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Aveira


In Hebrew, the feminine noun aveira or averah (Hebrew [ʕaveˈʁa] pl. aveirot [ʕaveˈʁot]) is a term for transgression or sin against man or God. The word comes from the Hebrew root ayin-bet-resh, meaning to pass or cross over with the implied meaning of transgressing from a moral boundary. An aveira may be trivial or serious.

It is viewed by many that an aveira is the opposite of a mitzvah (commandment, often viewed as a good deed), but all aveirot are actually the transgressions of one of the 365 "negative commandments". (see 613 commandments.)

The noun aveirah in rabbinical Hebrew derives from the verb avar, "pass over," which in a small number of uses in the Hebrew Bible can also carry the context of transgress, as in Deuteronomy 17:2 "in transgressing his covenant" (לַעֲבֹר בְּרִיתֹֽו la-'avor berithu).

In Modern Israeli Hebrew, aveira is the word for crime.

There are three categories of a person who commits an aveira. The most serious category is someone who does an aveira intentionally (be-mezid "on purpose"). The second is one who did an aveira by accident (be-shogeg). While such a person is still responsible for their action, it is considered less serious. The third category is someone who is a tinok shenishba, which is a person who was raised in an environment that was assimilated or non-Jewish, and is therefore not aware of the proper Jewish laws. This person is not held accountable for their actions.

In addition to the categories of people who commit an aveira, there are also two general categories of aveirot (plural), which categories are also applied to the mitzvot. The first category is bein adam lamakom, or "between man and God." These transgressions are those that involve acts of defiance to God, whether they are not following the commandments that God has defined, acts of apostasy, etc. The second category is bein adam lechaveiro, or "between man and his fellow." Examples include harming another person, shaming them, misleading them, etc.


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