Shemoneh Esrei 23: Total Reconciliation
סלח לנו אבינו כי חטאנו, מחל לנו מלכנו כי פשענו, כי מוחל וסולח אתה
Forgive us, our Father, for we have erred; pardon us, our King, for we have willfully sinned; for You pardon and forgive
After petitioning for t’shuvah in the last brachah, we now ask Hashem to restore our closeness and relationship to what it was before our transgressions. This is in sync with the very essence of tefilah, which is to establish an intimate and meaningful relationship with our Father (Avinu).
In concept, this is similar to bringing a korban olah after we bring a korban chatas, where the olah is not brought for forgiveness but rather as a gift to the King after appeasing Him through the korban chatas, which represents t’shuvah, forgiveness, and atonement. [Gemara Z’vachim 7b, and Rashi there]
The tefilah of asking for m’chilah is in place of the korban olah. We now ask Hashem to wipe away the aveiros completely and restore our relationship to what it was originally, and that we should be “אוהבו–ohavo” – Hashem’s beloved. [Ri ben Yakar, rebbe of the Ramban, quoted in Sefer Nafshi Cholas Ahavasecha]
We are not complacent to achieve simple forgiveness. Often, when one friend seriously offends another or does something requiring forgiveness that caused a significant rift in the relationship, even when the friend eventually forgives the offender, the relationship cannot be restored to what it once was. What we are asking for here, and what we should strive to emulate in our own relationships, is to restore the relationship to the extent that the offense is completely erased without a trace, and that we once again become “מרוצה–m’rutzeh” to Hashem – desired by Hashem – in the same way that we were before sinning. [Rabbeinu Yonah, Shaarei T’shuvah 1:42]
As the Rambam (Hilchos T’shuvah 7:6-7) writes:
גדולה תשובה שמקרבת את האדם לשכינה... אמש היה זה שנאוי לפני המקום, משוקץ ומרוחק ותועבה. והיום הוא אהוב ונחמד קרוב וידיד.
“Great is repentance, for it brings man close to the Sh’chinah (the Divine Presence)… Last evening, this one was in contempt before the Omnipresent One, abhorred and estranged and an abomination. Today he is beloved and desirable, near [to Hashem] and a friend.”
The word emesh means “last evening.” Ha’yom refers here to the very next morning. So “overnight,” Hashem in His great chesed allows us to go from one who is “in contempt” and “abhorred” to one who is “beloved and desirable, near [to Hashem] and a friend.” This is the power of t’shuvah, and this is the level we seek here in this brachah.
Hashem says “וסלחתי כדבריך” – I will forgive you according to your words. The Tiferes Shlomo says that this means: according to the sincerity of our words coming from the depths of our hearts. This brachah, together with the one before it, must be said with heart, sincerity, and focused kavanah, for the degree of the appeasement and restoration of the relationship is tied to it and affected by it. Furthermore, it is at the core of what tefilah is all about, and nothing less than our relationship with Hashem is at stake. Hashem desires a close relationship with us. What an opportunity we are given! Let us do our small part and be sincere and wholehearted in our request.