Repentance for forgiveness

Today begins Rosh Hashanah, a new Jewish year, the year 5774; together with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), they form in the Jewish tradition a unit called 'Fearsome Days', as it is the moment when God judges the world and decrees what will happen in the course of the new year.

The first day corresponds to the sixth day of Creation, at which time human life was created. It was when man was able to recognize God as the Creator and voluntarily crown him as King, which the Jews continue to do every Rosh Hashanah. The sound of the shofar calls for penance, 10 days of self-examination and spiritual constriction culminating on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Once again the Jewish people feel that they are in front of their maker being judged by Him because of the transgressions made to the Mosaic Law. Only on this date of the year the Jewish people practice repentance and reconciliation between people for the faults committed against their neighbor.

After Yom Kippur, preparations should begin for the Sukkot festival, which begins four days later, building a Sukkah "temporary hut" that recalls the Clouds of Glory that accompanied the town, and refers to the places of temporary residence. used by the children of Israel in the wilderness during the forty-year period of their pilgrimage after the exodus from Egypt.

With the experiences of the desert (manna, water), this holiday underlines the faith that in some way God provides for human needs and that man, in turn, should be grateful to him. Sukkot is a time of expansion and joy that follows the days of judgment and constriction of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Leaving stable houses and living in cabins allows one to experience the fragility of the material and the importance of spiritual values and recognize the Creator as the provider of material well-being and divine protection.

How good that we, who have had a personal encounter with God, do not have to wait for a date in the year to arrive at the Holy of Holies and repent of our sins. The Jews go to the sea and there they symbolically throw their sins into the water. We only have to humble ourselves before the throne of grace to expel our sins from the heart and receive the embrace and mercy of our Father.

Our time of constriction and regret is permanent. Every day we live our Yom Kippur and it will be until we come to his presence.

We do not need tabernacles, because his divine hand is always on us protecting us and reminding us how miserable our existence would be without him, since it is he who gives us value.

God is not available for only one period in the year, God is always there, attentive to our cry and every day he tells us: "neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more"