If Yom Kippur only grants you forgiveness from sins you commit against God how in Judaism do you get?

Question

If Yom Kippur only grants you forgiveness from sins you commit against God how in Judaism do you get?

Answer 1

The easiest way that I can illustrate the Jewish concept of forgiveness to a Christian is to think about what many Jews call the most Jewish part of the New Testament, the “Lord’s Prayer”. In it, the prayer calls to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. This is a very Jewish concept. Before we ask God to forgive us, we are obligated to seek it from any we have offended after we have done our best to make good any wrong we committed. If we are sincere, they are obligated to do their very best to grant this. Should one come to you in sincere apology and do their best to make amends, you are obligated to forgive them. If you seek pardon and the person you offended refuses it, you have done your part. If you do not believe that a person was sincere in their apology, likewise, you are not obligated to grand them pardon if you have a genuine reason to believe it was not sincere. One shouldn’t take any of these behaviors lightly. Those are the steps of the Jewish way of seeking atonement to God in the days of the Bible and remain so today. Before we ask or expect God to forgive us, we do our part.



Judaism does not obligate us to turn the other cheek against those who wish to harm us or kill us. In fact, as Jews and as Americans, it is an obligation for us to protect and defend our families, our nation and ourselves. In the context of the Torah and concept of Teshuvah.(RETURN , meaning a return to a path of righteousness through repentance) ...when Jesus declares that we cannot expect God to forgive us if we do not forgive those who do wrong to us, I believe that this is speaking against witholding forgiveness from one who has been repentant..if one comes to me with sincere effort to repent and make amends, I must make the sincere effort to forgive if I expect God to do as promised and forgive me. THAT's the concept..not to forgive people as they're trying to kill you or who would just as soon do the same thing over and over to you. Self preservation is not a sin.



When Elie Wiesel, Holocaust concentration camp survivor, noted author and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was once asked, "Do you forgive the Holocaust?”, he answered, “ Who am I to forgive?”



. Maimonides the great Jewish 12th-century theologian and physician taught that "the unwarranted taking of life for no reason whatsoever other than to make a point" forfeits one's opportunity for forgiveness. Some sins are considered unpardonable. IMHO the 911 hijackers would be an example of that. In addition, in the case of the 9/11 hijackers or any other suicide terrorists, since they perished in their act they can no longer seek repentance.

There is commadment in the book of Leviticus that requires Jews not to hold a grudge. That is an obligation for us not to harbor hatreds. Holding hatreds and grudges is self-destructive and allows the person who hurt you to continue to exert power over you, and perhaps inspire you to act out in rash emotionalism or do things you would later regret. One is not obligated to forgive an unrepentant person in order to satisfy the obligation to not bear a grudge. I repeat...Forgiveness is reserved for those who are sincerely repentant.



What I believe I am obligated to do by the dictates of my faith and I shall try to do to the best of my ability is to focus on my own shortcomings, to make amends wherever possible and to seek forgiveness for myself and then ask it from God. I am obligated to forgive those who come to me who are sincere in seeking pardon and who make amends for any offence done to me. I work on getting my own affairs in order and focus on the people whose lives directly touch my own. I do my best, and leave the rest to God.



mama_pajama_1 © 2007

Answer 2

We are required to ask forgiveness of all the people whom we sinned against or otherwise harmed. If we ask for forgiveness earnestly, the person concerned is supposed to give that forgiveness. If they refuse to forgive you (I believe they can turn you away three times, not to be cruel but if they genuinely don't believe you are sincere), then the sin is equally on them.



We also ask forgiveness of G-d for our harming our fellow Jews. If we repent with a pure heart, that also counts in our favor. But not if we don't also seek forgiveness from the people themselves.

Answer 3

In Judiasm, you need to ask people's forgiveness BEFORE Yom-Kippur. If they had died before you had a chance to ask them for forgiveness, the sin does indeed stay with you...

Answer 4

Then in that case you would go to their grave site on Erev Yom Kippur But to get forgiveness from the person you would ask verbally for forgiveness. Actually its a common tradition to tell those you may or may not know you have wronged but ask for forgiveness anyways as a sign of respect.

Answer 5

b4 yom kippur u can ask forgiveness... if the person says no and u ask them 3 times then Hashem doesnt forgive them. iff the person is dead but you feel bad for the sin u commited i am pretty sure Hashem forgives you.

Answer 6

You apologize to the person you did wrong to first, and then you ask G-d to forgive you too, because you need everyone's forgiveness.

Answer 7

Judiasm requires you to ask for forgiveness before the Yom-Kippur.

Answer 8

You MUST make peace with the person you offended.

IF the person is dead, it's a touchy subject. It teaches us to always always maintain peace with those with whom we relate to, so that you don't fall into this gray area.

I've heard some rabbis say that it wouldn't be a bad idea to actually go to the persons grave and at least state out loud what you did, and pray that the Heavens have mercy on you.



[this opinion is more a way to make your conscience feel better]