09 May REVITALIZING OUR DAVENING – PART NINE
After we pray for
assistance to repent, we
can now ask Hashem for
forgiveness. It would
be phony to petition
for forgiveness before
we show an attempt at
repentance. Thus, we
pray to Hashem, “Slach
lonu Avinu, ki chatonu
– Forgive us our Father,
for we have sinned, M’chal lonu Makeinu, ki
foshonu – Absolve us our King, for we have
rebelled.”
One of the challenges of proper prayer is to
know the subtle differences in words that have
very similar meanings. An example is the
words slach and m’chal, which seem to convey
the same idea. The Eitz Yosef, Iyun Tefila,
and the Siddur M’foresh all say that selicha
denotes complete forgiveness while mechila
is only partial absolution which still leaves an
impression of sin. However, in a footnote the
Siddur M’foresh sites a differing opinion from
the Pri Megadim, that selicha is only partial
while mechila is complete. So too, the Artscroll
sites the Avudrahan that selicha indicates that
there will be no punishment while mechila
promises that there won’t be even any harboring
of resentment and ill will.
It would seem to me that the word slach
points to the former opinion-that it is a total
forgiveness, since it is the same letters as the
word chasal, which means to finish completely.
Furthermore, since we say “Ki tov v’soleach
Attah – For You absolve and forgive,” it would
seem to indicate by the order that solei’ach is
the finishing process. So too, the end of the
bracha, “Chanun hamarbeh lislo’ach – The
gracious One Who forgives many times,”
would point to the fact that slicha is the more
complete of the two.
In the first stanza, we mention that Hashem is
our Father while in the second stanza we refer
to Him as our King. The Avudrahan explains
ki chatonu means we made a mistake. That’s
the attitude of a father who views everything as
a mistake. Even if it was a willful act, in his
love the father reasons that his child just doesn’t
know better, while “M’chal lonu Malkeinu ki
foshonu – Absolve us our King for we have
rebelled,” to a king everything is viewed as
rebellion. Even a mistake should not have
happened when in the presence of majesty. The
Yaros Devash says that when we do the same
sin three times, it is then called a pasha. At
that time, we lose the relationship of a father
to a son, and we only have the relationship of a
subject to a king.
The Olas Tomid teaches the important
objective that when we say slach lonu avinu ki
chotonu, we should have in mind to fulfil the
mitzvah d’Oriasa, the biblical precept of vidui,
confession. And, at this point, we should think
about any specific sin we might have performed
since the last time we prayed. He advises that it
would be good to remember the sage advice of
the Orchos Chaim l’Harosh, “Uma tov livakeish
selicha al amar ‘slach lonu’ b’lo kavanah – And
how good it is to ask forgiveness for saying the
prayer to ‘forgive us’ without thought.”
The opening petition, “Slach lonu Avinu, ki
chatonu – Forgive us our Father, because we
sinned,” is a bit puzzling. Is it sensible that
Hashem should forgive us because we sinned?
Should he absolve us because we rebelled?
Therefore, the Iyun Tefilla renders the word ki
to mean af al pi, even though. Others define ki
as ‘when.’ In a novel interpretation the Derech
Miitvosecha explains, the word because as
follows: we ask Hashem himself to forgive us
who as unlimited mercy and not the pamalya
shel maala, the Heavenly tribunal. For because
we have sinned repeatedly, we need Hashem’s
bountiful compassion.
It’s interesting in the first stanza, since the word
chatonu means mistake, we can understand that
we are asking Hashem to forgive us because
we made a mistake. The problem is with the
second stanza, machal lonu ki foshonu. How
can we say that Hashem should absolve us
because we have rebelled? There is another
definition of the word foshonu, which means
‘neglect,’ as in the word peshia, a word that’s
common in the Gemora which means ‘neglect.’
Then, this stanza would also fit for we are
saying, ‘Absolve us because we were just
being neglectful and not willful.’ However,
then we would not be asking for absolution
for severe crimes which would not be a likely
interpretation of the blessing.
The bracha concludes, “Boruch Attah Hashem,
chanun hamarbeh lislo’ach – Blessed are you
Hashem, the gracious One, Who forgives us
many times.” We give heartfelt thanks to
Hashem for forgiving us even though we are
repeat offenders. Rav Avraham, the son of
the Vilna Gaon, zt”l, zy”a, adds that we thank
Hashem for forgiving us even though He knows
that we will do it again.
May we always merit Hashem’s forgiveness
and be blessed with long life, good health and
everything wonderful.