Can a Righteous Person Die for My Sins?

January 21 2021 - 8 Shevat 5781

The Death of the Righteous Atones

The Talmud says, "Misasan shel tzadikim mechaperes," (Moed Katan 28a) which means "the death of the righteous brings atonement."

Rabbi Amei asked, "Why is the death of Miriam juxtaposed to the red heifer?" Just as the red heifer brought atonement, so does the death of the righteous bring atonement. Rabbi Eliezer asked, "Why is the death of Aharon juxtaposed to the priestly vestments?" Just as the priestly vestments bring atonement, so too does the death of the righteous bring atonement.

 אָמַר רַבִּי אַמֵּי לָמָּה נִסְמְכָה מִיתַת מִרְיָם לְפָרָשַׁת פָּרָה אֲדוּמָּה לוֹמַר לָךְ מָה פָּרָה אֲדוּמָּה מְכַפֶּרֶת אַף מִיתָתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים מְכַפֶּרֶת אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר לָמָּה נִסְמְכָה מִיתַת אַהֲרֹן לְבִגְדֵי כְהוּנָּה מָה בִּגְדֵי כְהוּנָּה מְכַפְּרִין אַף מִיתָתָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים מְכַפֶּרֶת

This passage from the Talmud is especially valuable to Christian missionaries because it seems to confirm the most central message of Christianity, which is that Jesus died for the sins of humanity.

Why Does This Exclude Jesus?

There are, however, a few fundamental issues with using this Talmud passage to prove the vicarious death of Jesus.

Is Death the Only Way to Atone?

What is immediately obvious from the passage above is that while the death of the righteous atones, so do a number of other things, such as the service of the red heifer, done with the Cohen wearing the priestly vestments. Further, if the death of righteous people that are not completely without sin atones, then you don't need someone that is completely sinless to die for sins.

Was Jesus Righteous According to the Rabbi's?

If Rabbinic literature acknowledges the validity of vicarious atonement of a righteous person, it doesn't seem far-fetched for them to have accepted the death of Jesus. If so, why did the rabbi's of Jesus' time, and virtually all rabbi's since that time, reject the idea that Jesus died for our sins? The main issue with this is the presupposition that Jesus was righteous, which was not the main consensus of the rabbi's living at his time. For instance, the Christian Scriptures indicate that Jesus violated the Sabbath.

Only Normal Human Beings Can Die For Others

As long as this person has his own sins, any suffering he receives is "used up" to atone for those sins. He can only begin to suffer on behalf of others if he succeeds in overcoming the temptation to sin entirely. The idea that Jesus was God, and therefore not tempted to sin as a normal person, renders this idea useless. The OrlandoDiocese website says that Jesus "shared our earthly lot, our sufferings, and our death, and became one like us in all things but sin."

Atonement Affects Groups, Not Individuals

The third point is that the death of such an individual atones for either a community or the nation of Israel as a whole. The righteous person does not accept death for any particular individual that accepts his death, but rather for the community or for the entire nation. 

Awareness Is Not Required For It To Work

The fourth issue relates to the fact that the people being atoned for by the suffering of said righteous individual do not need to be aware that it is happening. This is different from the Christian view, which requires a person to accept the vicarious atonement of Jesus for it to save him.

It Does Not Replace Repentance

The fifth issue is that the suffering of a righteous person can only be effective under limited circumstances. For example, God may accept it at a particular time or case, but does not fundamentally replace it for His desired method of atonement on a permanent basis. In other words, it us used as an emergency measure in specifically dire circumstances, but not as the modus operandi of atonement.

The main reason for this is seemingly that the standard method of repentance helps the sinner rectify the character flaws responsible for causing him to sin. In turn, this helps him avoid sin in the future. Reliance on the death of a righteous person as a source of atonement may prevent repentance, which is why it is only used in emergency situations, such as when the utter destruction of a population would be imminent without it.

For More Information

For a more thorough presentation on this topic, see ATONEMENT FOR SIN & How Missionaries Cherry-Pick Talmud on THE DEATH OF THE RIGHTEOUS – Rabbi Skobac.