A Jewish friend of mine and I were talking about the situation and she explained this to me (I'm always asking how things work, which is why she REALLY has to explain things to me):
In Judaism, there are only two unforgivable sins. One is murder. The other is slander/harassing talk.
I need to stop and explain something about how forgiveness works in Jewish thought, which is frequently misunderstood. In Judaism, the only person who can forgive you for a sin is the person you committed it against, and only if they can somehow be made whole again. On Yom Kippur, God forgives the Jewish people for sins they have committed against him (this is frequently misconstrued as "Jews believe god absolves them for sinning against others"--which is completely inaccurate. Even God can only forgive a person for sins committed against him but because God is ultimately good and loves people, he will do so if you ask--according to Jewish thought.)
This is why murder is the unforgivable sin. The only person who is capable of forgiving a murderer is no more, therefore murder is unforgivable.
The other unforgivable sin is slander, the malicious things you say about other people. There is a common rabbinic parable that explains why this is that I like:
"A certain person in the community hated another and spread salacious gossip and harsh words about him, which damaged his standing in the community and caused him grief and harm. Over time, the gossiper came to regret his actions, and went to the rabbi. Rabbi, he said, how do I proceed with gaining forgiveness for having slandered my fellow? The Rabbi said: Before you can be forgiven, you must first stand on the roof of the tallest building in town on a windy day and slice open a feather pillow, then come back to see me again. So the gossiper did so, and the feathers quickly blew about and were lost. The gossiper went back to the rabbi and said, I have done what you asked. The Rabbi said, to begin being forgiven for your gossip, you must collect every feather from the pillow. The Gossiper cried out that this was impossible. The rabbi said, every lie and slander you spread is like a feather from that pillow. Your victim cannot be whole until the pillow can be."
no subject
A Jewish friend of mine and I were talking about the situation and she explained this to me (I'm always asking how things work, which is why she REALLY has to explain things to me):
In Judaism, there are only two unforgivable sins. One is murder. The other is slander/harassing talk.
I need to stop and explain something about how forgiveness works in Jewish thought, which is frequently misunderstood. In Judaism, the only person who can forgive you for a sin is the person you committed it against, and only if they can somehow be made whole again. On Yom Kippur, God forgives the Jewish people for sins they have committed against him (this is frequently misconstrued as "Jews believe god absolves them for sinning against others"--which is completely inaccurate. Even God can only forgive a person for sins committed against him but because God is ultimately good and loves people, he will do so if you ask--according to Jewish thought.)
This is why murder is the unforgivable sin. The only person who is capable of forgiving a murderer is no more, therefore murder is unforgivable.
The other unforgivable sin is slander, the malicious things you say about other people. There is a common rabbinic parable that explains why this is that I like:
"A certain person in the community hated another and spread salacious gossip and harsh words about him, which damaged his standing in the community and caused him grief and harm. Over time, the gossiper came to regret his actions, and went to the rabbi. Rabbi, he said, how do I proceed with gaining forgiveness for having slandered my fellow? The Rabbi said: Before you can be forgiven, you must first stand on the roof of the tallest building in town on a windy day and slice open a feather pillow, then come back to see me again. So the gossiper did so, and the feathers quickly blew about and were lost. The gossiper went back to the rabbi and said, I have done what you asked. The Rabbi said, to begin being forgiven for your gossip, you must collect every feather from the pillow. The Gossiper cried out that this was impossible. The rabbi said, every lie and slander you spread is like a feather from that pillow. Your victim cannot be whole until the pillow can be."
I thought the parable apt, considering.....