Atonement of Sins: Questions & Answers
Does forgiveness in Jewish scripture require blood sacrifice? A closer look at Leviticus, repentance, and the many paths to atonement in the Hebrew Bible.
This page continues from Atonement of Sins, drawing on the work of Rabbi Stuart Federow to examine what the Hebrew Bible itself says about how sin is atoned for. Some framing has been added around the Rabbi’s original work and is presented separately below to keep the two clearly distinct. In keeping with Jewish convention of not writing the divine name lightly, “Gd” is used throughout, as in the source material; Bible quotations are given as they appear in their respective translations.
The Gd-man relationship was never limited to animal sacrifices, nor was it ever the only means by which a human being obtained forgiveness from Gd for wrongdoing.
The centrality of animal sacrifice ceased not with the Roman destruction of the Second Temple, but with the earlier destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians. The vast majority of Jews never returned to the Promised Land even when Cyrus of Persia permitted and encouraged it — by the time Jesus was born, roughly 80% of the world’s Jewish community lived outside the Promised Land and were unconcerned about the cessation of sacrifice. Diaspora Jews, then and now, do not worry that Gd withholds forgiveness without a blood sacrifice, because scripture makes clear that other means of obtaining forgiveness were always given.
Does atonement require blood?
Those who argue blood sacrifice is required point to Leviticus 17:11:
כִּ֣י נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר֮ בַּדָּ֣ם הִוא֒ וַאֲנִ֞י נְתַתִּ֤יו לָכֶם֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ לְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־הַדָּ֥ם ה֖וּא בַּנֶּ֥פֶשׁ יְכַפֵּֽר׃ “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”
Read in context, however, this verse is part of a prohibition against eating or drinking the blood of a sacrifice — a distinction meant to separate Israelite worship from pagan practice, where many pagans consumed the blood of sacrifices believing it incorporated their gods into their own bodies (this may even be the origin of the Christian rite of communion). The fuller passage, Leviticus 17:10-14, reads:
וְאִ֨ישׁ אִ֜ישׁ מִבֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וּמִן־הַגֵּר֙ הַגָּ֣ר בְּתוֹכָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֹאכַ֖ל כָּל־דָּ֑ם וְנָתַתִּ֣י פָנַ֗י בַּנֶּ֙פֶשׁ֙ הָאֹכֶ֣לֶת אֶת־הַדָּ֔ם וְהִכְרַתִּ֥י אֹתָ֖הּ מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמָּֽהּ׃ “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.”
Scripture itself provides for atonement without blood at all. If someone could not afford a blood sacrifice, a flour offering was accepted instead:
וְאִם־לֹא֩ תַשִּׂ֨יג יָד֜וֹ לִשְׁתֵּ֣י תֹרִ֗ים אוֹ֮ לִשְׁנֵ֣י בְנֵי־יוֹנָה֒ וְהֵבִ֨יא אֶת־קָרְבָּנ֜וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָטָ֗א עֲשִׂירִ֧ת הָאֵפָ֛ה סֹ֖לֶת לְחַטָּ֑את “But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering... Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be forgiven.”
If forgiveness required blood specifically, the poor would have no path to it — but Gd does not exclude anyone from forgiveness on the basis of wealth. This is unambiguous proof within the text itself that blood was never the sole requirement.
Elsewhere in scripture, forgiveness is granted with no sacrifice at all. When Jonah finally delivered Gd’s warning to Nineveh, the city repented through fasting, not sacrifice:
וַיַּ֤רְא הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶֽת־מַ֣עֲשֵׂיהֶ֔ם כִּי־שָׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכָּ֣ם הָרָעָ֑ה וַיִּנָּ֣חֶם הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים עַל־הָרָעָ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר לַעֲשׂוֹת־לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א עָשָֽׂה׃ “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them... Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way... When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”
Notably, the text does not say Gd saw their sacrifice — Nineveh was never commanded to offer one — nor does it say Gd saw that they had the “right faith.” It says Gd saw what they did: their works. Nor were the Ninevites required to convert; their repentance was accepted as Gentiles. Elsewhere, atonement is made through incense rather than blood:
וַיִּקַּ֨ח אַהֲרֹ֜ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר׀ דִּבֶּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַיָּ֙רָץ֙ אֶל־תּ֣וֹך הַקָּהָ֔ל וְהִנֵּ֛ה הֵחֵ֥ל הַנֶּ֖גֶף בָּעָ֑ם וַיִּתֵּן֙ אֶֽת־הַקְּטֹ֔רֶת וַיְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־הָעָֽם׃ “And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people.”
And through an offering of jewelry, with no blood shed:
וַנַּקְרֵ֞ב אֶת־קָרְבַּ֣ן יְהוָ֗ה אִישׁ֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר מָצָ֤א כְלִֽי־זָהָב֙ אֶצְעָדָ֣ה וְצָמִ֔יד טַבַּ֖עַת עָגִ֣יל וְכוּמָ֑ז לְכַפֵּ֥ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵ֖ינוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ “We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord.”
And through a live coal touching the mouth of the prophet Isaiah:
וַיָּ֣עָף אֵלַ֗י אֶחָד֙ מִן־הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וּבְיָד֖וֹ רִצְפָּ֑ה בְּמֶ֨לְקַחַ֔יִם לָקַ֖ח מֵעַ֥ל הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ “Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”
It is true that without the Temple, no sacrifice — bloody or otherwise — can be offered today. But that is not why Jews do not believe blood sacrifice is required; rather, it is why Gd gave multiple methods of atonement in the first place. There was a period in Israel’s history when the people became overly consumed with sacrificial ceremony, and Gd rebuked them for it, reminding them that His laws mattered more than the rituals:
לֹ֣א דִבַּ֤רְתִּי אֶת־אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א צִוִּיתִ֖ים בְּי֨וֹם ה֤וֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם עַל־דִּבְרֵ֥י עוֹלָ֖ה וָזָֽבַח׃ “For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”
Unintentional sins
Of all the methods given for atonement, sacrifice was in fact the weakest, because it applied to only one category of sin: unintentional sins committed through ignorance, and only those. This is stated repeatedly across Leviticus and Numbers:
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ לֵאמֹר֒ נֶ֗פֶשׁ כִּֽי־תֶחֱטָ֤א בִשְׁגָגָה֙ מִכֹּל֙ מִצְוֺ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֣א תֵעָשֶׂ֑ינָה “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done... then let him bring for his sin... a young bullock without blemish unto the Lord for a sin offering.”
וְאִ֨ם כָּל־עֲדַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ יִשְׁגּ֔וּ וְנֶעְלַ֣ם דָּבָ֔ר מֵעֵינֵ֖י הַקָּהָ֑ל “And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty... then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin.”
אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָשִׂ֖יא יֶֽחֱטָ֑א וְעָשָׂ֡ה אַחַ֣ת מִכָּל־מִצְוֺת֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהָ֜יו אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹא־תֵעָשֶׂ֛ינָה בִּשְׁגָגָ֖ה “When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty... he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish.”
וְאִם־נֶ֧פֶשׁ אַחַ֛ת תֶּחֱטָ֥א בִשְׁגָגָ֖ה מֵעַ֣ם הָאָ֑רֶץ “And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty... then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish.”
נֶ֚פֶשׁ כִּֽי־תִמְעֹ֣ל מַ֔עַל וְחָֽטְאָה֙ בִּשְׁגָגָ֔ה מִקָּדְשֵׁ֖י יְהוָ֑ה “If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord... the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.”
וְכִ֣י תִשְׁגּ֔וּ וְלֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֔וּ אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַמִּצְוֺ֖ת הָאֵ֑לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ “And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments... then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering... And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance.”
Intentional sins
Unintentional sin was covered by sacrifice; sins committed on purpose were treated differently. A deliberate, presumptuous sin was punished, not simply offered away:
וְהַנֶּ֜פֶשׁ אֲשֶֽׁר־תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה׀ בְּיָ֣ד רָמָ֗ה מִן־הָֽאֶזְרָח֙ וּמִן־הַגֵּ֔ר אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה ה֣וּא מְגַדֵּ֑ף וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמָּֽהּ׃ “But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.”
Gd is a righteous judge: intentional sin required repentance and restitution, and often punishment, precisely because it was committed on purpose — for example, restitution for theft or damaged property:
אִֽם־הִמָּצֵא֩ תִמָּצֵ֨א בְיָד֜וֹ הַגְּנֵבָ֗ה מִשּׁ֧וֹר עַד־חֲמ֛וֹר עַד־שֶׂ֖ה חַיִּ֑ים שְׁנַ֖יִם יְשַׁלֵּֽם׃ “If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten... of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.”
דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֗ה כִּ֤י יַעֲשׂוּ֙ מִכָּל־חַטֹּ֣את הָֽאָדָ֔ם לִמְעֹ֥ל מַ֖עַל בַּיהוָ֑ה “Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty; then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof.”
Wouldn’t it be a fairer society if a thief who stole and stripped your car had to replace it, and pay you an additional 20% besides?
There were other methods of atonement that scripture treats as superior to the sacrificial system altogether — chief among them teshuvah, repentance and returning to Gd:
וְיִכָּנְע֨וּ עַמִּ֜י אֲשֶׁ֧ר נִֽקְרָא־שְׁמִ֣י עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם וְיִֽתְפַּֽלְלוּ֙ וִֽיבַקְשׁ֣וּ פָנַ֔י וְיָשֻׁ֖בוּ מִדַּרְכֵיהֶ֣ם הָרָעִ֑ים “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּ֥ם מִשָּׁ֛ם אֶת־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּמָצָ֑אתָ כִּ֣י תִדְרְשֶׁ֔נּוּ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ “But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”
יֶעְתַּ֤ר אֶל־אֱל֨וֹהַּ׀ וַיִּרְצֵ֗הוּ וַיַּ֣רְא פָּ֭נָיו בִּתְרוּעָ֑ה וַיָּ֥שֶׁב לֶ֝אֱנ֗וֹשׁ צִדְקָתֽוֹ׃ “He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.”
נְצֹ֣ר לְשׁוֹנְךָ֣ מֵרָ֑ע וּ֝שְׂפָתֶ֗יךָ מִדַּבֵּ֥ר מִרְמָֽה׃ “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”