Yom Kippur theology

[cellio]

This year the contrast between two statements in the machzor (special prayer book for these holidays) struck me. We have both of the following statements:

1. For transgressions against God Yom Kippur attones, but for transgressions against other people, YK does not attone until you have made peace with that person. [1]

2. The "release": I forgive those who have wronged me and please don't punish them on my account, and I hope they say the same about me. (This is a paraphrase.)

If I am "off the hook" for something I did via #2 (the other person made this blanket statement) but I never actually made amends, how can I attone under #1 -- we didn't make peace? Or is the point to be strict on my own actions (I must make peace) but liberal on others'? I could think that #2 is for unknown offenses (I can't make amends if I don't know I wronged you), except that the text of the release says "intentional and unintentional".

(Am I correct in assuming that #2 is not a liberal innovation? I've never actually used or studied a traditional machzor, though I am motivated to find one now because a number of the translations [2] in ours struck me as wrong and I want to know what the Hebrew really says.)

[1] There's what amounts to a good-faith exclusion here, so you can't be hosed by someone who consistently refuses to forgive you.

[2] Reform prayer books before Mishkan T'filah feature a mix of loose translations and "alternative readings" (usually but not always marked as such). I am in the position of knowing enough Hebrew to see the issues but not enough to be able to just translate the text myself.

Comments

[sethg]

I would reconcile the two by saying that if the offender has an obligation to appease the victim to the point where the victim is willing to forgive the offender; on the other side, it is meritorious, but not an absolute obligation, for the victim to be easily appeased. The most extreme form of being easily appeased (the degenerate case, as the mathematicians would say) is to forgive the offender before the offender even approaches the victim.

I think even after the victim has given forgiveness in this circumstance, the offender has to recognize his or her sin and regret it before getting a full pardon from Upstairs, but I'm not sure. I should ask my rabbi about that part.

[cellio]

That makes sense. Thanks.