Everyone makes mistakes - just look in the Tanakh!
Biblical heroes can make mistakes - even very big mistakes.
Think of an example of a person in the Tanakh who did not act properly or who did not do what God asked him or her to do.
Find the story in the Sefaria library and add the most important lines of the story below.
Find a partner and discuss the stories that you each chose.
Check out this video for little kids of Big Bird singing about making mistakes. Listen to the song and answer the question below.
I made a mistake, now what do I do?
Biblical heroes who make mistakes can also be role models for what to do in that situation.
One of the the most famous of the flawed Biblical heroes is King David. After the prophet, Nathan, scolds David for his sins, David says the following:
וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל־נָתָן חָטָאתִי לַה' וַיֹּאמֶר נָתָן אֶל־דָּוִד גַּם־ה' הֶעֱבִיר חַטָּאתְךָ לֹא תָמוּת׃
David said to Nathan, “I stand guilty before the LORD!” And Nathan replied to David, “The LORD has remitted your sin; you shall not die.
The Mishneh Torah, written by Maimonides, explains the process of repentance.
אֵין הַתְּשׁוּבָה וְלֹא יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים מְכַפְּרִין אֶלָּא עַל עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם כְּגוֹן מִי שֶׁאָכַל דָּבָר אָסוּר... אֲבָל עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ כְּגוֹן הַחוֹבֵל אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ... אוֹ גּוֹזְלוֹ ...אֵינוֹ נִמְחַל לוֹ לְעוֹלָם עַד שֶׁיִּתֵּן לַחֲבֵרוֹ מַה שֶּׁהוּא חַיָּב לוֹ וִירַצֵּהוּ. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהֶחֱזִיר לוֹ מָמוֹן שֶׁהוּא חַיָּב לוֹ צָרִיךְ לְרַצּוֹתוֹ וְלִשְׁאל מִמֶּנּוּ שֶׁיִּמְחל לוֹ.
(9) Neither repentance nor the Day of Atonement atone for any save for sins committed between man and God, for instance, one who ate forbidden food...; but sins between man and man, for instance, one injures his neighbor, ... or steals from him... is never absolved unless he makes restitution of what he owes and begs the forgiveness of his neighbor. And, although he make restitution of the monetory debt, he is obliged to pacify him and to beg his forgiveness.
Don't worry - You are not alone
The Yom Kippur Kol Nidre service begins with acknowledging that no one is blameless and everyone has a reason to do teshuva.
עַל דַּֽעַת הַמָּקוֹם וְעַל דַּֽעַת הַקָּהָל. בִּישִׁיבָה שֶׁל מַֽעְלָה וּבִישִׁיבָה שֶׁל מַֽטָּה. אָֽנוּ מַתִּירִין לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עִם הָעֲבַרְיָנִים:
How does it make you feel to know that you are praying with others who have made mistakes? Are you more likely to be comfortable asking for forgiveness or are you less likely to feel that you need to be forgiven since everyone does it?
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
Asking for forgiveness from God and from our friends and family can be very difficult.
In each of the Yom Kippur amidahs, we say the vidui or confessional prayer where we recite a list of things that we, as a community, have done wrong. Read the vidui in the Yom Kippur machzor on Sefaria.
- What types of mistakes are we confessing?
- How can the vidui be a model for individuals when asking forgiveness from our friends and family?
- How might the texts that you have read in this lesson make it a little easier for you to ask forgiveness?