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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