The Book of Life is opened for the new year on Rosh Hashanah and closed on Yom Kippur; between, we reflect on the past year and ask forgiveness for mistakes. In practice, this often means somewhat desperate attempts at apologies,…
I’m Sorry
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Community I didn’t know I owed him money, but he wouldn’t let me pay
This story happened when I was 21 and I’ve been carrying it with me ever since. Every Yom Kippur, it’s the first thing on my mind. When I was 14, I wanted to get into a music summer school for teens that was taught at Rimon, one of the best contemporary music schools in Israel….
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Community I said sorry, but I didn’t understand what I did
An apology is a rare element of human communication — you can instantly tell when someone is apologizing honestly or faking it (the other phrases of this breed include “I love you” and “sure, you can have the last french fry”). If you’ve had the opportunity to apologize sincerely and on the spot, and you…
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Community I am sorry for your loss; I am sorry for my loss
1 I found out that he died from Facebook. I remember those initial moments of confusion, when I reread the post. “What? Impossible. What happened? He wasn’t sick!” I remember the shock, when I realized what he had done, that he was cut short — in the midst of life. I remember the confusion, not…
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Community Before Yom Kippur, he apologized — but it should have been the other way around
A few years ago I was studying in yeshiva in Jerusalem. I was coming off a whirlwind high from becoming an adult bar mitzvah and a great community send off months prior. I was ready and excited to dive into Jewish texts in a way that was previously foreign to me. Through the Facebook group…
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Community Read this for effortlessly clear skin
Once a month in seventh grade, my mother would pick me up from school and drive me to a blood clinic in Greenwich, where a nurse would draw blood from my arm and make sure I was not pregnant. It was a ridiculous way to spend a late afternoon — I had not started menstruating…
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Community I accused my neighbor of stealing my snake
Tradition has it that King David used to remind himself, every Yom Kippur or so, of his past sins. Every Yom Kippur, whether I like it or not, I am reminded of a past sin of my own. It was one of the worst things I ever did. I was living on a kibbutz in…
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