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The first theologian to teach that man is born into this world in a state of sin was Saint Augustine who based this belief on Bereishit (Genesis) 3:17-19.[1]
“Original sin may be taken to mean: (1) the sin that Adam committed; (2) a consequence of this first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.”[3] Much of Christianity today subscribe to the original sin belief. They maintain that the sin of Adam was transferred to all future generations. Some sects of Christianity believe that original sin even taints the unborn children.[1] One man – Adam – transmitted to the entirety of the human race not only physical death which is punishment for sin, but also spiritual death which is sin itself.3 Man is believed to be hopelessly lost in a state of sin. Man is held captive by sin since the fall of Adam in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden). “As a result, he is powerless to follow the path of obedience and righteousness by his own free will. [Christianity contends], because all are born with an innate and uncontrollable lust for sin, humanity can do nothing to merit its own salvation. In essence, man is totally depraved and true free will is far beyond his grasp. … In Christian terms, man is not inclined toward sin but more accurately is a slave to sin.”[4] The term “original sin” is unknown in the Tanach and is antithetical to the core principles of the Torah and the prophets. The Tanach states that humanity was created in the image of Hashem. We are not created in the physical image of Hashem, because Hashem is incorporeal and has no physical appearance. Maimonides points out that the Hebrew word for "image" in Bereishit (Genesis 1:27) is "tzelem (צלם)."
Tzelem refers to the nature or essence of a thing, as in Tehillim (Psalms) 73:20:
The Hebrew word for physical form, Maimonides explains, is "to'ar (תאר)," as in Bereishit (Genesis) 39:6:
Similarly, the Hebrew word used for "likeness" is "damut (דמות)," which is used to indicate a simile, not identity of form. Rashi explains that we are like Hashem in that we have the ability to understand and discern. Maimonides elaborates that by using our intellect, we are able to perceive things without the use of our physical senses, an ability that makes us like Hashem, who perceives without having physical senses. Humanity was formed with two impulses: yetzer tov and yetzer hara. The yetzer tov is the moral conscience, the inner voice that reminds you of Hashem’s law when you consider doing something that is forbidden. According to some views, it does not enter a person until she/he becomes responsible for following the mitzvot (age 12 for girls; 13 for boys). The yetzer hara is more difficult to define, because there are many different ideas about it. It is not a desire to do evil in the way we normally think of it in Western society: a desire to cause senseless harm. Rather, it is usually conceived as the selfish nature, the desire to satisfy personal needs (food, shelter, etc.) without regard for the moral consequences of fulfilling those desires. The yetzer hara is not a bad thing. It was created by Hashem, and all things created by Hashem are good. The yetzer hara is generally seen as something internal to a person, not as an external force acting on a person. People have the ability to choose which impulse to follow: the yetzer tov or the yetzer hara. That is the heart of the Jewish understanding of free will. The Talmud notes that all people are descended from Adam, so no one can blame his own wickedness on his ancestry (there is no concept of "original sin" in Judaism). On the contrary, we all have the ability to make our own choices, and we will all be held responsible for the choices we make. The Torah, over and over again, dismisses the notion that man has lost his divinely endowed capacity to use his free will to choose good over evil. This notion is not hidden or ambiguous, it is proclaimed in nearly every teaching that Moshe (Moses) directs to the Children of Israel. In one of his last sermons delivered to the Children of Israel, Moshe declares that it is man alone who can – and must – merit his own salvation.[4]
Moshe also admonishes the Children of Israel not to question their capacity to remain faithful to the mitzvot as set out in the Torah.
These passages show that man is not doomed by original sin but can – and must – maintain a relationship with Hashem by performing the mitzvot given in the Torah. The mitzvot and Torah are not “far away” and they are not impossible to keep. This means that original sin is a misnomer – we are all free to choose life by following the mitzvot.[4] Even earlier in the Torah, there is a statement (shortly after the sin of Adam and Eve) that man can overcome his lust for sin.
The fact that the Torah places these assuring words immediately following the sin in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) is profoundly troubling when it comes to the idea of original sin. “[In] just these two inspiring verses, the Torah dispels forever the church's teachings on original sin.”[4] Christianity teaches that original sin must be removed through washing away the sins (baptism) and/or through forgiveness through blood (believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus). This notion is completely foreign to the Jewish scriptures. Hashem does clearly lay out His plan for His people in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:15-16:[4]
“Throughout the Hebrew Bible the Almighty unambiguously declares that the children of Israel are to draw near to Him with intense love and faithfully keep His commandments. This is the desire of the Creator.”[4] Avraham (Abraham), the father of the Jewish nation, remained intensely loyal to Hashem's mitzvot. As a result, the Torah regards our first patriarch as the “paradigm of faithfulness.”[4]
Hashem did not give us desires that we cannot govern, or mitzvot that we could not keep. The Torah was not delivered to the angels. The Torah was given to the Children of Israel long after the transgression in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden).[4] |
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