Jewish views on sin Judaism regards the violation of any of the
divine commandments to be a sin. Judaism teaches that sin is an
act, and not a state of being. Humankind was not created with an
inclination to do evil, but has that inclination "from his
youth"(Genesis 8:21). People do have the ability to master this
inclination (Genesis 4:7) and choose good over evil
(conscience)(Psalm 37:27). Judaism uses the term "sin" to
include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a
lapse in morality. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia: "Man is
responsible for sin because he is endowed with free will
("behirah"); yet he is by nature frail, and the tendency of the
mind is to evil: "For the imagination of man's heart is evil
from his youth" (Gen. viii. 21; Yoma 20a; Sanh. 105a). Therefore
God in His mercy allowed people to repent and be forgiven."
Judaism holds that all people sin at various points in their
lives, and hold that God tempers justice with mercy. Hebrew has
several other words for sin beyond khata,