No Temple? No Problem: The Power of Repentance
I remember the first time a Christian told me that, despite being a good person, I was going to hell unless I accepted Jesus.
The man claimed that without a Temple to offer sacrifices, I could not atone for my sins. He asserted that the Bible, in Leviticus 17:11, says: “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.”
Since I’ve read Leviticus dozens of times, I confidently responded that the verse simply doesn’t say that. In fact, that statement is a quote from the New Testament in Hebrews 9:22, which adds the qualifier: “One could almost say that without blood there is no forgiveness.”
Those extra words, “one could almost say,” allude to the actual meaning of Leviticus 17:11, which states that “blood makes atonement.” However, blood sacrifices were never the only way to receive atonement. Other biblically mandated methods included incense, flour offerings, and giving charity.
Furthermore, not every sin requires a blood sacrifice. According to Leviticus 4, sacrifices were only prescribed for “unintentional” sins. Since these acts could be dismissed as “just an accident,” they needed the sacrificial process to arouse feelings of remorse and repentance, which are the fundamental prerequisites for receiving forgiveness.
This is clear from King Solomon’s statement in Proverbs 15:8 when he proclaimed that, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to God,” which means you must repent before your sacrifice is accepted.
Today, in the absence of a Temple, all sins, including those that once required a sacrifice, are forgiven through the eternal and “main ingredient” of repentance, which can be aroused through prayer.
This is why the prophet Hosea in chapter 14 verse 3 said “Offer the words of our lips in place of sacrifices” and why Zechariah proclaimed in chapter 1 verse 3, “‘Return to Me,’ says the Lord, and I will return to you.’”
One of the beautiful things about Judaism is that the door to repentance is always open.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz
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