Faith & Reason: How real is President Clinton's contrition?

As the Day of Atonement approaches Judaism has some guidelines to offer those who seek to make a judgement on the personal and political turmoil in the United States

ONE OF the recurring themes of this year has been the number of public proclamations of contrition. Recent examples include the Queen's reported desire to learn from the criticism of the British people after the death of Diana, David Beckham's promise not to kick out again and, of course, Bill Clinton's apology to everybody. Proclamations of remorse serve not only to apologise to the offended party but are also offered in the hope that the life of the penitent can return to normality as quickly as possible. But, does saying "sorry" guarantee a passport to normality? Is a statement of remorse equivalent to being repentant? In sum, what is repentance?

Repentance is an apt subject for this time of year, not only because of the recent public displays of penitence, but also because Jews have just celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, and are soon to commemorate the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. One of the unusual aspects of the Jewish New Year is that it is not celebrated with parties, streamers, inebriation and loud music; rather, it is a sober period of introspection. The New Year represents the crossing of the threshold from the past to the future and serves to increase our awareness of human dependence on God. At New Year, and during, the 10 days leading up to Yom Kippur, Jews are commanded to show penitence, consider their actions carefully and ask God for mercy.

This is not an easy option. The ancient rabbis offered a warning at this time of year: "The Day of Atonement brings pardon for sin if there is repentance but it is ineffective if a man says `I will sin and Yom Kippur will effect atonement'." This means that it is not enough to say, "I'm sorry". We have to do something about it.

In Judaism penitence is summarised in one word - teshuvah, which literally means returning. The motion of turning implies that sin is not an immovable stain but a straying from the right path and that by the effort of turning, the sinner can redirect his destiny. "Return unto Me and I shall return unto you, says the Lord" (Malachi iii,7). God urges Israel to repent and not to be ashamed to do so because children should not he ashamed to return to a parent who loves them (Deuteronomy Rabbah ii,24).

Such teshuvah, according to Jewish teaching, will result in God's forgiveness, for God desires our repentance. The rabbis describe God's appeal to Israel in these words: "My sons, open for me an aperture of repentance as narrow as the eye of a needle and I will open for you gates through which wagons and coaches can pass through" (Song of Songs Rabbah v,2,2)

In religious terms repentance is a prerequisite for divine forgiveness and mercy - God will not pardon us unconditionally but waits for us to repent. In repentance, we must experience genuine remorse for the wrong we have committed, cease to do evil and then convert our penitence towards acts of goodness. This is where many people who envelop themselves with public cries of sorrow fail. They make public apology but fail to begin the second crucial stage: to direct their penitential energy into positive action.

True repentance is no mere momentary spasm of remorse to be proclaimed in front of the cameras until it is safe to creep out again. To be worthy of the name, repentance must influence and leave its mark in terms of character, action and life. True repentance ends with something which must be based upon transformation rather than an eloquent public apology.

In practice, this means that we should not only acknowledge our sin before God but should also apologise to the person we have offended. Moreover, such an apology demands a positive response from the offended party. Judaism teaches that the person who has received the apology should forgive the penitent. Once remorse has been shown, and repentance offered, both the offender and offended must move on. Ben Sira, a Jewish philosopher who lived over 2,000 years ago explained:

Forgive your neighbour their wrong-

doings;

Then your sins will be forgiven when

you pray.

Shall humans cherish anger against

another,

And yet ask healing from the Lord?

(Ben Sira xxviii,2)

Who has Bill Clinton offended? Certainly his wife and family, and who in the public world can say what transformation he has affected in his relationship with them. So what is the appropriate response when the sinned- against feels itself to be the general public which then also demands an apology? This is not so easy; for what exactly is the nature of the offence? What restitution is it appropriate for him to offer - and will that public extend, in return, the forgiveness which is required of it?

In such circumstances we should carefully consider our response to these public acts of remorse. We should not delude ourselves that we are any better. It is worth remembering the prayer of another famous Jew: "Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us" (Luke xi,4).

Edward Kessler is Executive Director of the Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations, Cambridge