Sin and Repentance

Adam was told (Gen. 2:17) that on the day he ate from the tree, he would die; but he lived for over 900 years afterwards. Why didn't he die on the same day? The problem raised by Gen.2:17 has been…

How effective is repentance? The Talmud says that if a person sincerely repents, his former deeds are counted as if they had been good deeds (Yoma 86b). Thay may be why in the world to come, those who repent are…

What is the Jewish viewpoint on confessing one’s sins? Confession in the Torah is associated with bringing a sacrifice to atone for a sin, but it does not depend on a sacrifice; it applies in all places and at all…

What should we do if we are unable to repent? The Midrash Pesikta on Hosea 14:2 (Ch.45, Para.9) has a parable on this subject. A king’s son was 100 days’ travel from his father. His friends said to him “Return…

Was Adam immortal until he sinned? The Tree of Life wasn’t explicitly forbidden to Adam (see Gen. 2:16-17), but according to Gen. 3:22, after Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, G-d expelled him from the…

Does the Jewish religion require animal sacrifices to atone for sin? Animal sacrifices, on the Day of Atonement and other occasions, were an important means of atoning for sin when the Temple existed. But the principal method of atonement for…

What was the “fruit” that Adam and Eve ate? The Talmud (Berachos 40a; Sanhedrin 70a-b) records three opinions about it. According to R.Meir, it was grapes; according to R.Yehudah, wheat; according to R.Nehemiah, figs. The idea that it was an…

Do the bodies of the righteous (tzadikim) decay? Moses took Joseph’s bones out of Egypt; does this mean that his body had decayed? The statement about the bodies of tzadikim is found in the Midrash Tanchuma, where it says that…

Did Adam have the option of not eating from the Tree of Knowledge? What would have happened if he hadn’t? Man was created with free will; that’s why he can be rewarded or punished for his actions. How free will…