JEWISH PRINCIPLES OF FAITH

KITAB SUCI ORANG YAHUDI.

Dikalangan orang-orang Yahudi terdapat dua kitab suci iaitu:-

a . Perjanjian lama.
b . Talmut.

Melihat kepada pendapat yang terkuat, kitab perjanjian lama adalah lebih utama dari kitab Talmut walaupun ada dikalangan sarjana pengajian ilmu ketuhanan mengatakan bahawa kitab Talmut lebih utama dari kitab perjanjian lama. Namun, saya lebih cenderung kepada pendapat yang pertama dan akan membicarakan mengenai kitab perjanjian lama sahaja dengan menyentuh pengamalan terhadap kitab Talmut

Kitab Talmut ialah tulisan tulisan riwayat-riwayat yang dinukilkan daripada pendita-pendita Yahudi dari generasi ke generasi. Talmut bolehlah dianggap sebagai pentafsilan kepada ajaran yang terdapat di dalam kitab perjanjian lama.

Kitab perjanjian lama merupakan kitab suci di kalangan orang-orang Yahudi dan Kristian. Namun, terdapat perbezaan diantara mazhab Katolik dan Prosteston dalam mengiktiraf beberapa Safar dalam kitab perjanjian lama.

Mazhab Katolik mengiktiraf sebanyak 46 Safar termasuklah 5 Safar Musa yang dinamakan dengan Taurat. Manakala Prosteston pula, hanya mengiktiraf 39 Safar sahaja termasuk Safar Musa (Taurat).

Kitab suci perjanjian lama merupakan ajaran, syariat, akhlak, bacaan, doa dan sejarah perjalanan Bani Israel. Ia terbahagi kepada Safar-safar yang boleh diertikan sebagai surah-surah di dalam Al-Quran. Selain itu, ia juga terbahagi kepada Al-Ashah. Beberapa Ashah pada setiap Safar adalah sama pengertian dengan hizib di dalam surah-surah Al-Quran.

Kitab perjanjian lama terbahagi kepada 4 bahagian utama :-

a . Kitab Musa atau Safar 5 ( Pantateuch ).
b . Safar-safar sejarah.
c . Safar-safar doa dan syair.
d . Safar kenabian.

Saya akan membicarakan secara ringkas mengenai Safar Musa atau Taurat manakala bakinya akan disebut pengenalannya sahaja. Ini kerana Safar Musa atau Taurat merupakan kesimpulan ajaran yang dibawa dalam agama Yahudi.

SAFAR MUSA.

Safar Musa dikenali sebagai Safar 5 atau Taurat. Ia adalah sebahagian dari kitab perjanjian lama dan mengandungi 5 Safar iaitu:-

a . Safar ciptaan alam.
b . Safar penghijrahan.
c . Safar pengulangan.
d . Safar Kaum Lawai.
e . Safar Bilangan.

"Safar ciptaan alam" diberi nama sempena sejarah penciptaan alam, Adam dan Hawa yang diturunkan ke bumi bersama anak-anaknya setelah memakan pohon yang dilarang. Ia juga menceritakan tentang Nabi Nuh a.s. dengan peristiwa taufan, Nabi Ibrahim serta keturunannya Ishak dan Yaakub, Nabi Yaakub dan anak-anaknya, Nabi Yusuf dan kehidupannya di Mesir dan berakhir dengan kisah kematian Nabi Yusuf a.s.

"Safar penghijrahan" pula mengisahkan tentang keadaan Bani Israel selepas kewafatan Nabi Yusuf dan kezaliman raja Mesir terhadap mereka. Ia juga mengandungi cerita mengenai kelahiran Nabi Musa a.s., mukjizat yang Allah berikan kepadanya, kisahnya yang membawa Bani Israel keluar dari Mesir dan berjaya menyeberangi lautan sehinggalah mereka sampai ke timur Jordan. Safar ini juga menceritakan tentang 10 wasiat yang diwahyukan oleh Allah kepada Nabi Musa sebagai ajaran dan larangan kepada Bani Israel.

"Safar kaum Lawi" dinisbahkan kepada puak Levi yang mana ia adalah salah satu dari 12 puak Bani Israel. Hasil dari keturunannya, lahir Nabi Musa dan Nabi Harun a.s. Safar ini merupakan safar yang menceritakan tentang syariat dan perundangan yang perlu dipatuhi oleh orang-orang Yahudi dalam kehidupan seharian mereka.

"Safar bilangan" pula bersempena dengan peristiwa Nabi Musa yang membilang pemuda-pemuda yang berumur dalam lingkungan 20 tahun ke atas selepas mereka terselamat dari Firaun - Mesir iaitu seramai 603550 orang kecuali pemuda dari puak Levi.

"Safar Ulangan" pula ialah safar yang mengulangi dan menyempurnakan hukum-hakam dan syarat yang terdapat dalam safar Levi.



SAFAR SEJARAH

Safar Sejarah mengandungi 16 safar iaitu:-

a. Safar Yasyu'. (Seorang panglima perang yang telah berjaya
membawa Bani Israel masuk ke kota Palestin.)

b. Safar Hakim. (Mereka ialah para hakim yang memerintah Bani Israel ketika awal mereka berada di bumi Palestin.)

c. Safar Raja I.

d. Safar Raja II.

e. Safar Raja III.

f. Safar Raja IV.

g. Safar Hari-hari I.

h. Safar Hari-hari II.

i. Safar Raaus. (Nenek kepada Nabi Daud dari sebelah ayahnya.)

j. Safar Azra.

k. Safar Nahmia.

l. Safar Tubia.

m. Safar Astir. (Seorang panglima Israel yang telah berkahwin dengan raja Parsi dan telah menyelamatkan bangsa Israel.)

n . Safar Yahoudid.

o . Safar Mukabi I.

p . Safar Mukabi II.



SAFAR DOA DAN SYAIR.

Safar ini mengandungi 6 safar yang bermula dengan:-

a . Safar Ayub. d . Safar Himpunan.
b . Safar Mazanir. e . Safar Lagu.
c . Safar Pujangga. f . Safar Kesedihan Armia.


SAFAR KENABIAN.

Safar kenabian terdiri dari:-

a. Ashaia. h. Amus. o. Hiji.
b. Armia. i. Oubdia. p. Zakaria.
c. Barukh. j. Yunan. q. Malakhi.
d. Hazkial. k. Mikha. r. Safar Hikmah.
e. Dania. l. Nahum. s.Yasyu'Sirakh.
f. Husya'. m. Hebkuk.
g. Yuail. n. Sofnia.

Kitab perjanjian lama merupakan himpunan cerita-cerita dongeng,kata-kata hikmah,pesanan dan syariat.Uslub penulisannya berbeza diantara satu safar dengan safar yang lain.Kadang-kadang ia ditulis dalam bentuk syair ataupun biasa dengan membawa roh yang menggambarkan penderitaan dan kesedihan.Ia juga kadang-kadang ditulis dalam bentuk yang ganas dan tidak bertamadun.


BEBERAPA PERSOALAN PERBANDINGAN.

a. Ketuhanan seperti yang terdapat dalam kitab perjanjian lama.
b. Sifat-sifat tuhan dalam kitab perjanjian lama.
c. Sifat-sifat para nabi dalam kitab perjanjian lama.
d. Hari Kiamat.

Sesungguhnya semua agama yang diturunkan oleh Allah menyeru kepada mentauhidkannya. "Sesungguhnya telah kami utuskan untuk semua ummah para utusan bagi mengajak mereka menyembah Allah dan menjauhkan diri daripada Thoghut". (Surah al-Nahl : 26).

Begitulah peranan para rasul dan nabi dalam mentauhidkan Allah. Nabi Musa adalah nabi yang pertama diutuskan oleh Allah untuk umat Israel. Beliau mengajak umat Israel menyembah Allah dan mengesakan-Nya. Ini jelas terdapat dalam Al-Quran juga At-Taurat walaupun telah diselewengkan seperti yang disebut di dalam wasiat 10 yang berbunyi:- "Jangan ada di kalangan kamu tuhan yang lain di hadapanku. Jangan kamu mengambil patung yang diukir atau sesuatu gambar dan apa-apa yang ada di langit di atas dan di bawah, di dalam air dan di bawah bumi. Janganlah sekali-kali kamu sujud kepada tuhan selain dariKu dan menyembah mereka." -Safar penghijrahan Ishah ke-20, ayat 3.

Kitab perjanjian lama telah menceritakan kepada kita bahawa Bani Israel tidak berpegang kepada ajaran yang dibawa oleh Nabi Musa. Contohnya seperti kisah lembu Samiri, mereka tetap menyembahnya dan mengingkari Allah walaupun Nabi Musa masih hidup. Begitu juga selepas kewafatan Yusya' bin Nuh, sekali lagi mereka mengsyirikkan Allah. Mereka telah menyembah apa yang disembah oleh tuhan orang-orang Asyur yang bernama Ba'lim. Salah seorang raja Bani Israel yang bernama Yusijia telah membersihkan tempat ibadat mereka dari ribuan berhala dan patung yang disembah dengan menghancur dan membakarnya. Sekaligus menghalau para pendita yang mengajak Bani Israel menyembah berhala. Di awal perpecahan kerajaan Israel Yarbaam, raja kerajaan Israel telah membuat sebuah patung yang berupa anak lembu dari emas tulen sebagai sembahan dan tempat penyembelihan bagi orang-orang Yahudi untuk mengelakkan mereka dari pergi ke Our Shalim, ibu negara kerajaan Yahuza yang dipimpin oleh Yarbaam.

Apabila kita membaca kitab perjanjian lama, kita akan dapati Bani Israel telah beberapa kali mengsyirikkan tuhan mereka dengan menyembah pelbagai patung sama ada ia dari kaum di sekeliling mereka atau yang dibuat oleh mereka sendiri.

Sifat-sifat tuhan yang terdapat di dalam kitab perjanjian lama merupakan gambaran kepada kecenderungan Bani Israel dan keperibadian mereka. Jadi, bukanlah suatu perkara yang pelik jika tuhan yang digambarkan oleh kitab perjanjian lama bersifat ganas, penipu, perompak dan tidak bermaruah. Seolah-olah mereka menggambarkan bahawa tuhan mereka adalah ketua kepada kumpulan penyamun.

Seperti yang disebut di dalam "safar pembentukan alam" bahawa tuhan telah menyerupai seorang manusia dan bergelut dengan Nabi Yaakub sehingga ke subuh. Tuhan tidak mampu mengalahkan Nabi Yaakub melainkan dengan menggunakan satu tipu helah yang berjaya mematahkan peha Nabi Yaakub.

Ini jelas terbukti apabila tuhan Yahudi itu membatalkan hasratnya untuk menghancurkan hamba-hambanya yang menyembah berhala setelah dipujuk oleh nabi Musa. Sebaliknya dia merasa sedih dan menyesal.

Apabila kita ingin memperkatakan tentang sifat para nabi, semestinya kita akan menyifatkan mereka dengan sebaik-baik sifat kerana mereka adalah rasul dan pilihan Allah di atas muka bumi. Namun sebaliknya yang berlaku dalam kitab perjanjian lama kerana ia telah meletakkan para nabi di suatu tempat yang tidak selayaknya. Kadang-kadang ia menganggap nabi tersebut sebagai penzina, penipu dan pembunuh yang tidak berperikemanusiaan.

Di dalam "safar penghijrahan", perjanjian lama telah mengatakan bahawa Nabi Harun a.s telah mencipta sebuah patung yang berupa lembu untuk disembah oleh Bani Israel sewaktu ketiadaan nabi Musa disebabkan oleh perasaan dengkinya.

Di dalam "safar samwil ke-2" telah menceritakan bahawa Nabi Daud pernah mencintai seorang wanita yang merupakan isteri kepada salah seorang tenteranya. Keadaan ini bermula sewaktu Nabi Daud bersiar-siar di istananya di Aour Shalim. Pada ketika itu dia telah melihat seorang perempuan yang sedang mandi di rumahnya lalu terus jatuh cinta. Apabila diselidik perempuan tersebut adalah isteri kepada salah seorang tenteranya. Maka dia telah memerintahkan panglima tentera supaya menugaskan suami kepada perempuan tersebut berada di barisan hadapan dalam peperangan. Apabila berita kematian lelaki berkenaan sampai kepada nabi Daud, dia terus mengahwini perempuan tersebut. Sebenarnya perempuan itu adalah ibu kepada Nabi Sulaiman.

Mengenai Nabi Sulaiman pula, perjanjian lam telah menceritakan bahawa Nabi Sulaiman mempunyai 700 orang isteri di kalangan perempuan yang merdeka dan 300 di kalangan hamba. Setengah daripada isterinya itu adalah penyembah berhala. Mengikut cerita, Nabi Sulaiman sentiasa menyembah berhala yang dimiliki oleh para isterinya pada akhir hayat beliau.

Apabila kita perhatikan di dalam Al-Quran, Allah telah menegaskan bahawa Nabi Musa telah membawa satu risalah yang mengajak ummahnya menyembah Allah yang Maha Esa, mendirikan solat serta beriman dan yakin akan kedatangan hari kiamat (surah Taha). Berbeza dengan apa yang digambarkan oleh kitab perjanjian lama yang mana tidak didapati satu kalimah pun yang menceritakan tentang hari kiamat dan apa-apa yang berlaku di dalamnya seperti balasan baik dan buruk. Kitab perjanjian lama hanya menyatakan bahawa balasan terhadap amalan yang di lakukan oleh seseorang hanyalah di dunia semata-mata. Sesiapa yang berbuat baik akan mendapat kehidupan yang bahagia di dunia dan sesiapa yang engkar serta kufur juga akan terus menerima penyiksaan di dunia ini.

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JEWISH PRINCIPLES OF FAITH.

There are a number of basic principles that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. These principles were put forth as fundamental underpinnings inherent in the acceptance and practice of Judaism.

Monotheism

Judaism is based on a strict unitarian monotheism, the belief in one God. The prayer par excellence in terms of defining God is the Shema Yisrael, "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One", also translated as "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is unique/alone."

God is conceived of as eternal, the creator of the universe, and the source of morality. God has the power to intervene in the world. The term God thus corresponds to an actual ontological reality, and is not merely a projection of the human psyche. Maimonides describes God in this fashion: "There is a Being, perfect in every possible way, who is the ultimate cause of all existence. All existence depends on God and is derived from God."

The Hebrew Bible and classical rabbinic literature affirm theism and reject deism. However, in the writings of medieval Jewish philosophers, perhaps influenced by neo-Aristotelian philosophy, one finds what can be termed limited omniscience. [See Gersonides "Views on omniscience"]

God is creator of the universe

According to the Biblical account, the world was created by God in six days. While many Haredi Jews take this literally, many Modern Orthodox, Conservative and Reform authorities feel that the six days should be interpreted as "stages" in the creation of the universe and the earth, and that Judaism would not be in contradiction to the scientific model that states that the universe is over 13 billion years old.

God is One

The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical - it is considered akin to polytheism. "[God], the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of a pair, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity." This is referred to in the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4): "Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." (Maimonides, 13 principles of faith Second Principle).

While Jews hold that such conceptions of God are incorrect, they generally are of the opinion that non-Jews that hold such beliefs are not held culpable.

See also Divine simplicity.

God is all-powerful

Orthodox Jews believe in the omnipotent, omniscient God of the Bible - “Attribute to the Lord all glory and power” (Psalms 29). Thus, most rabbinic works present God as having the properties of omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence (being all good). This is still the primary ways that most Orthodox and many non-Orthodox Jews view God.

The issue of theodicy was raised again, especially after the extreme horrors of the Holocaust and several theological responses surfaced. These are discussed in a separate entry on Holocaust theology. The central questions they address are whether and how God is all powerful and all good, given the existence of evil in the world, particularly the Holocaust.

God is personal

Most of classical Judaism views God as personal. We have a relationship with God, God has a relationship with us. Much of the midrash, and many prayers in the siddur portrays God as caring about humanity in much the same way that we care about God.

Harold Kushner, a Conservative rabbi, writes that "God shows His love for us by reaching down to bridge the immense gap between Him and us. God shows His love for us by inviting us to enter into a Covenant (brit) with Him, and by sharing with us His Torah". Hasidism seems to endorse this view to some degree.

On the other hand, Maimonides and many other medieval Jewish philosophers rejected the idea of a personal God as incorrect. (For Maimonides, such a view was heresy.)

The Nature of God

God is non-physical, non-corporeal, and eternal. A corollary belief is that God is utterly unlike man, and can in no way be considered anthropomorphic. All statements in the Hebrew Bible and in rabbinic literature which use anthropomorphism are held to be linguistic conceits or metaphors, as it would otherwise be impossible to talk about God at all. See Divine simplicity; Negative theology; Tzimtzum.

To God alone may one offer prayer

Any belief that an intermediary between man and God could be used, whether necessary or even optional, has traditionally been considered heretical. Maimonides writes that "God is the only one we may serve and praise....We may not act in this way toward anything beneath God, whether it be an angel, a star, or one of the elements.....There are no intermediaries between us and God. All our prayers should be directed towards God; nothing else should even be considered."

This view was disagreed with some rabbinic authorities. Notably Nachmanides was of the opinion that it is permitted to ask the angels to beseech God on our behalf. This argument manifests notably in the Selichot prayer called "Machnisay Rachamim", a request to the angels to intercede with God. Modern printed editions of the Selichot include this prayer. Hasidic Orthodox Jews teach that rebbes, as righteous and pious leaders, amplify prayers of their followers in heaven.

Scripture

The Tanakh and the Talmud are the main holy books in Judaism. The Tanakh contains the Torah (five books of Moses), the prophets, and the Ketuvim ("writings"). Judaism's oral law is contained in the Mishnah, Tosefta, classical midrashim, and the two Talmuds.

Moses and the Torah

Orthodox and Conservative Jews hold that the prophecy of Moses is held to be true; he is held to be the chief of all prophets, even of those who came before and after him. This belief was expressed by Maimonides, who wrote that "Moses was superior to all prophets, whether they preceded him or arose afterwards. Moses attained the highest possible human level. He perceived God to a degree surpassing every human that ever existed....God spoke to all other prophets through an intermediary. Moses alone did not need this; this is what the Torah means when God says "Mouth to mouth, I will speak to him."

However, this does not imply that the text of the Torah should be understood literally, as according to Karaism. Rabbinic tradition maintains that God conveyed not only the words of the Torah, but the meaning of the Torah. God gave rules as to how the laws were to be understood and implemented, and these were passed down as an oral tradition. This oral law was passed down from generation to generation and ultimately written down almost 2,000 years later in the Mishna and the two Talmuds.

For Reform Jews, the prophecy of Moses was not the highest degree of prophecy; rather it was the first in a long chain of progressive revelations in which mankind gradually began to understand the will of God better and better. As such, they maintain, that the laws of Moses are no longer binding, and it is today's generation that must assess what God wants of them. (For examples see the works of Rabbis Gunther Plaut or Eugene Borowitz). This principle is also rejected by most Reconstructionist Jews, but for a different reason; most posit that God is not a being with a will; thus they maintain that no will can be revealed.

The origin of the Torah

The Torah is composed of 5 books called in English Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They chronicle the history of the Hebrews and also contain the commandments that Jews are to follow.

Rabbinic Judaism holds that the Torah extant today is the same one that was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. Maimonides explains: "We do not know exactly how the Torah was transmitted to Moses. But when it was transmitted, Moses merely wrote it down like a secretary taking dictation....[Thus] every verse in the Torah is equally holy, as they all originate from God, and are all part of God's Torah, which is perfect, holy and true."

Haredi Jews generally believe that the Torah today is no different from what was received from God to Moses, with only the most minor of scribal errors. Many other Orthodox Jews suggest that over the millennia, some scribal errors have crept into the Torah's text. They note that the Masoretes (7th to 10th centuries) compared all known Torah variations in order to create a definitive text. Some Modern Orthodox Jews hold that there are a number of places in the Torah where gaps are seen, and accept that part of the story in these places may have been edited out. However, all Orthodox Jews view the Written and Oral Torah as the same as Moses taught, for all practical purposes.

Accepting the findings of biblical scholarship, archeological and linguistic research, most non-Orthodox Jews reject this principle. Instead, they may accept that the core of the Oral and Written Torah comes from Moses, but maintain that the Torah extant today has been edited together from several documents.

Conservative Jews tend to believe that much of the Oral law is divinely inspired, while Reform and Reconstructionist Jews tend to view all of the Oral law as an entirely human creation. Traditionally, the Reform movement held that Jews were obliged to obey the ethical but not the ritual commandments of Scripture, although today many Reform Jews have adopted many traditional ritual practices. For more details see Richard Elliot Friedman's "Who Wrote the Bible?" and the entry on the documentary hypothesis.

The words of the prophets are true

The Nevi'im the books of the Prophets, are considered divine and true. This does not imply that the books of the prophets are always read literally. Jewish tradition has always held that prophets used metaphors and analogies. There exists a wide range of commentaries explaining and elucidating those verses consisting of metaphor.

Reward and punishment

The mainstream Jewish view is that God will reward those who observe His commandments and punish those who intentionally transgress them. Examples of rewards and punishments are described throughout the Bible, and throughout classical rabbinic literature. See Free will In Jewish thought.

In contrast, philosophical rationalists such as Maimonides believed that God did not actually mete out rewards and punishments as such. In this view, these were beliefs that were necessary for the masses to believe in order to maintain a structured society and to encourage the observance of Judaism. However, once one learned Torah properly, one could then learn the higher truths. In this view, the nature of the reward is that if a person perfected his intellect to the highest degree, then the part of his intellect that connected to God - the active intellect - would be immortalized and eternally enjoying the "Glory of the Presence" for all eternity. The punishment would simply be that this would not happen; no part of one's intellect would be immortalized with God. See Divine Providence In Jewish thought.

The common understanding of this principle is accepted by most Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews; it is generally rejected by the Reconstructionists.

According to the Kabbalah (a non-normative set of doctrines) God judges who has followed His commandments and who doesn't and to what extent. Those who do not "pass the test" go to a purifying place called Sheol lit. gloom (sometimes referred to as Purgatory, sometimes Hell) to "learn their lesson". There is, however, for the most part, no eternal damnation. The vast majority of souls can only go to that reforming place for a limited amount of time (less than one year).

Judaism has always considered "Tikkun Olam" (or Perfecting the world) as a fundamental reason for God's creating the world. Therefore, the concept of "life after death" in the Jewish view, while considered the eventual eternal reward or punishment for all, is not encouraged as the sole motivating factor in performance of Judaism. Indeed it is held that one can attain closeness to God even in this world through moral and spiritual perfection.

Israel chosen for a purpose

God chose the Jewish people to be in a unique covenant with God; the description of this covenant is the Torah itself. Contrary to popular belief, Jewish people do not simply say that "God chose the Jews." This claim, by itself, exists nowhere in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible). Such a claim could imply that God loves only the Jewish people, that only Jews can be close to God, and that only Jews can have a heavenly reward. The actual claim made is that the Jews were chosen for a specific mission, a duty: to be a light unto the nations, and to have a covenant with God as described in the Torah. Reconstructionist Judaism rejects also this variant of chosenness as morally defunct.

Rabbi Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, former Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue of Great Britain, describes the mainstream Jewish view on this issue: "Yes, I do believe that the chosen people concept as affirmed by Judaism in its holy writ, its prayers, and its millennial tradition. In fact, I believe that every people—and indeed, in a more limited way, every individual—is "chosen" or destined for some distinct purpose in advancing the designs of Providence. Only, some fulfill their mission and others do not. Maybe the Greeks were chosen for their unique contributions to art and philosophy, the Romans for their pioneering services in law and government, the British for bringing parliamentary rule into the world, and the Americans for piloting democracy in a pluralistic society. The Jews were chosen by God to be 'peculiar unto Me' as the pioneers of religion and morality; that was and is their national purpose."


The messianic age

There will be a Jewish Messiah known as Mashiach, a king who will rule the Jewish people independently and according to Jewish law. The Jewish vision of Messianic times has little to do with the Christian definition of this term. Jewish views of the Messiah as derived from the Davidic line, the Messianic era, and the afterlife are discussed in the entry on Jewish eschatology.

The soul is pure at birth

Humans are born morally pure; Judaism has no concept analogous to original sin. Judaism affirms that people are born with a yetzer ha-tov (יצר הטוב), a tendency to do good, and with a yetzer hara (יצר הרע), a tendency to do evil. Thus, human beings have free will and can choose the path in life that they will take. The rabbis even recognize a positive value to the yetzer ha-ra: without the yetzer ha-ra there would be no civilization or other fruits of human labor. The implication is that yetzer ha-tov and yetzer ha-ra are best understood not only as moral categories of good and evil but as the inherent conflict within man between selfless and selfish orientations.

Judaism recognizes two classes of "sin": offenses against other people, and offenses against God. Offenses against God may be understood as violation of a contract (the covenant between God and the Children of Israel). (See Jewish views of sin.)

A classical rabbinic work, Avoth de-Rabbi Natan, states: "One time, when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was walking in Jerusalem with Rabbi Yehosua, they arrived at where the Temple in Jerusalem now stood in ruins. "Woe to us," cried Rabbi Yehosua, "for this house where atonement was made for Israel's sins now lies in ruins!" Answered Rabban Yochanan, "We have another, equally important source of atonement, the practice of gemiluth ḥasadim (loving kindness), as it is stated: "I desire loving kindness and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6). Also, the Babylonian Talmud teaches that "Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Eleazar both explain that as long as the Temple stood, the altar atoned for Israel, but now, one's table atones [when the poor are invited as guests]" (Talmud, tractate Berachoth 55a). Similarly, the liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah atone for sin.-(ENCYCLOPEDIA)