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Friday September 29, 2006

A time for proper apologies

With the approach of Yom Kippur, leave it to Jon Stewart to teach us, and the world, a valuable lesson on the art of atonement.

In a recent “Daily Show” segment, the Jewish humorist and host commented on Pope Benedict’s speech that insulted Muslims and sparked violent protests around the world. He noted that the pope issued an apology, saying he was sorry Muslims were offended –– but apparently was not sorry for what he actually said in the speech.

Stewart then compared Benedict’s non-apology apology to some imaginary pope of the Middle Ages deeply regretting that victims of the Inquisition were so “flammable.”

The non-apology apology is commonplace these days. From Pope Benedict to Dr. Laura, it’s in vogue to feel sorry that someone may have been upset by something one does or says. It’s not so easy to apologize for what one actually did.

Yet that is what Yom Kippur is all about.

Our task as Jews during this season is to complete a spiritual house cleaning. We must make amends with those we wronged during the year, and do so openly, face-to-face, however unnerving that may be. No non-apology apologies accepted.

And remember, Kol Nidre is not a “get out of jail free” card. That legal loophole applies only to vows made to God and not between people.

We do not wish to appear sanctimonious here. While we strive always to be accurate and fair in these pages, we do make our share of mistakes. For those times in the past year that were inaccurate, unbalanced, unfair or sloppy, we are truly sorry.

At the same time, we also try to make room in these pages for all Jewish voices, from the most traditional to the most liberal, from the passionately pro-Israel to the stridently critical. That means. if you read j. long enough, eventually some article or op-ed is bound to draw your ire.

After all, we are a remarkably diverse community: Ashkenazi, Sephardic, Mizrahi. We come in all colors, backgrounds and ethnicities. We speak Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, Yiddish and Brooklynese. We are straight, we are gay, and some of us are somewhere in between.

But on one point, we all agree: This is a time of year when we come together as one community, Am Yisrael. No divisions, no schisms.

On Yom Kippur, we Jews have enough hard work to do as individuals. Thus we hope, just for a moment, we might look past our differences and seek to embrace one another as one people (maybe that’s why atonement is often hyphenated to read: “at-one-ment”).

And please, when making amends with those we wronged, let’s make sure to offer up none of those non-apology apologies.

A good yom tov and easy fast to all.

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