Sin City: The Nature and Appeal of Sins
Thanks to some truly beautiful and kind soul, I was sent a Siddur, a Jewish prayer book, over this past week. Let me say, that I have never owned a Siddur, and to me, sending this gift was one of the most wonderful, kind and loving gestures anyone has done for me. A gift of love truly from the heart.
While reading the Siddur over this Shabbos, I began to think about the nature of sins and why people commit them, atone for them, and keep doing them over and over again. According to Jewish law, at least the way I understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong, in addition to the Ten Commandments, there are 613 mitzvots that tell people how to live their lives, what is permitted and what is prohibited. All sins are created equal in the eyes of God, although the punishment may in fact be different. For example, the sin of stealing, adultery, killing, lying, or disrespecting one's mother and father are the same as driving or turning the lights on or working on Shabbos. The manner in which the law defines and punishes certain acts is clearly distinguishable from the way such forms of conduct are defined and punished within a religious context, and are not really the topic at hand.
As I started thinking about what sin means, I must confess, that it is true, according to strict Halacha (Jewish law), I am a sinner. Although I honor Shabbos by lighting candles, making a dinner for the family and not leaving my home on Friday night, I turn on lights, drive, work sometimes, and operate the computer. There are probably many more of those 613 that I break, which, would make me a sinner, at least in the eyes of God.
For people of other faiths, I am certain that there are sins defined by your religion, in addition to the Ten Commandments, if you are Christian or Catholic, and I welcome any insight into what these may be and how they define behavior, thought and action.
Each and every one of us, even those who claim to be the most religious, commit sins. To say otherwise is simply not truthful. There are some, surely, who view sins as equal to one another, and therefore, justify their poor behavior as being a violation of one of the Commandments, therefore meaning, to them, that driving on Shabbos is equal to cheating, lying or committing adultery. The conclusion being, 'what is the difference.' Since violation of any of of the sins carry equal weight, in the eyes of God, cheating in a business deal is measured with the same yardstick as turning on one's lights on Shabbos. Even those who try to observe all of God's Commandments and mitzvot, may cheat, lie, be judgmental of others, speak harshly or cruelly to his/her fellow person, thereby resulting in sin.
To me, however, there is a personal difference. Although sins may be equal in the eyes of God, lying to one's spouse is not the same as wearing wool and linen together. There are some sins that impact greatly on those around us. Leading a good life, being a good person, and leading life in accordance with cherished and honored values that we deem appropriate are of major importance and not to be underestimated. For example, I do not cheat, steal, kill,, lie, and try to do as many good deeds for people as possible each day of my life. In other words, I try hard to live life in line with my values.
It seems as if one compelling reason why people sin is because they have unrealistic expectations of themselves or others. We lie in business to make more money, we do not respect our parents because we do not accept them for who they are, and therefore act accordingly.
We are not honest with our spouses, because we want them to be someone other than who they are, and thefore, perhaps find it necessary to lie, cheat or act poorly. These are just some of my own impressions. All opinions are most welcome.
Here is the question of the day, and it is a deep one: Why do people sin? What does it mean if we sin but continue to sin, knowing that it is wrong, that it is against God and/or man/woman? Is it your belief that all sins are of equal value with equal consequences to God, self and others?What impact does it have if we sin, ask for atonement or forgiveness, and continue to do so over and over again? How do our sins and atonement affect our relationship with ourselves, our loved ones and God? (this point has been edited and clarified, thank you trw.)
Thank you for your minds.
While reading the Siddur over this Shabbos, I began to think about the nature of sins and why people commit them, atone for them, and keep doing them over and over again. According to Jewish law, at least the way I understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong, in addition to the Ten Commandments, there are 613 mitzvots that tell people how to live their lives, what is permitted and what is prohibited. All sins are created equal in the eyes of God, although the punishment may in fact be different. For example, the sin of stealing, adultery, killing, lying, or disrespecting one's mother and father are the same as driving or turning the lights on or working on Shabbos. The manner in which the law defines and punishes certain acts is clearly distinguishable from the way such forms of conduct are defined and punished within a religious context, and are not really the topic at hand.
As I started thinking about what sin means, I must confess, that it is true, according to strict Halacha (Jewish law), I am a sinner. Although I honor Shabbos by lighting candles, making a dinner for the family and not leaving my home on Friday night, I turn on lights, drive, work sometimes, and operate the computer. There are probably many more of those 613 that I break, which, would make me a sinner, at least in the eyes of God.
For people of other faiths, I am certain that there are sins defined by your religion, in addition to the Ten Commandments, if you are Christian or Catholic, and I welcome any insight into what these may be and how they define behavior, thought and action.
Each and every one of us, even those who claim to be the most religious, commit sins. To say otherwise is simply not truthful. There are some, surely, who view sins as equal to one another, and therefore, justify their poor behavior as being a violation of one of the Commandments, therefore meaning, to them, that driving on Shabbos is equal to cheating, lying or committing adultery. The conclusion being, 'what is the difference.' Since violation of any of of the sins carry equal weight, in the eyes of God, cheating in a business deal is measured with the same yardstick as turning on one's lights on Shabbos. Even those who try to observe all of God's Commandments and mitzvot, may cheat, lie, be judgmental of others, speak harshly or cruelly to his/her fellow person, thereby resulting in sin.
To me, however, there is a personal difference. Although sins may be equal in the eyes of God, lying to one's spouse is not the same as wearing wool and linen together. There are some sins that impact greatly on those around us. Leading a good life, being a good person, and leading life in accordance with cherished and honored values that we deem appropriate are of major importance and not to be underestimated. For example, I do not cheat, steal, kill,, lie, and try to do as many good deeds for people as possible each day of my life. In other words, I try hard to live life in line with my values.
It seems as if one compelling reason why people sin is because they have unrealistic expectations of themselves or others. We lie in business to make more money, we do not respect our parents because we do not accept them for who they are, and therefore act accordingly.
We are not honest with our spouses, because we want them to be someone other than who they are, and thefore, perhaps find it necessary to lie, cheat or act poorly. These are just some of my own impressions. All opinions are most welcome.
Here is the question of the day, and it is a deep one: Why do people sin? What does it mean if we sin but continue to sin, knowing that it is wrong, that it is against God and/or man/woman? Is it your belief that all sins are of equal value with equal consequences to God, self and others?What impact does it have if we sin, ask for atonement or forgiveness, and continue to do so over and over again? How do our sins and atonement affect our relationship with ourselves, our loved ones and God? (this point has been edited and clarified, thank you trw.)
Thank you for your minds.
32 Comments:
Shalom. I enjoyed reading this entry. Eagerly anticipating an answer at the end about how it’s ok to sin sometimes. But alas, your entry ends with more questions than answer.
Is it your belief that all sins are of equal value with equal consequences to God, self and others?
In short, Yes. I belive it is much worse to do sins bein adam lechavero, then adam laMakom. Why? Because perhaps I fear the consqeunces of my fellow man more than god. Is that bad?
I think the 10 Commandments are the most important rules. For us Christians, this is summarized as loving God and loving your neighbor. I just try my hardest to be a good Christian and to do His will, and I have faith that God will sort us all out come the Rapture! Praise be to Jesus!
Technical point: The 10 Commandments are included in the 613 (i.e. there aren't 623 total, but 613).
There are two different kinds of Mitzvos: Bain Adam L'Makom (Between Man and G-d) and Bain Adam L'Chavero (Between Man and Man).
Wearing wool and linen together would classify as the Man/G-d department, whereas lying to a spouse (or anyone, for that matter), would go under the Man/Man heading.
IMVHO
We do try to truly treat each commandment, positive or negative, as equal to all the others, but in all honesty, it's hard to do sometimes. As you said, you don't kill (good to know! ;) ), but then again, you don't get as much reward for not killing as your average serial killer (and hopefully there aren't too many of those...).
Each person is judged on their own level. For someone who grows up respecting their parents to the utmost, that commandment is not something he has to really work on, and therefore his reward for that is less than for someone who hates their parents.
"Why do people sin?"
Because they can. That's what free will is all about. If everything was totally clear to us in terms of right and wrong, there would be no desire for sin, but neither would there be reward for abstaining from it.
"What does it mean if we sin but continue to sin, knowing that it is wrong, that it is against God and/or man/woman?"
Depends. Sometimes we aren't yet capable of not sinning in that particular aspect. I suspect that the teenager who yells at his mom in a fit of anger is on a waaaay different level in terms of reward and punishment than the 35 year old son with children of his own who understands what it is to raise children and what his parents have done for him. Again, each person is judged as he is, NOT as compared to anyone else.
"Is it your belief that all sins are of equal value with equal consequences to God, self and others?"
Equal consequences to G-d? Yes, and therefore yes to self as well, 'cause He knows what's best for me. Others, yes as well-'cause by me making the world a better place, I'm making it better not only for me, but for my fellow Earthlings as well.
"What impact does it have if we sin, ask for atonement or forgiveness, and continue to do so over and over again?"
If, in the time that we ask for forgiveness, we're truly sorry and really feel that we'll never do it again, we're forgiven. If, on the other hand, we ask for forgiveness while planning to do it again, it's not forgiven-'cause then it's clearly not true repentance.
"What does it say about who we are and how we life our lives?
How does it affect our relationship with ourselves, our loved ones and God?"
(I didn't understand this question-what's "it"? Sinning? Pretending to repent? Sinning toward G-d vs. man?)
Welcome ittay! Shavoa tov! Please come back to visit, and thank you for your comment.
Litle Bar of Soap: Somehow I expected that you would equate sin with filth. For those who do not know, a little bar of soap is a parody, and very funny one.
trw - thank you for the excellent answers to my questions, and the corrections as well.
I am still not sure I buy the idea that people sin because they can get away with this. I remember when Bill Clinton said this, and most people were stunned. If there are true sins between Man and God, and God judges us, are we really 'getting away' with our sins, or is the punishment just being prolonged, or examined? Just a thought.
And my updated answers:
"What impact does it have if we sin, ask for atonement or forgiveness, and continue to do so over and over again?"
I don't think it's a good thing-it's a compramising of our integrity, whether intentional or not. Like I said before, if the repentance was not true, then it's just plain lying.
If it was true, then it's a different story-it's as if we've never done the sin the next time we've done it-so it's a whole new chance.
"How do our sins and atonement affect our relationship with ourselves, our loved ones and God?"
The sinning process is obviously not a good one, but the atonement is beautiful. It's said that one can only become close to G-d so much without sinning. When one sins and truly repents, it's falling a bit and then rising to amazing heights!! The realization that G-d is there, listening to ME, caring about ME and what I do, and that He will forgive ME and is waiting for ME to return to him from whatever sin I've committed is incredible!!
So, in a way, sin is necessary to our growth. That's not to say that we should do it in order to repent, 'cause then the repentence doesn't count. And there's a whole lot to be said for wanting to sin and not doing the act. :)
"I am still not sure I buy the idea that people sin because they can get away with this. I remember when Bill Clinton said this, and most people were stunned. If there are true sins between Man and God, and God judges us, are we really 'getting away' with our sins, or is the punishment just being prolonged, or examined? Just a thought."
You can't be forgiven for sins against man by prayer. You have to apologize to the person in question and recieve their true forgiveness. That's a bit harder, in a way, then asking forgiveness from G-d, who's more willing to hear your excuses and "I'm sorrys" than the average person...
What I was saying about free will is something else. People have urges, desires, and, in short, are people. That DOES NOT excuse bad behavior in any way. It just says that we are NOT angels and are not expected to act that way. To act above one's inclinations (and, again, everyone's particular sin of choice is different...)is therefore a major big deal and something quite praiseworthy. 'Cause it's really not easy.
TRW: You must be a Jewish educator! I so appreciate your lessons.
Is it not true that every sin against Man is a sin against God? Do we not have to apologize to both? By failing to honor one's mother and father are we not also failing to honor God in some way?
We are human, we are imperfect, we screw up. Every single one of us. By comparing ourselves to the perfect person we could be if we had the ability to be perfect, we feel ashamed and overwhelmed. How can we face God knowing how many times we have sinned?
When I die, God will judge me, and only He can really know if I tried as hard as I should have to do what is right, if I lived up to my potential, etc. No one else can know. Maybe I cannot even really know myself.
God is merciful and He knows I'm not perfect. I surrender my judgement of myself to Him. It's not really my place to judge myself, I must accept my creator's judgement, and His mercy. Sometimes I think it's harder to accept mercy than judgement.
That is surrender, and humility. I think those go a long way with God, personally.
Thanks for the compliment ;)
Let's just say I've met a few really really good ones.
You're correct. We DO have to also apologize to G-d, 'cause we've hurt His children (the Vidoy, the main confession on Yom Kippur, includes Man/G-d and Man/Man sins.)
The father/mother example is also really good. Because by failing in that, we've failed in honoring our Ultimate Father as well.
But having His forgiveness is not enough to get a clean slate. We must also be forgiven by the one directly wronged (and anyone indirectly wronged...that's why Lashon Hora is so dangerous-in order to truly repent for it, you need to speak to every person that heard what you said-regardless of who they heard it from-and "take it back." It's like trying to gather 1000s of feathers after scattering them in the wind. It's almost impossible, and therefore much better not to do in the first place...easier said than done, I know..)
Barb I really appreciate you commenting on myt blog. Just wanted to clarify I returned from Israel last year, Im not first going. But it would be awesome if I met a guy here.
Barbara- I am going to put myself on the line here and try to answer these questions from the perspective of my faith.
In witchcraft, there is no devil or hell. There are no 10 commandments to follow. Many witches and pagans follow what is called The (Witches/Wiccan)Rede. Simply stated, it says "An' it harm none, do as thou wilt." Harming none includes oneself, others, the earth, etc.
As to what impact if we break the Rede, it is believed that "What is sent comes back to Thee, so ever mind the Rule of Three." This means, whatever we have done against someone will, at some point, come back to get us. There is no God that punishes us, we are punished by the return of our own bad deeds.
The Rule of Three can be interpreted more than one way. Some people believe that whatever negativity they have done will return upon them threefold. Others believe that it will return to them on 3 levels: mentally, spiritually and physically. So it is not the God or Goddess that punishes, we are held responsible and punished by our own actions.
I think that one of the fundamental questions is whether you believe in G-d. If you do not believe in G-d then some of the mitzvot make little to no sense.
For that matter I think that one of the central questions is whether you understand the reasons why you should or should not engage in certain activities.
Some people do not see any harm in their actions and consequently they feel no shame in doing something that they are told not not to do.
Sorry for the rambling, that was off the top of my head and composed on the spot.
Jack Shack,
My belief in God is strong and without question.
What I question is those who say they believe, make tedious efforts to fulfill many of the commandments and mitzvots, yet judge others, cheat on their spouses, or are dishonest in business. These are the issues that my question really sets out to answer.
Normal Jew,
Aaron, do you find my post to be in the form of a lecture, or sermon, or as if I am telling people what to do or how to act, or simply one of inquiry?
If I am seemingly appearing to be judgmental, I apologize. I am trying to answer some of these questions for myself, and what to see what everyone has to say.
turtleheart,
Thank you for your post.
Please, all opinions from any religion or belief system are sought.
Thank you NJ for your kind words.
a very thought provoking question and many good responses -- it will leave me pondering this for quite a while.
i wonder if sins are just shortcuts to getting what we want and not learning the lessons we are suppose to learn in life sometimes. if you believe that souls are here to learn and evolve higher. just another thought.
I cannot profess to know anything to speak of about other's beliefs, but while reading this topic with its many points about sin, atonement and forgiveness; their ramifications for our relationship with Mankind and our God, I was often reminded of Aristotle's ascertain that we are what we repeatedly do.
(Which was cited in another topic here last week, I believe).
Good point, elisa.
And I would add, Rooster, that we are what we do not do as well.
The way I see it, we are all bound to sin as it is human nature. Judaism is about bettering yourself. So today, I may commit a sin and promise myself that I won't commit that sin tomorrow.
If I don't commit that sin, am I better person? I think so. But then again, I might sin doing something else?
You have to strive to do better and sin less and that's what it means to me. At the end of the day, we will all be taken to task for everything we've done and I hope I can provide some worthwhile answers!
Woah, Deep topic. All of human kind committs some sort of sin. We are not perfect. The only one that is perfect is Jesus Christ. He is our master and the son of God. The new testiment of the Bible teaches of love and forgiveness. Since we are not perfect we need to work on our imperfections. Only God and Jesus Christ know our hearts. They know if we are truely striving to do better with our lives. We will be judged accordingly on our judgement day.
If we commit a sin and ask the Father for forgiveness, then we need to go to him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and really mean it when we ask for forgiveness. If we just ask for forgiveness out of the side of our mouth, then the Lord will know and will not forgive us.
How many times do our children promise to not hit their siblings and then turn around 10 minutes later and do it again. Did they mean it. Not really. They just said I'm sorry because mom told them to. The ones that mean it will work hard not to hit. They show that they are trying. I think this is where true forgiveness comes in. We all have lots of little sins that we commit. It will probably take an entire lifetime to learn how to stop sinning and for some people they will never get there. We have to care about what we are doing and show, by our actions, that we are working to do better with our lives. I think God knows our heart and will judge accordingly.
Satin will tell us differently and he will tell many that there is no way that we will be able to get into the kingdom of heaven so why try. Don't listen to that and just constantly work at doing better.
Who decided that turning on an ELECTRIC light on the sabboth is a sin? Sounds like something someone made up rather recently, unless the ancient Hebrew people had electricity. And cars. And computers.
And how can turning on a light be the same as killing someone, as far as sins go? Again, sounds like something a person made up.
Wearing wool and linen is a sin too? Never heard of that one. It seems to me that all those additional laws pretty much gurantee that EVERYONE is a sinner. And I thought that the Catholic Church had the whole "faith through extreme guilt" thing down.
hey lazy dont be so lazy and go learn torah laws
dont bash the sages
BFC
very informative blog here you got
thnx
I don't believe that all sin ostensibly is of equal value. Murder cannot be compared to eating pork, for a Jew. On the other hand, some might say that eating pork murders the Jewish soul. I don't know where I stand on the issue, and I guess, that for me it does not matter right now. In effect, I think that only G-d knows the answer.
As for why people continue to do the same things over and over again even tho they sometimes get a clue and realise it and try to change- well, there are the psychological aspects to consider, IMO. The whole idea, I think about teshuvah (returning to G-d, asking forgiveness) is rather Sisyphean- you roll that stone up the hill and then find it rolling back down again. Yet, you never stop trying to roll it back up. And sometimes you succeed for a time or actually move on. And each time is different if you are sincere. You keep trying, and I think that that matters more than being so pure and perfect.
I think that it is the engagement with the mitzvot (for a Jew) that matters. To know them, to study and question them, to do them, not do them, and wonder why, about them. To actually have a set of G-dly principles you want to live by, and that challenge you, and make you accountable to G-d and to yourself, even though one often fails.
It's like Jacob's ladder, for me. Angels descending and ascending. Much activity. Or Jacob wrestling with the stranger/angel. A noble tradition rooted totally in the Bible.
I think that the word "sin" is rather a misnomer. There is also "transgression" when you do something (sometimes compulsively) in spite of knowing it is wrong or just plain bad for all involved. I don't believe in sin, personally, unless sin is defined as arrogance. I think that teshuvah is about realising one's arrogance, and finding the humility to realise that yeah, in the scheme of things, that I'm not really that big of a deal and that I need to focus on what's really important, which means something other than myself, directed by G-d. And then doing something about it.
bare
i loved the anology to rolling the stone on a montain thnx
Lazy,
As much as agreeing with Y.Y. pains me in principle, I think he has a point. This issue has its roots deep in the 613 mitzvot about there being a prohibition of striking or lighting a fire. NJ gives me too much credit, and I am sure that he, or someone else can explain it better to you than I could.
My grandparents, all of them, used to observe these rules, and still today, I have cousins who abide by them as well.
Live and let live.
I had thought to include my opinion, not being Jewish, and out of respect for all of your readers I will keep that which I have written in reserve. I would invite you to email me and I would then share what I wrote, as one individual shares with another. If I did it any other way I would be standing at a podium preaching where such would not be accepted.
T.F. Stern,
That is most respectful and considerate of you.
I have invited all persons, regardless of relgion, to share his/her opinion. As you can see Lucy is not Jewish nor is little bar of soap, nor turtleheart, and all have shared openly.
Thank you, nevertheless.
Interesting ideas we have here.
U got me thinking a lot about sins, and this is the conclusion I came to. Firstly we all sin and we dont need proof for that.but does that make us sinners? Once we go there,Do we have more sins or more merits? Are we mostly good or do we have more bad? This can become very depressing.As Barbara put it "The conclusion being, 'what is the difference.' Since violation of any of of the sins carry equal weight, in the eyes of God" So how do we deal with our situation. We feel as though we are sinners already. The Rambam said, We should view ourselves (and the world) as an equilibrium. Any mitzvah we do can tip the scale and overweigh the sins. With this positive outlook we can focus on adding in good deeds rather than focusing on our sins because as it is known "One mitzvah leads to another"
I'd also like to point out that although some commandments make sense to us like "Dont Steal" and "Dont Kill" the rest of the commandments are just as important, not because we understand the logic behind the commandment that says "Do not wear wool and linen" but for one reason alone. And that is because God commanded us to do so.
Rachael,
Dare I say, that you have clarified quite a bit in my mind with your insightful and intelligent comments.
If we focus on the positive (our good deeds), we are actually doing ourselves more good than harm in the long run, and pleasing God in the process.
Thank you for sheding some bright and illuminating light on this subject with your words.
One more point on the issue of forgiveness.
I agree with trw that if someone apologizes, means it from his/her heart, and does not engage in that behvior any more, then it is a true apology. It is not so important whether the other person accepts it or not, although nice, the real test comes when we are truthful and honest to ourselves, and mean what we say when and if we apologize.
I have found this to be the case many times in my own life. Apologies are not simply about words, but they involve behavior, not repeating itself again, and being sincere in one's words as well.
What I question is those who say they believe, make tedious efforts to fulfill many of the commandments and mitzvots, yet judge others, cheat on their spouses, or are dishonest in business. These are the issues that my question really sets out to answer.
It is always easier to judge someone else.
Barb, I have to admit that this is an extremely complicated question. At least, for me to answer here in a simple comment. I would love to discuss it with you further. Please feel to email me, where we can get into a diologue over it. Hope all is well. Email me.
-OC
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home