Karet

(lit. "cutting off."). Punishment prescribed in the Bible for various offenses, such as violating the laws of the Day of Atonement or eating bread on Passover. The Bible commands that for such a sin, the guilty person "shall be cut off [Heb. ve-nikhreta] from the people." While various explanations have been given, it is accepted that it means a punishment imposed by God, not by man. Among interpretations of the punishments are dying prematurely and dying childless. Unlike those offenses for which punishment is to be meted out by man, offenses for which the penalty is karet can be atoned for. The Mishnah (Ker. 1:1) lists 36 sins for which the punishment is karet, more than half of which deal with illicit sexual unions. However,, the Mishnah (1:2) rules that whereas the punishment for deliberate violation is karet, the punishment for a violation committed inadvertently or through negligence is the offering of a sacrifice.

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