כָּרֵת

Updated: 2013.04.09

Tor•âhꞋ-stipulated כָּרֵת

(Biblical lists followed by rabbinic list of 36 transgressions) List of Transgressions Dictating כָּרֵת Still Operating Today

1. Every nëphꞋësh that defies תּוֹרָה — ‭ ‬ תַּעֲשֶׂה בְּיָד רָמָה (doing highhandedly) = מְגַדֵּף (blaspheming) — bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 15.30-31

2. מְחַלְלֶיהָ שַׁבָּת (profaning Shab•ât′) by doing מְלָאכָה (occupational work) — Shᵊm•otꞋ 31.14

3. Intermarriage (marrying daughter of a foreign god) — Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 7.3-4; Ma•lâkh•iꞋ 2.11-12

4. תּוֹעֵבָה (sex with a menstruant) — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 20.18

5. Superstition, Mysticism and the Occult (אֹבֹת and יִּדְּעֹנִים — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 20.6

6. Dishonesty (every thief, every false swearing witness, perjurer) — Zᵊkhar•yâhꞋ 5.3-4

7. תּוֹעֵבָה (committing any listed immorality) — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 18.29

8. Ka•shᵊr•utꞋ (exemplified by the eating of דָּם) —wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 7.27; 17.10-14

9. Possessing or eating חָמֵץ during Khag ha-Matz•otꞋ — Shᵊm•otꞋ 12.15, 19; bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 9.13

10. Eating חֵלֶב, — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 7.25

11. טָהוֹר and not traveling (stuck on a sailing ship by lack of wind, bad weather, etc.), yet refrained from celebrating PësꞋakh — bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 9.13

12. Approaching קָּדָשִׁים (paralleling tᵊphil•otꞋ today) that have been sanctified by Bᵊn•eiꞋ-Yi•sᵊrâ•eilꞋ while in a state of contamination — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 22.3

13. Sex with sister or half-sister / step-sister — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 20.17

14. Male who is uncircumcised according to Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ — bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 17.14

15. כָל-הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא-תְעֻנֶה בְּעֶצֶם Every nëphꞋësh who doesn't answer by himself on Yom ha-Ki•pur•imꞋ - - wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 23.29

Those relying solely upon the racist claim of being a "born Jew," if they are guilty of any of the above and have not made tᵊshuv•âhꞋ, including restitution (+20%), have been excised from the Jewish people by י--ה.

Beit ha-Mi•qᵊdâshꞋ-Dependent Transgressions That Dictated כָּרֵת

1. Entering the precincts of the Mi•shᵊkânꞋ after contact with the dead without first purifying oneself — bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 19.13, 20. (This might be applied, today, to tᵊphil•otꞋ, and even more so in a mi•nᵊyânꞋ.)

2. Making a sacrifice anywhere other than at the Mi•shᵊkânꞋ — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 17.9

3. Offering or eating פִּגּוּל — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 19.8

4. Eating a sacrifice while unclean — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 7.20, 21

5. שְׁחִיטָה not as a sacrifice at Mi•shᵊkânꞋ defined as shedding blood — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 17.3-4 (contrast w/ Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 12.11-15)

6. Duplicating cologne formula of Ko•heinꞋ — Shᵊm•otꞋ 30.33, 38

The Rabbinic List of 36 Transgressions Dictating כָּרֵת (Mostly from wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 18)

1. intercourse with mother

2. intercourse with step-mother

3. intercourse with step-daughter

4. homosexual act

5. bestial act by male

6. bestial act by female

7. intercourse with both mother and daughter (excludes one's own daughter)

8. intercourse with woman married to another

9. intercourse with sister

10. intercourse with father's sister

11. intercourse with mother's sister

12. intercourse with wife's sister

13. intercourse with brother's sister or wife (excepting levirate: Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 25.5)

14. intercourse with father's brother's wife

15. intercourse with menstruous woman

16. blasphemy (bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 15.30)

17. Defiance of תּוֹרָה, which includes atheism and constitutes idolatry: כִּי דְבַר-י--ה בָּזָה, וְאֶת-מִצְוָתוֹ הֵפַר; הִכָּרֵת | תִּכָּרֵת, הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוה עֲוֹנָה בָהּ‫:‬ (Because he disdained the DᵊvarꞋ י--ה, and violated His mi•tzᵊwâhꞋ; excise absolutely this nëphꞋësh!!! Its felony is in it. – bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 15.31)

18. Sacrifice of one's firstborn son (dedicating a child to MoꞋlëkh)

19. Divining (e.g., spatilomancy or psychomancy; wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 20.6)

20. מְחַלְלֶיהָ שַׁבָּת (profaning Shab•ât′) by doing מְלָאכָה (occupational work) — Shᵊm•otꞋ 31.14

21. unclean person eats sacrificial food

22. unclean person enters precincts of Mi•shᵊkânꞋ

23. Eating חֵלֶב, — wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 7.25

24. one eats דָּם (cf. wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 17.14)

25. one eats meat that is נּוֹתָר after 3 days (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 19.6-8)

26. one eats פִּגּוּל (wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 7.18; 19.7-8)

27. slaughters [for sacrifice] outside Mi•shᵊkânꞋ (cf. wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 17.9)

28. sacrificing outside Mi•shᵊkânꞋ (cf. wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 17.9)

29. eating khâ•meitzꞋ during Khag ha-Matz•otꞋ (cf. Shᵊm•otꞋ 12.19)

30. not responding (e.g., eating) on Yom ha-Ki•pur•imꞋ (cf. wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 23.29-30)

31. doing mᵊlâkh•âhꞋ on Yom ha-Ki•pur•imꞋ (cf. wa-Yi•qᵊr•âꞋ 23.29-30)

32. compounding [anointing] oil prescribed in Shᵊm•otꞋ 30.23-33

33. compounding holy incense prescribed in Shᵊm•otꞋ 30.34-38 (cf. Shᵊm•otꞋ 12.19)

34. misuse of anointing oil (Shᵊm•otꞋ 30.32)35.

35. violates laws of PësꞋakh [sacrifice] (bᵊ-Mi•dᵊbarꞋ 9.13)

36. circumcision (bᵊ-Reish•itꞋ 17.14)

The Rabbis, attempting to dilute the meaning in a spirit of ecumenism, disagreed; some holding that כָּרֵת meant death without surviving descendants, others held that it meant death at an early age (50-60) whereas Maimonides held that it meant the destruction of the nëphꞋësh in contrast to Nakhmanides, who held that the nëphꞋësh must live to be held accountable for a•veir•otꞋ Tor•âhꞋ (see Abraham Chill, The Mitzvot, p. 12).

Maimonides and Nakhmanides were both correct in that כָּרֵת was [a] capital punishment, which Ta•na"khꞋ specifically describes as destruction of the nëphꞋësh and which constitutes the accounting of the nëphꞋësh for a•veir•otꞋ Tor•âhꞋ and [b] specifically described by Tanakh as being כָּרֵת from Israel—excised. (The Christian parallel is excommunication.)

There were four methods of administering כָּרֵת:

1. strangulation,

2. the sword,

3. fire (pouring molten lead down the throat—e.g., for incest) and

4. stoning (e.g., for profaning שַׁבָּת; Chill, p. 67)

There were also capital offenses not specifically stipulating כָּרֵת; e.g., inter alia, kidnapping another Jew, inflicting an injury on one's parents, defection by an elder from תּוֹרָה, false prophecy (for which the penalty was death by strangulation), and even murder (for which the penalty was death by sword).

כָּרֵת and חִלּוֹנִים vs Moderate Yᵊhud•imꞋ

Polls consistently show that most of the Israeli Yᵊhud•imꞋ who describe themselves as חִלּוֹנִים do so as their way of rejecting the fanatic fringe 8% (in 2011) Ultra-Orthodox / Kha•reid•iꞋ standard. Because most keep as much as they understand (their utmost) of Ha•lâkh•âhꞋ – Shab•âtꞋ, the Khaj•imꞋ, etc., they are more accurately described as "moderate Yᵊhud•imꞋ." Except for a tiny component of anti-religious and atheists, they are not truly חִלּוֹנִים.

The modern halakhic definition of a Jew vaguely acknowledges the Biblical כָּרֵת in adding the clause "unless one converts to another religion." That, of course, is a gross underrepresentation of the Biblical definition of כָּרֵת – diminishing Tor•âhꞋ in violation of Dᵊvâr•imꞋ 13.1. By the Tor•âhꞋ standard, the anti-religious and atheist חִלּוֹנִים, along with assimilated and estranged "Jews," having incurred כָּרֵת, are no longer Jews – unless they are doing their utmost to make tᵊshuv•âhꞋ (and, consequently, are receiving ki•purꞋ). For further details see Pishtah Keihah (The "Flickering-Out Wick" of Yᵊsha•yâhꞋu 42.1-4).

© 1996-present by Paqid Yirmeyahu Ben-David,
Google+ registered author-publisher