Sin and Forgiveness

Q: I understand that on Yom Kippur we are forgiven from ALL our sins.  Is this true?

A:In the Mishna we find, “For transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur brings atonement; but for transgressions between people, Yom Kippur only grants atonement when there has been forgiveness between the aggrieved.” (Yoma 8:9)  People are generally familiar with the first point, less so with the second.

There is an entire section in the Shulchan Aruch (the Code of Jewish Law) devoted to what people must do to appease one another when there has been a hurt (O.H. 606).  Until the victim has been asked for their forgiveness  -- and they have granted it—the sin remains.  A wrong that has not been resolved or redressed remains a wrong.

The Shulchan Aruch also indicates that a person should be predisposed to accept an apology and not cruelly refuse to forgive.

If the sin involves fraud or theft the guilty person must make the victim whole.  What if the theft cannot be repaid but the victim wishes to repair the relationship?  Someone who has a financial claim on another person should waive what is owed to him or her or there cannot be remission from sin.  In some instances they might say, “I forgive you but I am not erasing the debt that you owe.”

One final note:  Even forgiveness must be done with kindness.  One can run over someone with our contrition by telling them all the ruthless, terrible things we said about them or specifying the slander we heard all year long.  That is not nice.

Rabbi Israel Salanter said that it is not right to hurt another human being while seeking atonement for oneself.  “Your steps to piety should never be on someone else’s shoulders.”

On Hebrew

Q: Why do we still hold services in Hebrew?

A: The Sages were insistent on making Judaism and its liturgy intelligible to all.  In the Talmud they state that virtually every prayer may be recited in the language of one’s comfort.  In fact we still have included in many traditional volumes ancient translations of the Bible (called the Targum) and prayers (the Kaddish, for example, is in Aramaic).  On the other hand, we cling to Hebrew perhaps because it is the language of God, or perhaps because there is a spiritual fulfillment in annunciating the letters that our ancestors uttered in the past.  In this sense, we are at least as faithful to Hebrew as our forbears.

Sometimes the mystery of a language not understood can enhance the spirituality of the event.  When we cease thinking analytically we access the other part of our brain, the intuitive, so-called right side of the brain.  An anomaly? When we think less we are more attuned to feelings, sensations and our deeply rooted concerns.

Language is embedded in our soul.  Language allows us to traverse continents, worlds, make leaps of imagination, spur new constructs –and don’t forget we are the People of the Book – and Hebrew, in particular, borders on the awesome.  Glance at the English on the other side of the page.  We need to know what we are saying.  But the majesty conveyed by the Hebrew holds a different power.

Perhaps most telling of all is that if we had abandoned Hebrew as our unifying language it would have long ago become fossilized, meaningless to all except scholars.  Instead, generation after generation rises to the bima to express their solidarity with their past and present.

And who could dismiss the power of being able to pray in any synagogue anywhere in the world because Hebrew is the glue that binds us?

Why a Minyan?

Q: Why does Judaism insist on having ten people to have communal prayer?

A: Ten is a significant number.  We have ten fingers, ten toes.  Maybe because of those ten digits we based our numeric system on ten.  The Mishna informs us that there were ten generations from Adam to Noah; there were ten plagues in Egypt, ten miracles in the wilderness, ten creations on the eve of the first Shabbat, Ten Commandments….

But the base number for a minyan, a quorum of davenners, comes from elsewhere:

When the Jews were about to enter into the land of Israel, they dispatched twelve spies to scout out the area to determine its viability.  Returning from their reconnaissance mission the spies reported that they saw a verdant, lush land capable of sustaining the entire nation.  But there were giants; huge warriors that instilled great fear.

Of the twelve spies only two, Joshua and Caleb, disagreed.  Yet when the nation of Israel heard the report of the “ten” they eagerly bought in to the “giant” story and were then compelled to wander for a full generation until they were psychologically ready to enter the land.  Ten was the number of people it took to lead the entire community astray.

Coincidently, ten was also the lowest number of righteous people that Abraham, our father, asked God to save the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.  It is as if Abraham intuited that ten was also the minimum number that makes a community redeemable.

Autopsy

Q: What are the rules regarding autopsy?

A: Often autopsy is routine.  Medical examiners are accustomed (and need) to use the body for knowledge about the life and death.  Other times the body is used for experimentation.  The same holds true for medical students who learn about the human body from cadavers.  Still, other times the law demands an autopsy when there are questions about the cause of death.

The Jewish belief is that each person is created in the image of the Almighty.  That is why we strongly discourage any cutting of the body.  Unnecessary damage to a person living or dead is considered a sacrilege.

Life, however, always trumps death. Therefore if an organ can be used to ease the pain of an ailing patient, give relief from a ravaging disease, or especially save a life it is a mitzvah to help them.

Even in such pedestrian procedures as a corneal transplant we allow the cornea from a deceased person to be used in order to alleviate blindness. 

In the instance when the law demands that an autopsy has to be performed the organs are returned for proper burial.

There may be times when the person who died had a rare disorder and an autopsy might yield the key to unraveling the mystery of their ailment.  In a case where there is compelling evidence that an autopsy could reveal such a cure it may be allowed.

Genuflecting

Q: Do Jews prostrate themselves?

A: It seems that in the Torah people are always falling over themselves.  We read about “Abraham falling on his face.”  A few chapters later Laban does the same.  Then comes Isaac with the same move.  Now this is either a subtle warning against Jews playing sports (we can’t play if we are continually tripping over ourselves) or being prostrate before God has deep pious overtones.

Throughout the Holy Days we repeat the biblical imagery of Moshe and the Israelite nation shouting, “Ana, Ha-Shem! Show compassion and comfort!”  As they utter these words they fall prostrate, witnessing the Revelation.

To fall on one’s face, genuflect some call it, is the ultimate act of awe.  It is an act of deep humility, of literally hiding one’s face.  The opposite, gazing directly at the sight, is an act of equality or even defiance.

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it is customary to fall prostrate during the Aleynu.  Any Jew who feels the desire to physically enact and feel the power of what bygone generations did en masse is welcome.