Becoming Whole Again...

The Act of Forgiveness...

And Jesus said, "For if you forgive the trespasses of mankind, your heavenly Father will also forgive your trespasses; but if you do not forgive the trespasses of mankind your heavenly Father will not forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15

So we know what Jesus said about Forgiveness, what do the Jews say?

In Hebrew there is no word for charity.  The closest word that the Jews have to charity is tzedaka which means "justice."¹  This is the reason that Jews of all denominations are known worldwide as a charitable people:  they view charity as justice.

The most basic kind of forgiveness in Jewish philosophy is "forgoing the other's indebtedness" (mechilá) which is a non-emotional, almost secular decision made (or not) by the offended person.  The second kind of forgiveness is "forgiveness" (selichá) as an act of one's heart.  Both of these types of forgiveness can be afforded by the offended party.  "The third kind of forgiveness is 'atonement' (kappará) or 'purification' (tahorá). This is a total wiping away of all sinfulness. It is an existential cleansing. Kappara is the ultimate form of forgiveness, but it is only granted by God. No human can 'atone' the sin of another; no human can 'purify' the spiritual pollution of another."  Thus, it is prevailing Jewish thought that an offended person is obliged to grant an offender mechila if the offender has, first, desisted from all abusive activity; second, reformed his character through analysis of sin, remorse, restitution, and confession; and third, actually asked for forgiveness several times.²

Using both the Jewish and the Christian principles, above, the TRP has fashioned its Credo such that an ex-offender will not receive mechila (forgiveness) unless he has, first, desisted from all abusive activity; second, reformed his character through analysis of sin, remorse, restitution, and confession; and third, actually asked for forgiveness several times.

While our criminal justice system is designed to put people in jail, it is not designed to help them stay out once they are released regardless whether they have shown strong efforts at rehabilitation.  And it is certainly the collateral consequences of the criminal conviction such as deprivation of earning a livelihood that puts the ex-offender back inside. Why is this so?  "Courts have offered myriad explanations to justify excluding collateral consequences and reentry from the criminal process. For instance, several appellate courts have declared that collateral consequences impose civil restrictions as opposed to criminal penalties, and are therefore detached from the criminal process. Courts have also warned against the burdens of incorporating the vast network of collateral consequences into the criminal process."³ 

As a direct result of the failure of our society to forgive, the United States "... has created a growing felon caste, now more than 16 million strong and growing, of felons and ex-felons, who are often driven back to prison by policies that make it impossible for them to find jobs, housing or education" according to Congressman Rangel.

Thus, there is ...

A Need for Forgiveness...

The United States Congress in November, 2006 came one vote shy of passing the Second Chance Act of 2005. One single Senator for no substantial reason decided to withhold his vote, thus dooming the work of thousands of volunteers and countless hours of legislative compromise with but a single, thoughtless act. The 2005 version of the Act would have accomplished the following important goals, among others:

There is no federal statutory procedure whereby civil rights may be restored after conviction or judicial records of an adult federal criminal conviction have been cleared after years of civility and good works, except in the circumstances involving the initial, single charge of use of marijuana.   Thus, all of the federal statutes stating that a federal ex-offender's ability to partake in government matters (such as serving on a jury, acquiring professional licenses, etc) require the ex-offender to show "restoration of civil rights" are disingenuous because there exists no federal avenue to have civilrights restored.4

Thus, federal ex-offenders - unlike ex-offenders in the majority of states - have absolutely no way to show rehabilitation apart from Presidential Pardon and, according to former United States Pardon Attorney Margaret Love, the pardon office of the president is effectively dead.  Click HERE to see the pardon actions of the presidents for the last 107 years.

Beyond that, ex-offenders nationwide need a system and a plan by which they can rehabilitate themselves and, then, go on to a better, more productive life through continued civility and good works.  To our knowledge only daily implementation of the TRP Credo can accomplish that.

If you wish to join in our efforts and help yourself, or someone you may know who is affected by the collateral consequences of a conviction, you may join the TRP effort.

The first step is to click HERE.

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¹  http://www.njop.org/html/ask_the_rabbi.html
²  By Rabbi David R. Blumenthal who is the Jay and Leslie Cohen Professor of Judaic Studies at Emory University, Atlanta. He is the author of Facing the Abusing God: A Theology of Protest (Westminster/John Knox), God at the Center (Jason Aronson), and The Banality of Good and Evil: A Social, Psychological.  See, e.g., http://www.crosscurrents.org/blumenthal.htm.
³  86 Boston University Law Review 623 at 631 [footnotes omitted].  Also, see House floor comments of Congressman Charles Rangel by clicking HERE.
4   See Detailed Analysis by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Pardons at http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/collateral_consequences.pdf.