Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The obligation to forgive

Hi,

One is obligated to forgive others and not be cruel, once they have sincerely requested forgiveness; to do otherwise is to violate the Torah's prohibitions against revenge and grudge-bearing.

The person who harmed the other is required to apologize and seek forgiveness three times, using various groups of friends to argue his case. If the three attempts do not succeed, his obligation is terminated - unless the offended party was his Rebbe (Torah mentor), in which case he must continue to seek forgiveness.

According to some authorities, one may decline to forgive where this will help the sinner to improve, or where the original sin was one of spreading lashon hara [harmful speech].

(Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 2:9-10; Rama, Orach Chaim 606:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

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