The "Original Sin"

Does the Jewish tradition believe in "natural born sin" / "original sin"?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

There is no concept of the “original sin” in Judaism. This is a distinctly Chrisitan belief, based on a single verse in the Christian bible, which was developed into a major doctrine of that religion by Augustine.

Judaism teaches that nobody is born with sin. We all have free choice on whether to commit mitzvot (good deeds) of sins (bad deeds). We believe that all mankind who has sinned can be cleansed of their sin with prayer and repentance.

We see this, in fact, in this week’s Torah portion, Bereishit, where it says that G-d said to Cain: "Why are you upset, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do good [i.e. repent and change your ways], it will be goo for you [that is, you will be forgiven]. But if you don’t do good, sin rests at the door..but you can overcome it!" (Genesis 4:6-7).