgiveness. It is a very powerful prayer. The Shemonei Esrei prayer, at the highlight of the morning prayer service, includes beating one’s chest twice asking for pardon forgiveness.

So, the short answer is that sin is atoned via prayer and fasting.

Thanks for the information, that’s very interesting! Do these beliefs and practices vary across the different branches of contemporary Judaism?

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Lastly, the morning prayer service has an optional prayer at the end called Viddui, which is a confession of sins before the Creator, asking for forgiveness. It is a very powerful prayer. The Shemonei Esrei prayer, at the highlight of the morning prayer service, includes beating one’s chest twice asking for pardon forgiveness.

So, the short answer is that sin is atoned via prayer and fasting.

Thank you for this excellent summary of beliefs and practice. I, too, find the deathbed prayer, the Viddui, powerfully beautiful. There is a modern translation of it that reads, in part:

*I acknowledge before You, Adonai my God and God of my ancestors,

That my healing and my death are in Your hands.

May it be Your will to grant me a complete healing.

If it be Your will that I am to die of this illness,

Let my death be atonement for all the wrongs that I have done in my life.

Shelter me in the shadow of Your wings.

Grant me a place in the world to come.*

When it is recited before death, the act of atonement is efficacious.

 

[meltzerboy]

If a Jewish person sins, how do they reconcile themselves with God?

If one has sinned directly against G-d, then prayer and a commitment to change one’s behavior are necessary. If one has sinned against another person, it is customary to beseech their forgiveness. In general, prayer and good deeds go hand-in-hand. Fasting is another means of repentance but it must not be a “hollow fast” without prayer and commitment to change. That is, by fasting one is supposed to cleanse one’s soul and turn in a more positive direction.

 

[StGerardMajella]

Do these beliefs and practices vary across the different branches of contemporary Judaism?

Meltzerboy could probably answer better than I can. However, you can find these prayers in the Art Scroll Siddur, which is apparently one of the more common Orthodox Jewish prayer books for daily prayers. It is an absolutely amazing prayer book, by the way.

Yom Kippur is a traditional Jewish holiday. For certain parts of the year, Art Scroll has special prayer books for Passover (“Pesach”), Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, etc. These prayer books are called “Machzorim”, and have special prayers just for that time of year, some of which are similar to the daily prayers with variations depending on the holiday.

From what I gather, and again, please consult an expert, there are variations in prayer books among the different variations of Judaism. I.e., Reform Judaism has their own prayer books that differ from the Orthodox, etc.

 

[meltzerboy]

Meltzerboy could probably answer better than I can. However, you can find these prayers in the Art Scroll Siddur, which is apparently one of the more common Orthodox Jewish prayer books for daily prayers. It is an absolutely amazing prayer book, by the way.

Yom Kippur is a traditional Jewish holiday. For certain parts of the year, Art Scroll has special prayer books for Passover (“Pesach”), Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, etc. These prayer books are called “Machzorim”, and have special prayers just for that time of year, some of which are similar to the daily prayers with variations depending on the holiday.

From what I gather, and again, please consult an expert, there are variations in prayer books among the different variations of Judaism. I.e., Reform Judaism has their own prayer books that differ from the Orthodox, etc.

The specific prayers may vary somewhat but the main idea regarding the importance of prayer, good deeds, and commitment to improvement is essentially the same across denominations.

 

[RPRPsych]

The specific prayers may vary somewhat but the main idea regarding the importance of prayer, good deeds, and commitment to improvement is essentially the same across denominations.

Thanks! Living where I do (there are only about 5000 members of the Jewish community in India), I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about their religion first-hand.