On Repentance and Repair

Forgive and forget. Turn the other cheek. Don’t hold a grudge. Be the bigger person. We continually ask victims to move on and avoid further confrontation. But the ethos of forgiveness-above-all often lets perpetrators off the hook without accountability, or even a coherent understanding about what repair and amends might look like. ON REPENTANCE AND REPAIR: MAKING AMENDS IN AN UNAPOLOGETIC WORLD (Beacon Press; September 13, 2022), offers a crucial new perspective to navigating conflict, applying an ancient framework to the country’s most vexing contemporary problems—from systemic racism and the legacy of enslavement, to sexual abuse and the #MeToo movement—as well as issues in our personal lives and relationships. The source sheets in this collection pull together the Jewish texts referenced in each chapter of the book.