Few things are as powerful...
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Few things are as powerful as the announcement of forgiveness. Harold Kushner tells the story of a young mother dealing with the challenge of forgiving the husband who left her and their three children. From his perspective, the challenge is not merely exonerating the one who caused the wounds, but more so, freeing oneself from the burden of the anger. He states: "Forgiving happens inside us. It represents a letting go of the sense of grievance, and perhaps, most importantly, a letting go of the role of the victim. For a Jew to forgive the Nazis would not mean, God forbid, saying to them, 'What you did was understandable. I can understand what led you to do it and I don't hate you for it.' It would mean saying, 'What you did was thoroughly despicable and puts you outside the category of decent human beings. But I refuse to give you the power to define me as a victim. I refuse to let your blind hatred define the shape and content of my Jewishness. I don't hate you; I reject you.' And then, the Nazi would remain chained to his past and to his conscience, but the Jew would be free."
(From The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, 185-86)
(From The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, 185-86)
