There are people we forgive after a year. There are people we forgive after ten years. But there is one person we sometimes fail to forgive in our entire lives – ourselves.
On Yom Kippur we ask for forgiveness from others. But maybe we should also ask: What are we still not forgiving ourselves for?
Think, for example, of a person who in his youth dreamed of a certain profession. He wanted to try, but was afraid of failing. He gave up, chose a different path, and the years passed. In his old age, when he looks back, he still asks himself: Maybe I should have tried? Maybe my life would have been different?
Another person may have lost touch with a friend because of an argument. He could have called and made up, but pride held him back. Today, years later, he still regrets not making the first move.
And there are those who regret a decision they made, an opportunity they missed, a word they said, or a dream they left in a drawer.
On the eve of Yom Kippur, when the streets of Haifa are quiet, perhaps it is worth remembering a simple thing: We judge the person we were in the past by the experience we have gained since then.
We didn't know then what we know today.
The past cannot be changed. But we can stop punishing ourselves for it.
Perhaps the most important forgiveness we can give on this day is to ourselves.
What haven't you forgiven yourself for yet??.