Rav was once offended by a certain butcher and when, by the eve of Yom Kippur, the butcher did not come to him, Rav said: I will go to the butcher and reconcile with him. Rabbi Huna, a student and colleague, met Rav along the way and asked: Sir, where are you going so close to Yom Kippur? Rav answered: I am going to reconcile with So-and-So. Rabbi Huna thought: Abba (aka Rav) is about to kill someone. Rav went to the butcher and remained standing in front of him as the butcher was sitting and chopping an animal’s head. The butcher raised his eyes and saw Rav. Then he said: You are Abba. Go away! I will have nothing to do with you. While he was chopping the head, a bone flew off and killed him.
1. Why does Rav Huna think that Rav is about to kill someone?
2. Why does the butcher die?
3. How should we go about SEEKING forgiveness from someone?
4. What message does this story send about offering forgiveness?
אָסוּר לָאָדָם לִהְיוֹת אַכְזָרִי וְלֹא יִתְפַּיֵּס אֶלָּא יְהֵא נוֹחַ לִרְצוֹת וְקָשֶׁה לִכְעֹס וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁמְּבַקֵּשׁ מִמֶּנּוּ הַחוֹטֵא לִמְחל מוֹחֵל בְּלֵב שָׁלֵם וּבְנֶפֶשׁ חֲפֵצָה. וַאֲפִלּוּ הֵצֵר לוֹ וְחָטָא לוֹ הַרְבֵּה לֹא יִקֹּם וְלֹא יִטֹּר. וְזֶהוּ דַּרְכָּם שֶׁל זֶרַע יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלִבָּם הַנָּכוֹן. אֲבָל הָעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים עַרְלֵי לֵב אֵינָן כֵּן אֶלָּא (וְעֶבְרָתָן) [וְעֶבְרָתוֹ] שְׁמָרָה נֶצַח. וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר עַל הַגִּבְעוֹנִים לְפִי שֶׁלֹּא מָחֲלוּ וְלֹא נִתְפַּיְּסוּ וְהַגִּבְעֹנִים לֹא מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה:
It is forbidden for a person to be cruel and refuse to be appeased. Rather, he should be easily pacified, but hard to anger. When the person who wronged him asks for forgiveness, he should forgive him with a complete heart and a willing spirit. Even if he aggravated and wronged him severely, he should not seek revenge or bear a grudge.
This is the path of the seed of Israel and their upright spirit... because the Gibeonites did not forgive and refused to be appeased, [II Samuel 21:2] describes them, as follows: "The Gibeonites are not among the children of Israel."
Cultures of forgiveness are usually cultures with a strong sense of the individual. The offense was unfair and unjust. It creates a debt to the aggrieved. The apology of the offender allows the release of guilt. The apology pays off the debt and heals the insult and the injury. It allows for the aggrieved to achieve emotional closure. Where forgiveness is at a premium, the offender must do the work of accepting blame and committing to a new path. Only by righting the self, can the offender hope to right the relationship. There is clarity in what has transpired which paves the path for a redeemed future. The forgiveness offered by the aggrieved is an act of empathy with the contrition of the apologizing offender.
By contrast, cultures of reconciliation tend to focus on the collective. Who I am is entirely bound up by who we are, the bonds we share, and the common goals to which we aspire. When a relationship is ruptured, a premium is placed on re-achieving harmony with those around me. Here, value is placed on letting go. Introspection by the offender, and offers of apologies are, of course, always welcome. But not all are able or willing to do that work, and those cannot be pre-conditions for restoring harmony. The closer the dependence between offender and aggrieved, the more important it is to forego processes we would call asking/granting forgiveness, and the greater the need for all parties to move to reconciliation. The deep cleansing of introspection and forgiveness may not be achieved.
--Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman
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decisional forgiveness: making a conscious decision to let go of hurt feelings, such as anger and resentment, putting them in the past, and moving forward free of the effects those feelings can bring
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emotional forgiveness: replacing negative emotions toward the person who has wronged you with positive ones such as sympathy, compassion, or empathy
Dr. Kurt Smith, PsyD
https://psychcentral.com/health/reasons-to-forgive-but-not-forget
(א) רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל־עוֹלָם הֲרֵינִי מוֹחֵל לְכָל־מִי שֶׁהִכְעִיס וְהִקְנִיט אוֹתִי אוֹ שֶׁחָטָא כְּנֶגְדִי בֵּין בְּגוּפִי בֵּין בְּמֶמוֹנִי בֵין בִּכְבוֹדִי בֵין בְכָל אֲשֶׁר לִי בֵין בְּאוֹנֶס בֵּין בְּרָצוֹן בֵּין בְּשׁוֹגֵג בֵּין בְּמֵזִיד בֵין בְּדִבּוּר בֵּין בְּמַעֲשֶׂה בֵּין בְּגִלְגוּל זֶה בֵּין בְּגִלְגּוּל אַחֵר לְכָל־בַּר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא יֵעָנֵשׁ שׁוּם אָדָם בְסִבָּתִי
(1) Master of the Universe, behold, I now forgive all who have angered or provoked me, or sinned against me, whether to my body, my property, my honor, or to all that may belong to me,
whether they were forced, it was intentional, unintentional or unaware, or with full awareness and intention
whether through speech or act
whether in this incarnation or another incarnation--
every person--and be they not be punished at all on account of me.

