A Hasidic parable tells of a king who quarreled with his son. In a fit of rage, the king exiled his son from the kingdom. Years passed. The son wandered alone in the world. In time, the king’s heart softened, so he sent his ministers to find his son and ask him to return. When they located the young man, he said that he could not return; he had been too hurt, and his heart still harbored bitterness. The ministers brought the sad news back to the king. He told them to return to his son with the message: “Return as far as you can, and I will come the rest of the way to meet you.”
In Hasidic parables, the king represents God, so the story is about sin and teshuva, repentance. But it is also a parable about forgiveness. Knowing that one should forgive, and that to forgive is to be in the image of God, does not tell us how to forgive. Indeed, even when we think we have forgiven, we may discover that we still harbor hurt or bear grudges. As the humorist Kin Hubbard said, “No one ever forgets where he buried the hatchet.”
Right before Yom Kippur, two women who have had a long standing fight see one another in the synagogue. One says: “You know, it is a new year. It is time to put an end to the bickering and fighting. I want you to know that in the new year I wish for you everything you wish for me.”
And the second woman says, “So, you are starting up with me again!”
Vayikra is about sin, sacrifice, and forgiveness. To forgive is to no longer feel superior. It is to admit that you too are in need of forgiveness. While there are unforgivable acts, the vast majority of things we need to forgive are forgivable. Of course, it is difficult. We hurt, we begrudge, we nurse grievances. The world is full of pain. It is healed by becoming a world full of forgiveness. The journey begins in each wounded and willing heart.
