Torah Portion

By Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

This has got to be one of the oldest “rabbi” jokes in the entire repertoire of American Jewish humor.

It tells us of the young rabbi, fresh from rabbinical school, who addresses his first several sermons to his new congregation on the varied subjects of meticulous Sabbath observance, refraining from malicious gossip, honesty in business, and the avoidance of inappropriately familiar behavior with other men’s wives.

After these first several homiletic salvos, the president of the congregation approaches him with the suggestion that these topics have upset many members, and urges him to try to find some more acceptable topics to speak about.

The rabbi objects, and asks, “But what, then, do you suggest that I speak about in my sermons?”

To which the president replies, “Judaism! Why not just talk about Judaism?”

Those of us with experience in the pulpit rabbinate typically do not find this story very funny. Each of us has, on more than one occasion, taken on causes in our sermons that our audiences have felt were not in our rabbinic purview, and indeed were somehow “not Jewish.”

One of my favorite examples of this phenomenon in my own career has been my attempts, both in sermons and in private counseling sessions, to encourage forgiveness. I will never forget the first time I made “forgiveness” the theme of one of my sermons, only to be accused by a member of my congregation of preaching Christianity.

Of course, this is not true. Forgiveness is a major teaching of our own faith.

In this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, we have an outstanding biblical example of forgiveness. Joseph, after putting his brothers through tests and trials, finally cannot contain himself. He exclaims, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt.” And immediately after identifying himself, he unequivocally forgives them: “Now, do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither… it was not you who sent me here, but God…”

This is not the first example of human forgiveness that we find in the Bible. Abraham, back in Genesis 20:17, not only forgives his adversary, Avimelech, but offers prayers on his behalf.

What, then, can be the basis for the misconception that forgiveness is a Christian virtue and is not preached by Judaism? The answer may be found in a precious book called “The Sunflower,” by Simon Wiesenthal. Wiesenthal relates his personal experience of when he was brought to the bedside of a dying Nazi officer by the officer’s own mother, who pleaded with him to forgive her son for killing Jews. Wiesenthal had been an eyewitness to this officer’s murderous brutality. He found himself confronted with a moral dilemma. Could he deny a mother’s tearful entreaties? On the other hand, could he possibly forgive such unspeakable cruelty?

I will leave it for you to discover for yourself what Simon Wiesenthal actually did. But long after the event, he submitted this excruciating dilemma to several dozen philosophers, writers, and political leaders, asking them what they would do. Some of his respondents were Christians, some were Jews, and I believe one was a Buddhist. The results were astounding. By and large, the non-Jews were able to find justification for forgiveness. On the other hand, most of the Jews could not express forgiveness for this soldier’s heinous crimes, convinced that certain crimes were not subject to forgiveness.

For me, the lesson here is one that Judaism teaches well. Forgiveness must be earned, it must be deserved, it must be requested, and, above all, it can only be granted by the person who was offended. I cannot forgive you for a sin you’ve committed against my brother.

In a sense, Joseph goes beyond the call of duty in expressing forgiveness to his brothers. They did not beg forgiveness from him. But he knew from close observation of their concern for each other that they had long transcended their previous petty jealousies and rivalries. He was convinced that forgiveness was in order.

Forgiveness is a practice for all year long, and not just for the season of Yom Kippur. After all, it is not just on that one sacred day that each of us stands in need of the Almighty’s forgiveness. His forgiveness is something we need at every moment of our lives.

The prophet Micah (7:18) says:

“Who is God like You,tolerating iniquity and forgiving transgression…”
Upon which the Talmud comments (Rosh Hashanah 17a):
“Whose iniquities does God tolerate? He who forgives the transgressions of another.”

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb is executive vice president emeritus of the Orthodox Union (OU).