Word Prompt – SLICHA – Inna Vernikov

During the Jewish holiday season, slicha can take on a more sacred meaning and serve as an acknowledgment of our shared humanity. We are invited to confront our wrongdoings and repair our relationships with G-d and our fellow human beings.

Jews have faced adversity and threats to our existence from the times of the Torah to the horrors of the Holocaust and, more recently, October 7, yet we have survived. Despite every catastrophe, valuing the concept of forgiveness has remained central to our values, and slicha can become a display of our enduring strength and resilience. Forgiveness – whether between human beings or between individuals and G-d – is essential to our survival and healing as a community. This is clearly displayed in modern Jewish life; the rising antisemitism that we are contending with shows that slicha is more relevant than ever. Forgiveness should never be misconstrued as a concession to hatred. Rather, it should be celebrated and be seen as a way of preserving our dignity and honor when the world feels unwelcoming or hostile toward us and our Torah values.

Slicha takes on a different significance during Yom Kippur when we are reminded that not one human exists without fault. It may be a bit simpler to ask forgiveness from our loved ones, neighbors, or G-d; it’s another challenge altogether to forgive those who have wronged us. This is the true challenge that slicha poses: forgiving even when forgiveness and grace feel impossible.

In a divided world that rejects selfless values and genuine introspection, this simple word can serve as a powerful reminder that there is always a way toward healing – but only if we have the courage to pursue it!

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