Israel, too, Deserves Our Forgiveness

Yom Kippur. A time to forgive and accept forgiveness. A time to let go.

I recently came across a powerful list of five ways to let go that got me thinking about forgiveness in a new light. I’ve shared it below because I think there is great value to having food for thought this time of year (well, any time of year really…)

By now, we have begun to reach out and ask mehila, forgiveness from those we may have harmed, either intentionally or unintentionally. We seek out ways to mend what is broken and build bridges when possible. But I wonder:

Can we follow this same prescription when it comes to our relationship with Israel?

Can we forgive Israel for not being perfect?

Can we look at her achievements and be proud, knowing that our nation can and will eternally seek out good and strive to be better?

Will we, can we forgive a world that blindly follows the venemous demonization of our bretheren? A world that barely bats an eyelash when our people are under attack, living with an ongoing threat of pain and suffering because of an ideological hatred based on nothing but lies?

Can we forgive our friends, family, colleagues who were and are silent in the face of the continued declarations to destroy our nation state and exile us from our ancestral land?

Can we look at our fellow Jews we may disagree with — left, right, religious, secular, Diaspora, settlers, whomever and wherever — and say “I forgive you as I hope you will forgive me for our differences of opinion or perspectives, our ideas on what is best for Israel.”

The myriad of articles and polls that try to quantify the relationship with Israel for Diaspora Jews are not giving our people any benefit of the doubt. For, in truth, the relationship between Israel and the Jewish People is unquantifiable. Spanning generations, we must have faith that even with the current divisions facing our people, this, too, we shall overcome. Even with the rise of hatred against our nation, this, too, we shall overcome.

Israel, too, deserves to be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life.

And our collective commitment is part and parcel of ensuring this for today, tomorrow, and foreer.

Our nation is a living, breathing entity — scattered across the globe, yet bound together through faith, history, and hope to the land of our freedom. It is our pride and commitment, our struggle for perfection, our belief in the greater good, that makes us a light among the nations. And Israel is a part of that destiny.

So as we reach toward the Day of Judgment, let us strive to seek out ways we can forgive ourselves, each other, and, yes, Israel — none of us are perfect. No one side is at fault. And we have a collective AND individual obligation to create the peace among our people and in our relationships with Israel just as we pray for peace for all mankind.

http://israelforever.org/israel/celebrating/israel_deserves_our_forgiveness/