Shabbat shalom everyone,
I had an after-thought, that my Shabbat commentary on the Yahwist theology behind the sin-offerings (in Lev. chapter 4) might have been a bit too much for those who are not familiar with pre-Christian, pre-rabbinic, biblical Israelite theology. So the idea came to me to provide a summary in the form of bullet points. For a more detailed, in-depth study of this topic, see this blogpost.
Before I begin, it is vital to understand that the Christian word, ‘atonement‘ does not mean the same thing as the Jewish word, ‘expiation‘. The English word atonement comes from the Paullist Christian idea of ‘at-one-ment‘ – that sacrifices reconcile you with God, and make you ‘at-one‘ with God. In contrast, the Jewish idea of ‘expiation‘ is that that it is all about purification and cleansing (see Lev 16:30).
While in Paullist theology, sin causes you to be separated and estranged from God, in Israelite theology, God is never separated from us; instead, the state of unrepentance prevents us humans from approaching the purifying holiness of God without being harmed; we are never cut off or separated from God. Repentance allows us to approach God safely, so that God’s Glory can then cleanse us.
1. The Israelite meaning of Sin and Guilt:
- ‘Sin’ has a much broader meaning in Yahwist belief – it is more than simply ‘disobeying God’. It implies, ‘any act or omission which injures and blemishes the life-force of the soul’
- ‘Sin’ injures and damages the life-force (néfesh) of the soul
- ‘Guilt’ also has a much broader meaning than simply ‘feeling remorse about something’. ‘Sin-guilt’ (asham) means, ‘the actual injury or blemish done to your soul, as a result of sin’.
2. The Reason behind maintaining Wholeness or Perfection of the Soul:
- The daily spiritual goal is to maintain the healthy wholeness (shleimut) of your soul
- This is done to reflect how the living essence of Yahveh is, by the nature of its very holiness, permanently whole
- As human beings, because we are imperfect beings, we are unable to maintain this state by ourselves, and rely on the nearness of Yahveh’s continual Presence for the ongoing spiritual health of our souls
- We maintain this wholeness in order to better be able to ‘listen’ to God, so that we are better able to realise the personal mission that God has given each one of us
3. The Reason behind Ritual Purification:
- The reason why ritual purification was required after very human things like childbirth, menstruation, illness, death, sexual intimacy etc, was to remind ourselves that Yahveh is nothing like us – that God does not have a body or bodily functions; that God does not bear children, and does not die
- It is not because any of these things are wrong or sinful – they are all perfectly normal, natural consequences of being mortal, earthly beings
4. Forgiveness and Expiation:
- Forgiveness comes immediately after sincere repentance (see 2Chron 6:38-39, Num 14:20, Isa 55:7, Ps 32:5)
- However, the injury / blemish to the soul caused by sin remains, and needs to be healed by God
- Expiation is not about ‘making us at one with God’ (as per Paullist theology). Expiation is about bringing yourself near to the Glory of Yahveh after repentance, so that the fire of God’s Glory can heal you, restore you, cleanse and purify you, and make of you a new being, as if you had never sinned the sin
- If there is no repentance, then there is no forgiveness, even if a sin-offering is made (i.e. the blood has no effect if you are unrepentant)
5. The purpose of the Blood:
- Blood is not necessary for expiation, and no death of anything is required (cf Lev 5:11, which says that if a person is poor, they can offer flour for expiation)
- The blood is meant as a symbol of how the human soul approaches the fire of God’s Glory (symbolised by the flames of the altar), in order to be cleansed, healed and made whole again
6. The Sins of a Leader have bigger consequences than those of an ordinary person:
- Priests (and religious ministers) are meant to be ambassadors of God. Therefore, if they commit a sin against God, they bring disrepute to the holy reputation of God; that is why it is more serious
- The reputation of God therefore needs to be restored in the minds of God’s people, especially because it is a religious leader who has tarnished that reputation
- If Israel as a whole sins (eg by abandoning Yahveh’s ethics, values and principles as a nation), then that is as serious as the High Priest leading people astray, because Israel is supposed to be an example of what it means for a society to live according to God’s ways
- Nowadays, without the sacrifices, we prepare ourselves to come before the purifying Glory of God through repentance, prayer and good works.
I hope that this will help you understand Yahwist Israelite theology (that is, pre-Exile, non-rabbinic beliefs). By being aware of these things, you will spiritually derive more benefit from reading about those things in Torah that we no longer practice. If you have any questions, or need clarification, please ask me. I personally think that it is important to know these things, so that you can resist the deceptions of Paullist missionisers.
The peace of God’s Sabbath be with you all
your servant and brother
Shmulik