Brick Walkway Ribbon Cutting & Blessing Ceremony
Sunday, September 22 at 3:00 pm
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Rabbi's Weekly Teaching
September 13, 2019
"Do not despise the Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land." 
(Deuteronomy 23:8)
Once we were slaves in Egypt; innocent victims of terrible, terrible abuses for hundreds of years.
The cruelest act of all was Pharaoh's order that newborn male babies should be thrown into the Nile River.
Why would God tell us not to despise the Egyptian?
A common rabbinic teaching is that Jews are to recall that prior to our enslavement, Egypt embraced and provided for us when we had to flee Canaan because of famine.
A further rabbinic notion is taught that judgement should be made specific to what is occurring at the time, and one should not become mired in historical anger. 
Past good acts should always be recalled and emphasized, and while bad or evil cannot be forgotten, we do not assign blame to a new generation that had nothing to do with past acts, and have proactively turned away from their own immoral historical behavior.
When contemplating Germany or Japan, we don't forget the sins that were committed during WWII, but, if the society has turned away from such sins, then we want to bring about reconciliation for a better future.
What is true for contemporary societies is also true for individuals.
If we have been wronged by another, we should expect proper amends.
However, when reconciliation is offered, we should first think of the good that was done in the past so that we can be more open to an effective healing.
Additionally, we don't allow the hurt to stick to us. We want the salve of forgiveness to lessen our pain and foster a new and stronger healthy relationship.
As the holidays approach, we enter our season where we are especially mindful of the desire to receive forgiveness for our sins. 
We should all be as willing to grant forgiveness to the same extent we would want to receive forgiveness.
Being stuck within a pit of anger and resentment keeps us in a perpetual state of our own emotional enslavement.
To become free, we need to unburden ourselves from the shackles of past acts, and instead focus on the present as to what is possible, and a future which can truly be a personal liberation.
A person who forgives another often benefits even more than the person who is forgiven.  
Henry Ward Beecher wrote:

"I can forgive, but I cannot forget" is only another way of saying, 'I will not forgive.' Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one."

We don't have to excuse past bad behavior, but, the power to forgive within our personal relationships with others can be a great gift to ourselves.
And, on a societal level, learning from the past so as to assure a better future comes from the ability to not hold onto the scars of history as burning phenomenon, but, instead using history to make sure future scars can be avoided.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Mitch
For an archive of past columns, click  here.
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