{"id":84013,"date":"2020-11-24T15:14:29","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T13:14:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=84013"},"modified":"2020-11-24T15:14:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T13:14:29","slug":"on-the-value-of-good-old-guilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/on-the-value-of-good-old-guilt\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Value Of Good Old Guilt"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This chapter of Psalms, in which King David passionately expresses his plea for forgiveness for his sin with Bathsheba, is widely regarded as a template for <\/span>teshuva<\/span><\/em>, repentance. So much so that many verses from this Psalm appear in our liturgy, both in daily prayers and those of the pre-Yom Kippur Selichot service.<\/span><\/p>\n

One verse in the chapter has received much attention. \u201cI recognize my transgressions and I am forever conscious of my sin (51:5).\u201d\u00a0 The first lesson is clear: recognizing a transgression is the first step to rectifying it. But the notion of forever remembering it runs contrary to the modern message of \u201cwhat\u2019s past is past: let go of it and move on.\u201d Rabbi Philip Moskowitz (YU Torah) comments that holding on to memories of sin is not meant to be debilitating but rather empowering. \u201cSin at its core represents free will\u201d says Moskowitz. If one is free to choose sin, then one is also free to choose not to sin. In fact, he goes even further and suggests that \u201csin is part of our development as moral individuals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this emphasis on remembering one\u2019s ignominious past play into the Jewish typecast of guilt? Perhaps it does, but that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing. Cultural anthropologists differentiate between shame culture and guilt culture. Guilt culture emphasizes what your inner conscience is telling you. It\u2019s grounded in one\u2019s own moral compass. If you act in opposition to that, the result is inner guilt. Shame culture, on the other hand, emphasizes public image. The objective, if you have sinned, is to hope that no one finds out what you did, because if they do, you\u2019ll be shamed for life. Guilt can be experienced alone; shame requires an audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

If shame culture sounds familiar, you can thank social media, where everyone can and does pass judgement on everything, regardless of how much time has passed or penance demonstrated. The result, says Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, is that the people who survive and thrive in shame culture are those with no shame. Guilt culture, on the other hand, is inward-looking. In other words, doing precisely what David demonstrates: recognition of and remorse for your sin, asking forgiveness, changing your ways and, rather than putting it behind you, keeping it in your conscience so that you can choose not to do it again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seems like Jewish guilt has gotten a bad rap.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":84014,"id":84014,"title":"ps51-guilty","filename":"ps51-guilty.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/ps51-guilty.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/on-the-value-of-good-old-guilt\/ps51-guilty\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps51-guilty","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":84013,"date":"2020-11-24 13:14:06","modified":"2023-10-09 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