According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person’s fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to “seal” the verdict.
During this time, known as the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other human beings.
The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt. At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God.
With this in mind and with Yom Kippur beginning tomorrow evening at sundown, I ask the many people and issues that we have covered on this political news website, as well as the reporters and staff who work for this website, and who I’ve wronged either in truth or perception to forgive me.
God knows I’ve been stubborn and deeply opinionated, and have written and/or edited and posted items that were careless and hurtful and just plain wrong.
There are people and cultures that I should have covered more, but I didn’t, and/or things we’ve posted that completely missed the mark. For all this, I apologize both to our readers, and those noble enough to enter public service and thus open themselves to media scrutiny.
Note, however, while I humbly ask forgiveness for my wrongs from the elected officials and government I cover, it does come with a caveat: My job description includes calling balls and strikes over the people and workings in the marble halls of power. I will unflinchingly continue to call them as I see them.
But at this time of year, I put that aside.
To all my fellow tribesmen and tribeswomen, may you have an easy fast and L’shanah Tova!
And to all those of other faiths and those that don’t believe in a higher power, may peace, love and harmony follow you in the year ahead.
