Count Down to Rosh Hashanah: Day 3

Forgiveness does not change what happened. It changes what we carry forward. During these days of reflection, we can ask whether anger, resentment, guilt, or an old injury is still occupying more of our lives than it deserves. Some wounds require time. Some relationships require distance. Yet there may also come a moment when holding tightly to the hurt costs us more than releasing some part of it.

We may also need to seek forgiveness. A sincere apology begins not with explaining ourselves, but with recognizing another person's hurt and accepting responsibility for our part in it.

And perhaps the most difficult forgiveness is sometimes forgiving ourselves — not erasing responsibility, but accepting that teshuvah allows us to learn, change, and continue.

QUESTIONS FOR TODAY

Is there something 1 am carrying that I am ready to put down?

Is there someone whose forgiveness

I need to seek?

Can I acknowledge one of my own failures without allowing it to define me?