Are you sorry? or Are you sorry?

I am sorry that that I hurt you. I am sorry that I hurt you.

During this season we focus on our relationship with G-d. We focus on contemplating how great G-d is, how small we are and how unbelievable fortuante we are that G-d chose to put us on this earth and give us an opportunity to serve Him. How unbelievably humbling!

With this thought in mind we can turn our attention to our shortcomings. If G-d is so great, and He chose to put us on this earth anyway and we are humbled by that then how could we have sinned this past year? How could we have not lived up to His expectations?

Yom Kippur will be at hand shortly and we’ll spend a day in fasting and prayer regretting our shortcomings and resolving to make the year ahead a more complete one.

But where will our focus be will it be on us or on Him? When saying sorry, are we preoccupied with our shortcoming or with how we hurt the one we love? Are we focused on the “I” or on the “you”? If you are focused on the relationship then the focus will be on the “you”. If you are focused on the shortcomings then the focus will be on the “I”.

And here is my prediction; if you focus on the you, odds are you won’t mess up again or at least not as bad. If you focus on the I, you’ll be back there pretty quick.

My best wishes for a Gmar Chasima Tova – may you be sealed in the book of life for good for you and your loved ones!