y as consciousness of guilt. Man's
conscience accuses him and compels him to confess, "Against Thee, Thee
only, have I sinned."(750) Not only the deed itself, but even more the
will which caused it, is condemned by conscience. Such self-accusation
constantly proves anew that there is no place for original sin through the
fall of Adam. "I could have controlled my evil desire, if I had but
earnestly willed it," said King David, according to the Talmud.(751)

7. Sin engenders a feeling of disunion with God through the consciousness
of guilt which accompanies it. It erects a "wall of separation" between
man and his Maker, depriving him of peace and security.(752) Guilt causes
pain, which overwhelms him, until he has made atonement and obtained
pardon before God. This is no imaginary feeling, easily overcome and
capable of being suppressed by the sinner with impunity. Instead, he must
pay the full penalty for his sin, lest it lead him to the very abyss of
evil, to physical and moral death. Sin in the individual becomes a sense
of self-condemnation, the consciousness of the divine anger. Hence the
Hebrew term _avon_, sin, is often synonymous with punishment,(753) and
_asham_, guilt, often signifies the atonement for the guilt, and sometimes
doom and perdition as a consequence of guilt.(754) Undoubtedly this still
contains a remnant of the old Semitic idea that an awful divine visitation
may come upon an entire household or community because of a criminal or
sacrilegious act committed, consciously or unconsciously, by one of its
members. Such a fate can be averted only by an atoning sacrifice. This
accords with the rather strange fact that the Priestly Code prescribes
certain guilt offerings for sins committed unwittingly, which are called
_asham_.(755)

8. But even these unintentional sins can be avoided by the constant
exercise of caution, so that their commission implies a certain degree of
guilt, which demands a measure of repentance. Thus the Psalmist says: "Who
can discern errors? Clear Thou me from hidden faults."(756) He thus
implies that we feel responsible in a certain sense for all our sins,
including those which we commit unknowingly. The rabbis dwell especially
on the idea that we are never altogether free from sinful thoughts. For
this reason, they tell us, the two burnt offerings were brought to the
altar each morning and evening, to atone for the sinful thoughts of the
people during the preceding day or night.(