A familiar Midrash suggests that the best way to live a life of righteous deeds is simply to imitate the actions of the Almighty: As G-d made clothing for Adam and Eve, we too should clothe the naked…As G-d comforts Isaac after his father’s death, we should likewise comfort mourners…and so forth. This deceptively simple formula is one foundation of mussar, the Jewish study of the middot, the attributes of conduct. At this time of year, a middah of choice is slichah, i.e. forgiveness.
The
Torah gives us examples of Divine slichah, including sinners like Jonah,
who is pardoned after his nautical adventures despite trying to evade God’s
instructions. As G-d forgives Jonah, so too
must we try for forgiveness; because we are created in God’s image.
However
this attempt is not so easy. Even G-d
has trouble with slichah—remember those who worshipped the golden calf?
Thankfully, God’s mercy is greater than
God’s justice. —“Come back to Me,” G-d
tells Isaiah, “for I have redeemed Thee.”
Mussar teaches power—strength—gevurah is the foundation of forgiveness. Mussar teaches that forgiveness is
“built on gevurah, because it takes enormous strength to truly forgive, just as
it does to seek forgiveness.”
It isn’t easy to emulate the Almighty, but it can be
done. Consider the granddaughter of
Ethel Lance, murdered in Charleston,
SC, who told the killer: “You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. But I forgive you.” Amazing grace, but also understand that,
according to Mussar, forgiveness is not forgetting: “Slichah is like removing
nails from wood…the hole remains…this is how we learn and gain strength.”
This Elul, I hope (and pray) that we can all find the
strength we need not just to offer forgiveness, but also to seek it for
ourselves.
Shanah Tovah
Nancy Taxman
.
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Ms Taxman,
ReplyDeleteThank you for encouraging us to be forgiving. Actually, thank you for encouraging me to be more forgiving.
I especially appreciated your comment, God’s mercy is greater than God’s justice. It is necessary for me to remind myself of this often. G-d’s anger is frightening. The Talmud asks, ‘How long is God’s anger? One moment. And how long is one moment? 158,888th part of an hour.’ Berachot 7a
Thank you, Nancy, for your wonderful post. It offers a hope, a reason, and a path to discover and move closer to the attributes that are so meaningful during this High Holiday season, and beyond. Shanah Tovah
ReplyDeleteNancy, Very beautifully stated. Bill E
ReplyDelete