Hot answers tagged sin
31
This is a very controversial subject. However, a distinction must be made in terminology between "being gay" (which for the purposes here we could define as being sexually attracted to members of one's own gender) and engaging in homosexual acts (where Male-Male intercourse is an unambiguous violation of a Torah-level prohibition and Female-Female may be a ...
24
I think your answer was exactly correct. Simply speaking, your religion doesn't permit you to engage in this activity. The fact that other people, who claim to follow the same religion, do engage in that activity, well, you'll have to ask them about that.
You should not get into a discussion about the other person's level of observance. You can talk about ...
19
Get married. This gives one the feeling of פת בסלו (bread in his basket) even when he is halachikaly forbidden to his wife. The Talmud says (Yevamos 63a) that a man should appreciate his wife simply for the fact that she saves him from sin.
Also, another piece of practical advice given to me by my Chosson Teacher was to go outside for a walk. It works. ...
18
I'd bet that sign was referencing the theoretical punishment that a Jewish court could have administered, during Temple times, under Jewish self-rule, when such events were exceedingly rare and shocking, and with overwhelming evidence:
Male-to-male sex is punishable by death by stoning.
Murder is punishable by decapitation.
The Talmud states that of those ...
14
Moses makes it clear that when the Jews enter the Promised Land, eventually one special place shall be chosen, and that will be the only place that animal sacrifices are authorized. That place is the Temple in Jerusalem.
Today the Temple does not stand; it's unclear exactly where on the Temple Mount area the altar stood; there are numerous uncertainties ...
12
@Yaakov Ellis gave an excellent answer, but I would add just a single thought to explain to don't-ask-don't-tell attitude of many communities.
As mentioned before, Judaism sees homosexual acts as a sin. (Perhaps different levels of prohibition depending on the gender.) However, Judaism does not generally consider predilection to a sin to be a sin itself. ...
11
In the Moreh Nevuchim, Rambam explains how God's attributes should be understood without compromising God's unchangingness.
He compares God's mood to a fire. If you put ice in a fire, it melts, then evaporates. If you put clay in a fire, it hardens. If you put wood in a fire it burns... The fire causes many different and contrasting effects without changing ...
11
The Rambam says (Issurei Biah 21:19):
וכן אסור לאדם שיביא עצמו לידי הרהור, אלא אם יבא לו הרהור יסיע לבו מדברי הבאי לדברי תורה שהיא אילת אהבים ויעלת חן.
It is forbidden for a person to bring himself to [sexual] thoughts. If a [sexual] thought comes to his mind, he should divert his heart from profligate and destructive matters to the words of Torah ...
10
Yes. Rashi cites this in his commentary to Gen. 36:3 (explaining why the name of one of Eisav's wives is given as "Machalath" when earlier she was called Basemath; Machalath is related to mechilah, forgiveness), in the name of Aggadas Midrash Sefer Shmuel (ch. 17). (It's also in the Yerushalmi, Bikkurim 3:3.)
This is in fact one of the reasons why a bride ...
10
From Rambam, Laws of Kings and their Wars, Chapter 10:
בן נוח שבירך את השם, או שעבד עבודה זרה, או שבא על אשת חברו, או שהרג חברו, ונתגייר--פטור. הרג בן ישראל, או שבא על אשת ישראל, ונתגייר--חייב; והורגין אותו על בן ישראל, וחונקין אותו על אשת ישראל שבעל--שהרי נשתנה דינו.
A non-Jew who commits a capital offense and then converts: if the capital offense ...
8
It's prohibited. While not the Biblical "lifnei iver" as he could eat non-kosher with or without you, it's the rabbinic "mesayea y'dei ovrei aveira" as you're still helping facilitate his transgression here.
There are various loopholes applied to get out of the prohibition of mesyaea if there's a good need, e.g. many rabbis allow inviting non-observant ...
8
The Golden Calf was made on the 16th of Tammuz, forty (actually, 39) days after the Giving of the Torah. But that was not yet in evidence on Shavuos, or for the next 38 days afterwards. During that time, rather, we were able to rejoice with the Torah we had received and with the tremendous spiritual benefits we obtained along with it. So, "at a time of ...
8
Maris Ayin (literally "the vision of the eye") describes rabbinic enactments that were put into place to prevent a third-party viewing one's actions from arriving at the incorrect conclusion that a forbidden action is permitted.
Examples:
It is forbidden to eat the blood of fish (which itself is permitted according to Torah law) lest someone watching you ...
8
In a word: no.
You're using a great deal of Christian wording here, so let me state the way it's phrased from a Jewish perspective, and hopefully this helps:
Barring some truly extreme cases, hell only lasts a maximum of twelve months before a soul can move on to higher realms.
Jews believe that all Jews, except for a few special cases, have a share in ...
8
The Rambam writes that it is considered cruel to repeatedly refuse to forgive someone who asks sincerely for forgiveness. Under normal circumstances if they ask once, twice and then a third time you must forgive them, or else you become the one in the wrong. They however do need to appease the wronged party and make amends as far as possible, such as ...
7
As mentioned in other answers, we don't offer sacrifices these days because once the Beit Hamikdash was established as the permanent House of G-d we are no longer allowed to offer Korbanot anywhere else. Although the Rambam holds that we do not need the Temple to be standing in order to offer Korbanot, the Korbanot still must be offerred on the Temple Mount. ...
7
As a limud zchus (a line of reasoning to judge others favorably for their actions) Rav Vosner, as I understand it, says it is possible that this doesn't fall under the category of assisting a transgression since it is possible that the clothes will be worn in such a way that they are not actually immodest (i.e. layered) or because one is not participating at ...
7
If all conditions are right for the Asei to override the Lo Sasei, then it is permitted. Otherwise, it is a Mitzva haBa bAveira.
Among the conditions that must be met:
Fulfillment of the mitzva must occur at the same time (or with the same action) as the Aveira
It isn't possible to avoid the conflict by performing the mitzva some other way
The Aveira ...
7
The Torah contains prohibitions against many activities that Hashem assures us are spiritually harmful to us. These are mainly activities that we might otherwise want to do.
On one hand, practicing homosexuality is one of these proscribed activities, on the other hand, Jews who are homosexual will find this prohibition far harder than any other.
Certain ...
7
It would seem to be one single sin of stealing in either case. A possible proof is from Rambam, Hil. Geneivah 3:14, discussing the cases in which a person is or isn't sold as a Jewish slave in payment of his theft. The Rambam writes (translation from here):
When the principal of a theft was
worth 100 zuz and the thief could be
sold for only 50 zuz, ...
7
Rambam (Hil. Sotah 3:3), based on the Gemara (Sotah 7b), states that a sotah is told the story of Reuven in its literal sense, to induce her to confess: "Many great and honorable people before you were overpowered by their inclinations and stumbled [and yet they confessed, so you should do the same]."
Which would seem to imply that there is indeed room to ...
7
Some people were already being enticed to idolatry via their Moabite girlfriends (Num 25), so idolatry seems to sometimes be intertwined with relations.
More specifically, Sanhedrin 82a brings the following (Soncino translation):
And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one of his men that were joined unto Baal Peor. Thereupon the tribe ...
7
Premarital sexual intercourse is not a kinyan unless it is done with the intention of being koneh. Not only that, but the man must say as much. Rambam Hil Ishus 3:5 (my own translation):
ואם קידש בביאה אומר לה הרי את מקודשת לי או הרי את מאורסת לי או הרי את לי לאשה בבעילה זו וכל כיוצא בזה. ומתייחד עמה בפני שני עדים ובועלה
If he betroths (mekadesh) ...
7
Sort of. Rambam writes (Teshuvah 4:3):
To use translation on chabad.org (their additions in brackets, my one addition in {curly brackets}:
Among these [24 {sins which make repentance hard}] are five
[transgressions] for which it is impossible for the person who commits
them to repent completely. They are sins between man and man,
concerning which ...
7
Jonah 3:8 - see Radak - says that the sin of Ninvei was Chamas - translated by many as robbery. We see similarly in Braishis 6:11 (or with English) by the Great Flood by Noach which came upon the world for that reason.
There are others that translate Chamas differently. However it was Chamas that was the reason why Hashem was ready to destroy Ninvai.
7
The Gemara at Megillah 14b says that she converted, married Joshua, and that eight prophets who were also kohanim descended from her: Neriyah, Baruch, Serayah, Machsiyah, Yirmeyahu, Chilkiyah, Chanma'el and Shalom. According to the Gemara, Rachav and Joshua had no sons, but they did have daughters.
Given that history alone, the stain of her ...
6
There is a source for transferring a curse. When Rivka tells Yaakov "alai kilelascha bni" (Toldos 27:13), some mephorshim translate this literally. For example, Seforno proves that you can accept someone elses curse from Shlomo Hamelech who accepted Yoavs claim that he cannot get both Dovid's curse and death, so Shlomo accepted the curse and then ordered ...
6
כשהיתה עוברת על פתחי תורה של שם ועבר יעקב רץ ומפרכס לצאת, וכשהיתה עוברת על פתחי עבודה זרה עשיו מפרכס לצאת
What? Fetuses (is it feti?) can think on their own? They can sense what is on the outside? They are attracted by worldly desire? Clearly this midrash is not to be taken literally.
I think that the idea this midrash is trying to convey is that Eisav ...
6
Chazal would emphasize through exaggeration (דברו חכמים לשון הבאי). (Tamid 29a) One of the examples given there is that the Mishna says that they let the animal for the tamid sacrifice drink from a gold cup (so that it would be hydrated and the carcass would be easier to manipulate). In reality, Rava argues, a copper cup was used and the Mishna was merely ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
