Aveirah
When a person does not fulfill one of the 613 (Taryag) mitzvos that Hashem commanded in the Torah (both mitzvos that require a person to perform some action and mitzvos that forbid a person from performing some action), he transgresses the will of Hashem, and the act he performed is called an aveirah (transgression).
The Aveirah[edit | edit source]
Chazal said, "A person does not commit an aveirah unless a spirit of folly enters him."
It is explained in Chassidus that since every Jew has a G-dly soul that is literally a part of Hashem above, it should seemingly be impossible for a person to commit an aveirah. After all, the G-dly soul in every Jew, which is a part of Hashem, does not allow one to commit an aveirah, because when one commits an aveirah, one becomes separated from Hashem. The mitzvos are compared to a thick rope of 613 strands connecting a person with Hashem, and when one transgresses a mitzvah or commits an aveirah, one strand is severed, and with each aveirah committed, one becomes more separated.
Rather, the person who commits an aveirah does so because a type of spirit called a "spirit of folly" enters him, causing the person confusion and concealing from him the severity of the aveirah and its effect, which causes separation between the person and holiness and Hashem. But if he had known this, he would not have done it.
As the Rambam writes, every Jew by his nature does not want and cannot commit an aveirah, but the yetzer hara (evil inclination) within a person entices and causes him to stumble.
The Atonement[edit | edit source]
In the time of the Beis Hamikdash, one needed to bring a korban (sacrifice) to atone for the aveirah, and for certain very severe aveiros, there was a death penalty administered by a court of 71 chachamim (sages). But after the destruction, the Men of the Great Assembly instituted prayer as a substitute for sacrifices, as it is written, "Let our lips substitute for bulls." And twice a day, in the Shacharis and Maariv prayers, we say Tachanun, in which we ask Hashem for atonement and forgiveness for all the not-good deeds that we do.
The way to atone for aveiros is through "teshuvah," meaning to return to Hashem after the separation caused by the aveirah. The way to do teshuvah consists of two parts:
First: Sur meira - regret for the past and the decision not to transgress the aveirah that one committed.
Second: Asei tov - to begin to do and increase in good deeds and mitzvos.
External Links[edit | edit source]
- Sin - An Inner Perspective, from the book 'People of the Word' (English)