Wounds not Healed by Time - The Power Of Repentance and Forgiveness

282 Pages·2002·8.213 MB·English

by  Solomon Schimmel

WOUNDS NOT
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TFI E POWER OF
REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS
SOLOMON SCHIMMEL
Advance acclaim for
WOUNDS NOT HEAI
: • “A tough, intellectually cogent analysis of repentance and forgiveness issues that arc generally
relegated to sermonizing. This is not a sermon. It is a powerful and readable work of scholar­
ship. imbued with the passion of a scholar who understands both evil and forgiveness and the
difficult relationship between them."
r \I.\N DERSHOWITZ
author of Shouting l ire: Civil Liberties hi a Turbulent. V;c
“In this honest, eloquent book. Solomon Schimmel invites us to view the relation of forgive­
ness and repentance through multiple religious, secular, personal and social lenses. Christian
readers, in particular, should ponder carefully his strong argument that forgiveness without
repentance is morally unsupportable''
h IK1XA1 D W MIRI\EK
! President Emeritus. Union rheological Seminary. and
author of. \n Et/nc /5r Literate. Forgi'reiiess in Polities
" From Jerusalem to the Vatican to Capetown, Schimmel takes us on a scholarly journey through
humanity’s struggle to understand and cope with evil. l ie argues, with both passion and insight,
that our only hope for a sane future lies in overcoming our natural tendencies toward
vengeance and replacing them with a balance of justice, forgiveness, and repentance.
Fortunately for the human race, we can. Schimmel insists, learn to forgive. Let's hope he’s right.”
ROBERT EPSTEIN PH IV. Editor in-Chief. Psydw/ogyToday
and Lniversirv Research Prolessor. California School of Professional Psychology
at Alliant International University
“Drawing on a rich array’ of sources and writing with one eye on theology’ and one on more
contemporary psychological attitudes. Schimmel's work will go tar towards deepening our
understanding of the contradictory, ambivalent, difficult, yet ultimately redeeming processes
of forgiveness. This remains a knowledge that we. unfortunately, will have to draw on for
many years to come." \DA\I R S1-[|GMAX
author ol Modernity's Waver
“Solomon Schimmel brings the Jewish and the Christian teachings about forgiveness and
repentance together with the findings of modern psychology in a way that illuminates all
three sources of insight. By refusing to sever forgiveness from justice and repentance,
Schimmel provides a much-needed corrective to the soft-headed, sentimental thinking that
usually pervades the discussion.” |o\ D 1 [ \ I \SO\
Albert A List Professor of Jewish Studies. I larvard University
and author ot The Death and Rcsiirreetion of the HeleveJ X’u
90000
9 780195 128413
ISBN 0-19-512841-9
WOUNDS NOT
HEALED By TIME
1 low should we respond to injuries done to us
and to the hurts that we inflict on others? In this
thoughtful book. Wounds Not Healed By Time.
Solomon Schimmel guides us through the
meanings ol justice, forgiveness, repentance, and
reconciliation. In doing so. he probes to the core
of the human encounter with evil, drawing on
religious traditions, psychology, philosophy, and
the personal experiences of both perpetrators
and victims.
Christianity. Judaism, and Islam call for
forgiveness and repentance in our relations with
others Yet. as Schimmel points our. there arc
significant differences between them as to when
and whom to forgive Is forgiving always more
moral than refusing to forgive? Is it ever immoral :
to forgive? When is repentance a pre-condition
for forgiveness, and what does repentance entail?
Schimmel explores these questions in diverse
contexts, ranging from conflicts in a marriage and
personal slights we experience every day to 1
g
enormous crimes such as the Holocaust. He
applies insights on forgiveness and repentance to
the Middle East, post-apartheid South Africa,
inter-religious relationships, and the criminal
justice system.
In Wounds Not I Icalcd By Time. Schimmel also
provides practical strategies to help us forgive
and repent, preparing the way for healing and
reconciliation between individuals and groups.
“It is my belief," Schimmel concludes, that the
best balm for the resentment, rage, guilt, and
shame engendered by human evil lies in finding
the proper balance between justice, repentance,
and forgiveness."
USA $18.00
S OLOMON S C 111 M M E L is Professor of
Jewish Education and Psycholog}' at Hebrew
College, in Newton, Massachusetts. He is the
author of The Seven Deadly Sins: Jewish, Christian,
and Classical Reflections on Human Psychology. In
1998, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to
research the topic of forgiveness at Cambridge
University. England.
Jacket design by Mary Belibasakis
Jacket painting- Tk Pta/i/Ji97$-7<» by Marc Chagall (1887-198$)
Saint Paul-de-Vence. France • Scala Art Resource. NY
Author photo courtesy of Hay im Goldgraber
OXJFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
www.oup.com
WOUNDS NOT HEALED B Y TIME
WOUNDS NOT HEALED BY TIME
The Power of Repentance and Forgiveness
Solomon Schimmel
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
2002
£
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OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York
Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai
Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi
Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto
and an associated company in Berlin
Copyright © 2002 by Solomon Schimmel
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
www.oup.com
i
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, !
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schimmel, Solomon
Wounds not healed by time : the power of
repentance and forgiveness I Solomon Schimmel.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-512841-9
1. Forgiveness 2. Repentance I. Title.
BJ1476 .S34 2002
179'9—dc2i 2002022029
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Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
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This book is dedicated to the memory of my father,
Murray Schimmel, of blessed memory, a compassionate man,
and one who did not bear grudges
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CONTENTS
Permissions viii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
ONE Revenge & Justice ii
TWO The Essence of Forgiveness 40
THREE Why & When to Forgive 6l
FOUR How to Forgive 89
FIVE Forgiving Oneself & Forgiving God 121
SIX The Essence of Repentance 141
SEVEN Repentance & Reconciliation 182
EPILOGUE The South African Experience 220
Notes 227
Bibliography 251
Index of Names 259
Index of Subjects 26l