Have you ever done something that you wish you could take back? Sometimes, only moments later you realized that you unintentionally hurt someone’s feelings or caused some other harm to yourself or others. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just rewind the clock and make it like it never happened?
Yom Kippur was the day that the Jews got the second set of tablets of the Ten Commandments. We had erred to the point that Moses threw the first tablets onto the ground and shattered them. We caused seemingly irreparable damage to our relationship with G-d by worshipping a golden calf. But then… on Yom Kippur… G-d gave us a second chance.
As human beings, we are fallible, and sometimes we mess up. Sometimes we mess up big. Yet, often, a second chance is all we need to prove that we can do better. G-d saw that and gave that opportunity to our nation.
Yom Kippur is a time of second chances for us, but our Sages say that we have to bring something to the table too. They say that if you can find it in your heart to forgive others who have harmed you, if you can give other people a second chance, THEN G-d will forgive you and give you your second chance.
Yom Kippur is a time that is naturally conducive for second chances, but we have to buy in a little. We have to be willing to give second chances before we can get them. We can be the spark that starts things off for a brighter better new year.
G’mar Chasima Tova and Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Altonaga and the JET Team
