I did not want to turn my contributions to the Civil Religion blog community into an “ask the rabbi” feature, but a series of questions about Judaism from D. Walker gives me an opportunity to make some basic observations, while at the same time answering some interesting questions.

• Basic Observation Number One:  There are many forms of Judaism. Questions about Judaism should be framed with a particular form of Judaism in mind. For example: A question about how Judaism understands the meaning of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) is actually unanswerable. Each form of Judaism would answer the question differently. Moreover, some forms of Judaism have evolved over time and their answers would depend on the time frame of the questioner. When asking questions about Judaism it would be very helpful for the questioner to be as specific as possible: which Judaism? When? Where? (Q What did the Pharisees in the time of the Roman occupation of Judea, believe about resurrection of the dead?)
• Basic Observation number Two: No individual or group speaks for the totality of the Jewish people. That includes me. There are a number of communities which have elected “Chief Rabbis,” but these rabbis only receive their authority from the community which elected them.
• Basic Observation Number Three: There is no Pope in Judaism. There is no central teaching authority with the ability to decide between the competing religious ideas of the various forms of Judaism. This has provided all forms of Judaism with a certain adaptability which has served to keep Judaism in a constant state of renewal.

And now for the questions…

Q Because Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) is a once-a-year practice, is it required that Jewish people keep account of all their sins that they commmit against God all year untilthat day?

A There are traditions which describe the elaborate efforts of very pious people to keep track of their sins, but that is not the expectation of most forms of Judaism. Yom Kippur liturgies contain lists of all sorts of individual sins which are recited by the community together. These lists are pretty detailed so that we are reminded of the sins we may have forgotten.  These liturgies also contain the following statement: “For sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone, but for sins between a person and God, the Day of Atonement atones.” There is a clear distinction between our sins against one another and our sins against God. These forms of Judaism teach the necessity of making things right between one another before we approach God for forgiveness.

Q How would a person go about forgiveness for their sins if they have not been practicing their faith and have many years of sins built up against both other people and God?

A. There are numerous traditions within all forms of Judaism which ascribe to the idea that God is waiting for us to return to the right path. God is patient, no matter how large is the backlog of sins.

Q According to the Torah, it was always necessary for the sacrifice of animals (blood) for forgiveness of sins by God. Why is this not necessary, even today?

A When Jerusalem and the Second Temple were destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE, only two Jewish groups survived the Roman onslaught  against Judea. One of these groups were the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, for whom the death of Jesus was a unique moment of atonement. The second group were known as Pharisees but they referred to themselves as Rabbanim (Rabbis). They realized that the Temple was gone. So they stated emphatically that “prayer would serve as the sacrifice of the heart.”

Q Is atonement for sin necessary for salvation under Jewish religious practices.

A The language of the question presumes that Jewish understandings of salvation are identical to Christian ones. Time and space do not allow for a full exploration of this intriguing question. Such an explanation would have to begin with a discussion of Jewish understandings of the end of days and last Judgment. Assuming that we understand what the last judgment might consist of, I would say that atonement all throughout life would be very helpful.