Dear JTF members personal plee

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

   Hi, I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. May we and our families all be inscribed in the book of life, happiness, health and success.
  If I offended anyone here or have done any wrong to you I would like to ask for forgiveness. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me, I forgive everyone else as well. 
 To the Jewish members- have an easy fast.

[Rubystars]

I enjoy your posts Tag.

[Israel Chai]

You didn't do anything bad to me... sorry Ephraim for being mean, and if I did anything bad to anyone else, I'm really sorry.

[mord]

You didn't do anything mean to me either that warrants forgiveness

[Super Mentalita]

God bless you Tag.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

You are a great man Tag, G-d bless you. But, you have never done anything to me. I hope you and everyone's sins that they may have committed are forgiven this year.

I hope everyone will forgive me if I have been mean, or rude to you...

LKZ, I'm sorry as well. I must admit, I enjoyed it most of the time, you're pretty dang funny.

[muman613]

I forgive all who have said things which upset me, and ask forgiveness from all who I have offended.

May this year be a year of growth, a year of knowledge and discernment, and a year of sweet news. Hashem should judge us with mercy, with kindness, and with love and grant our requests to be written in the Good book of Life.

Remember that through Teshuvah, Tefillah, and Tzedakah (Repentance/Return, Prayer, and Charity/Righteousness) we can turn around any evil decree.

[muman613]

We (Religious Jews) say the following confessional during the Yom Kippur service (actually it is said 10 times over the entire day). It contains sins we are personally guilty of, and sins which we may not be guilty of (but we know people who are), and it contains sins we are communally guilty of...


http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/6577/jewish/Text-of-Al-Chet.htm


(The "Al Chet" confession of sins is said ten times in the course of the Yom Kippur services: Following the Amidah of the afternoon prayers of the day before Yom Kippur; just before sunset on Yom Kippur Eve; and twice during each of the following services--the evening service of yom Kippur eve, and the morning service, the Musaf service and the afternoon service of Yom Kippur day--once at the end of the Silent Amidah, and once during the cantor's repitition of the Amidah.)

For the sin which we have committed before You under duress or willingly.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by hard-heartedness.

For the sin which we have committed before You inadvertently.

And for the sin which we have committed before You with an utterance of the lips.

For the sin which we have committed before You with immorality.

And for the sin which we have committed before You openly or secretly.

For the sin which we have committed before You with knowledge and with deceit.

And for the sin which we have committed before You through speech.

For the sin which we have committed before You by deceiving a fellowman.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by improper thoughts.

For the sin which we have committed before You by a gathering of lewdness.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by verbal [insincere] confession.

For the sin which we have committed before You by disrespect for parents and teachers.

And for the sin which we have committed before You intentionally or unintentionally.

For the sin which we have committed before You by using coercion.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by  desecrating the Divine Name.

For the sin which we have committed before You by impurity of  speech.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by foolish  talk.

For the sin which we have committed before You with the evil  inclination.

And for the sin which we have committed before You knowingly or unknowingly.

For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us.

For the sin which we have committed before You by false denial and lying.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a bribe-taking or a bribe-giving hand.

For the sin which we have committed before You by scoffing.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by evil talk  [about another].

For the sin which we have committed before You in business  dealings.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by eating  and drinking.

For the sin which we have committed before You by [taking or  giving] interest and by usury.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a haughty demeanor.

For the sin which we have committed before You by the prattle of our lips.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a glance of the eye.

For the sin which we have committed before You with proud looks.

And for the sin which we have committed before You with impudence.

 For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us.

For the sin which we have committed before You by casting off the yoke [of Heaven].

And for the sin which we have committed before You in passing judgment.

For the sin which we have committed before You by scheming against a fellowman.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a begrudging eye.

For the sin which we have committed before You by frivolity.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by obduracy.

For the sin which we have committed before You by running to do evil.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by tale-bearing.

For the sin which we have committed before You by swearing in vain.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by causeless hatred.

For the sin which we have committed before You by embezzlement.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a confused heart.

 For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us.

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a burnt-offering.

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a sin-offering.

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a varying offering [according to one's means].

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a guilt-offering for a certain or doubtful trespass.

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of lashing for rebelliousness.

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of forty lashes.

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of death by the hand of Heaven.

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of excision and childlessness.

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of the four forms of capital punishment executed by the Court: stoning, burning, decapitation and strangulation.

For [transgressing] positive and prohibitory mitzvot, whether [the prohibitions] can be rectified by a specifically prescribed act or not, those of which we are aware and those of which we are not aware; those of which we are aware, we have already declared them before You and confessed them to You, and those of which we are not aware --- before You they are revealed and known, as it is stated:The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things are for us and for our children forever, that we may carry out all the words of this Torah. ForYou are the Pardoner of Israel and the Forgiver of the tribes of Yeshurun in every generation, and aside from You we have no King who forgives and pardons.

http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/yomkipur/yomkstr.htm
There are many additions to the regular prayers (there would have to be, to get such a long service). Perhaps the most important addition is the Al Chet, or Vidui, the confession of the sins, which is inserted into each of the five Shemoneh Esrei (Amida) prayers. Note that all sins are confessed in the plural (we are guilty, we have done this, we have done that), emphasizing communal responsibility for sins. Even if we didn't do the sin we mention, we are praying to Hashem that He forgive others who may have. We also say Yizkor, the prayer for the souls of the departed.

[angryChineseKahanist]

I am offended that you are offended.

I wonder who you are referring to.

[muman613]

I am offended that you are offended.

I wonder who you are referring to.

I don't think he was referring to anyone in particular.

[muman613]

Oh ACK,

I ask your forgiveness for any hurt feelings due to a comment I made last year. I don't remember the particulars but I remember I said something which upset you. Although I had no intention of upsetting others, my words may not have been well thought out.

[muman613]

Today an article on Arutz Sheva (IsraelNationalNews) explains why forgiveness is so important to the Jewish people.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/13824#.UjImP3VDsjg

Why Must I Say "I'm Sorry"?
It is highly important to obtain forgiveness from one's fellow man.
From Rabbi Reuven Spolter

Judaism is anything but easy. While most nations celebrate their New Year with drinking, partying and staying up late, we spend our New Year coronating God as king of the world, while we also engage in an extended process of self-evaluation and introspection. The entire period culminates with…that's right, a day of fasting spent entirely in shul.

Moreover, Teshuvah can be quite complicated. While repentance suffices for the sins I committed against God, the same cannot be said for the sins I committed against someone else. The Mishnah in Yoma (8:7) tells us that, עבירות שבין אדם למקום, יום הכיפורים מכפר – "Yom Kippur atones for sins between man and God". (Of course, you have to repent for Yom Kippur to work its magic.) But what about עבירות בין אדם לחבירו – "sins between man and his fellow man? Teshuvah is not enough. For these sins, we must do more.

The Mishnah tells us: Yom Kippur does not atone for [sins] between man and his fellow man until he appeases his friend. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria extrapolated this idea from the following verse: 'From all your sins, before God, you shall be purified." (Vayikra 16:30) Yom Kippur atones for sins between man and God. [But] Yom Kippur does not atone for [sins] between man and his fellow man until he appeases his friend.

Indeed, Rambam (Hilchot Teshuvah 2:9) adopts this approach in Mishneh Torah, stating that you must first appease the victim of your sin before Yom Kippur can offer atonement.

We've always taken this fact for granted. After all, it makes intuitive sense, at least at first. How can God forgive you if you haven't even apologized to the person you hurt? And yet, the more I think about it, the less sense it seems to make. Why indeed should I have to apologize to the person I hurt? Let's assume that I stole money from a neighbor. I feel terrible about it, and vow never to repeat my sin. Moreover, I return the money, leaving an anonymous envelope full of cash on his doorstep. I've made him whole. I confessed my sin to God, and will truly never commit that sin again.

Why should I have to then go to the neighbor and confess? Why should my atonement hinge on his goodwill (or lack thereof), state of mind, and sensitivity?

Moreover, it's not so clear that the verse that Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria quotes says what we think it says. The verse he quotes says,

For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord.

Read the last phrase again: "From all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord." It doesn't say "some". It says "all." This would seem to go against both the Mishnah and the Rambam. Yet, the translation really hinges on how you read the verse, and where you pause during the reading. I'll explain:

Option 1: If you read the phrase: מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם, לִפְנֵי ה', תִּטְהָרוּ (with a pause after the word חטאתיכם), then the phrase means "from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord."

Option 2: If you read it without a pause after the first two words the meaning changes dramatically: מִכֹּל חַטֹּאתֵיכֶם לִפְנֵי ה', תִּטְהָרוּ – "from all your sins [committed] before the Lord, you shall be clean."

Which reading is grammatically correct? When we check the trop (טעמי המקרא),

מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י ה֖' תִּטְהָֽרוּ

we see that there's a zakef katan – a small pause – after the words מכל חטאתיכם. Option 1 is correct. The Torah seems not to distinguish between different types of sins. At least according to the simple text, Yom Kippur offers atonement whether we apologize or not.

This, I believe, is why the Mishnah notes that Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria extrapolated this idea from the verse. It's not the simple meaning. The Mishnah says so explicitly. The Mishnah continues:

Rabbi Akiva says: Fortunate are you O Israel! Before whom do you purify yourselves? [And] who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven! As it is said: “I will sprinkle upon you pure water and you shall become purified” (Ezekiel 36:25), and it is further said: “The hope of Israel is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:13), just as a mikvah purifies the defiled, so too, does the Holy one Blessed is He, purify Israel.

It's a famous quote, and a beautiful idea. But is it just a nice ending to the Masechet (it is the last Mishnah of Yoma), or is Rabbi Akiva chiming in on the previous issue? One could suggest that Rabbi Akiva is in fact arguing with Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, and suggesting that Yom Kippur purifies everyone, for every sin – regardless of what category the sin falls in. In fact, this is exactly what the Sefer Meor Einayim (quoted by the Tosfot Yom Hakippurim) suggests:

"I saw in the book Meor Einayim who explained that Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria held that God does not offer atonement to someone with sins between himself and his fellow man – even for the sins he committed against God. Rabbi Akiva argues with him and it is his opinion that God atones even for sins committed against one's fellow man, even though he did not appease his friend. And [Meor Einayim's] words are not clear to me."

While the Tosfot Yom Hakippurim (and Rambam and pretty much everyone else) disagrees with Meor Einayim, the opinion is fascinating. Why indeed should my atonement hinge not only my asking for, but my receiving my friend's forgiveness? It's not enough just to ask; I have to actually make strenuous efforts to secure his forgiveness. Why is it so important that the person I hurt forgive me?

This is a great question to ask ourselves as we struggle to pick up the phone, call and offer a sincere apology before Yom Kippur.

[Debbie Shafer]

Blesssings to you and yours too, we should all work together to achieve the goals of freedom.

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

I would also like to apologize to the Catholic, Italian, and Trinitarian members that I may of offended in the past.

And KWRBT, I'm sorry for jumping all over you lately.

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

I would also like to apologize to the Catholic, Italian, and Trinitarian members that I may of offended in the past.

And KWRBT, I'm sorry for jumping all over you lately.

I forgive you.  I didnt take it personally. Please forgive me if I was rude to you or wronged you over the course of our many discussions.

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

Muman, I forgive you.

I ask all the members here to please forgive me if I have wronged you.

Tag there is nothing for me to forgive.

May you all be blessed this year.

[angryChineseKahanist]

Oh ACK,

I ask your forgiveness for any hurt feelings due to a comment I made last year. I don't remember the particulars but I remember I said something which upset you. Although I had no intention of upsetting others, my words may not have been well thought out.

But that's illogical. I have no feelings.

[muman613]

Muman, I forgive you.

I ask all the members here to please forgive me if I have wronged you.

Tag there is nothing for me to forgive.

May you all be blessed this year.

Thank you KWRBT... May you have an easy fast..

[Mishmaat]

Have an easy fast Tag.

[Lisa]

Have an easy fast, Tag, and all the other Jews here.

And I also apologize if I offended or upset anyone here.