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| Preparing coals for the incense service in the Beis HaMikdash (Temple Institute) |
On this, the eve of Yom Kippur, our day of atonement, I wish
to ask mechila from anyone I have slighted. The Talmud teaches that sins
between man and man - Bein Adam L’Chavero
(BALC) are not forgiven no matter how much we beseech God for it.
Sincere prayer on matters between God and man (Bein Adam L’Makom
- BALM) will be dealt with favorably by God
through prayer, penitence, and charity.
Matters BALC are only first dealt with by God after one
makes peace with and asks forgiveness from the fellow man they have wronged – and is given
Mechila by them . I, therefore, grant
Mechila to all that I have perceived to have wronged me - intentionally or otherwise.
Forgiveness begins with confession. Tonight we begin a day
of fasting and prayer that the sins of ALL of Klal Yisroel be forgiven. This is
why when we confess our sins to God (as in the formal prayer known as Viduy) we
use the plural ‘we’ instead of the singular “I’.
God has given us Yom Kippur as a gift. It is a time where
His attribute of mercy is called upon and where it is more freely given. All we
need do is ask Him sincerely for it. That is what fasting and sincere prayer
does.
May God grant us all a happy and healthy new year.
G’mar Chasima Tova
