Atonement

The Routledge Dictionary of Judaism

(Hebrew: kapparah) The forgiving of sin by God. God offers atonement to those who engage in acts of repentance, a process designated by the Hebrew term “teshuvah,” which means, literally, “return” and refers to the individual’s break from sinful conduct and return to proper behavior before God. Judaism thus sees the process of repentance, rather than God’s offering of atonement, as central to religious and social life. Repentance is listed as one of the seven things God made before creation (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 39b), and it is seen as an action equivalent to the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple and the restoration of the sacrificial cult (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 43b), the highest goals of orthodox Jewish religious life. Repentance is viewed as the most direct and efficacious manner of placating God and assuring God’s continued protection.

In light of this, even the Day of Atonement (YOM KIPPUR), the occasion on which God annually judges and forgives the people, is significant, primarily in that it leads people to focus upon the process through which they must repent and correct their ways. On Yom Kippur, God is believed to grant forgiveness only to those who have already repented; a simple profession of faith or promise to behave correctly in the future is not sufficient (Mishnah Yoma 8:8).

Judaism holds that forgiveness is available to all who repent and that the hand of God is continually stretched out to those who seek atonement (Babylonian Talmud, Pesaim 119a). Moreover, recognizing the dramatic change of behavior and intense commitment to God’s will that stand behind true repentance, Judaism praises those who have sinned and repented even beyond those who have never sinned: “In a place in which those who repent stand, those who are completely righteous cannot stand” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 34b).

In Jewish thought, repentance is always possible, even on the day of death. The only requirement is that the desire to repent be serious and that the individual forsake his or her sinful ways. By contrast, one who continually repents but then sins again is not granted God’s forgiveness, even on the Day of Atonement (Mishnah Yoma 8:9). Atonement is not achieved through the pronouncing of a linguistic formula or through simple participation in a rite of expiation. It depends, rather, upon a true commitment to changing one’s life, turning from sin, and engaging in proper behavior before God.