חנינה רחמים וחסד Forgiveness, mercy and kindness

You will surely arise and take pity on Zion, for it is time to be gracious to her; the appointed time has come.

Yom ha-Kippurim is the time set aside for repentance for all, the individual as well as the many; for it is the goal of exoneration and quittance in Israel. Because thereof all are obliged to make reparation and confession on the Day of Atonement. The commandment to confess on the Day of Atonement obliges every one to commence it during the afternoon on the ninth day of Tishri, before the evening meal, lest he be sufficated eating his meal before he confess. And, though he did confess before his meal, one is obliged to confess gain during the night prayer of the Day of Atonement, and to repeat the confession during the Morning, Addition, Oblation, and Closing Prayers. At what part of the prayers is the confession made? Every individual delivers it after the silent Benedictions, but the public Reader in the midst of his prayers, after the Fourth Benediction.⁸Yoma, 87b. C.

Otherwise, when the distance is great, the blood-avenger, pursuing the manslayer in hot anger, may overtake him and kill him; yet he did not incur the death penalty, since he had never been the other’s enemy.

(11) you shall provide yourselves with places to serve you as cities of refuge to which a manslayer who has killed a person unintentionally may flee. (12) The cities shall serve you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer may not die unless he has stood trial before the assembly. (13) The towns that you thus assign shall be six cities of refuge in all. (14) Three cities shall be designated beyond the Jordan, and the other three shall be designated in the land of Canaan: they shall serve as cities of refuge. (15) These six cities shall serve the Israelites and the resident aliens among them for refuge, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there. (16) Anyone, however, who strikes another with an iron object so that death results is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. (17) If he struck him with a stone tool that could cause death, and death resulted, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. (18) Similarly, if the object with which he struck him was a wooden tool that could cause death, and death resulted, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. (19) The blood-avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; it is he who shall put him to death upon encounter. (20) So, too, if he pushed him in hate or hurled something at him on purpose and death resulted, (21) or if he struck him with his hand in enmity and death resulted, the assailant shall be put to death; he is a murderer. The blood-avenger shall put the murderer to death upon encounter. (22) But if he pushed him without malice aforethought or hurled any object at him unintentionally, (23) or inadvertently dropped upon him any deadly object of stone, and death resulted—though he was not an enemy of his and did not seek his harm— (24) in such cases the assembly shall decide between the slayer and the blood-avenger. (25) The assembly shall protect the manslayer from the blood-avenger, and the assembly shall restore him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and there he shall remain until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the sacred oil.

And, yet, there are certain tendencies which man is forbidden to follow in the middle-way, but must distance himself from extreme to extreme. The good way is not merely that man be meek, but that he should be humble-spirited, then his spirit will be extremely lowly. This is the reason why it is said of Moses that he was very meek (Num. 12.3) and not merely meek. This is also the reason why the sages commanded saying: "Be exceedingly humble of spirit" (Pir. Ab. iv. 4). They, moreover, said: "He who is of a haughty heart denies the head principle" (Sotah, 4b), even as it is said: "Thine heart be then lifted up, and thou forget the Lord they God" (Deut. 8.14); and they also said: "Isolated be he in whom there is a haughty spirit, even a little thereof" (Sotah. 5a). So is anger an extremely evil tendency and it is proper for man to remove himself from it to the other extreme. One should teach himself not to get angry, even over a matter which befits anger. If one desires to engender awe in his children and his household, or in the public, if he be at the head of a community, even if he desire to get angry at them so as to bring them back to the good way, he should only act angry in their presence so as to reprove them, but his disposition must remain calm within himself, even as a man imitates, who is angry when the time calls forth anger but in reality he is not angry. The sages of yore said: "He who yields to anger is as if he worshiped idolatry".¹See Nedarim, 22b. G. They also said: "Whosoever yields to anger, if he be a wise man his wisdom leaves him, and if he be a prophet his prophecy leaves him."²Pesahim, 66b. C. Verily the life of irritable persons is no life.³Ibid. 113a. C. They have, therefore, commanded to be afar from anger, so that one will train himself not to mind even the things which do cause irritation, for such is the good way. The conduct of the just is to take insults but not give insults, hear themselves flouted but make no reply, do their duty as a work of love, and bear affliction cheerfully. Concerning them the Verse says: "But may those that love Him be as the rising of the sun in his might" (Judg. 5.31).