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I’ve heard from a Rabbi that if you forgive others, Hashem will forgive you for all your sins. What is the source for this? So is saying the “ I hereby forgive whoever has hurt me, And whoever has done me any wrong;”, at night before sleep, get you mercy from Hashem for him to forgive you for all your sins? Please list sources. Thanks.

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  • Please clarify what you mean by "Hashem will forgive you for all your sins"
    – Al Berko
    Aug 11, 2018 at 18:50
  • What do you do if nobody has hurt you? Do you really expect just say this phrase and expect all your sins cleared?
    – Al Berko
    Aug 11, 2018 at 18:54
  • see judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/52780/… for an answer to a similar question
    – user15464
    Aug 12, 2018 at 13:16

2 Answers 2

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Yoma 23:1

והאמר רבא כל המעביר על מדותיו מעבירין לו על כל פשעיו

Rut Raba said: He who passes over his retaliations has all his transgressions passed over?

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  • Btw this teaching also appears in Yoma 87b, RH 17a, and Megillah 28a.
    – DonielF
    Aug 10, 2018 at 14:43
  • After the OP's reaction, I think it is a clear case of "לפני עוור" - you made this newbie think that this phrase will atone all his sins. This is very dangerous to throw an expression without proper explanation.
    – Al Berko
    Aug 10, 2018 at 15:34
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Stop it right there!

  • First, get rid of your false assumption "Hashem will forgive you for all your sins". If this was the case it would render Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and Yom Hadin obsolete. Since they are not, your assumption is therefore false.

  • Keep in mind that all general rules we learn from the Talmud are only a general correlation, not a law. That is explicitly said in Kiddushin 34a:

אמר רבי יוחנן אין למדין מן הכללות ואפילו במקום שנאמר בו חוץ

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: One does not learn practical halakhot from general statements, i.e. when a general statement appears in a Mishna and uses the term: All, it is not to be understood as an all-inclusive statement without exceptions. This is the case even in a place where it says: Except, to exclude a specific matter.

  • Your question (and Kouty's answer) is a subset of a bigger rule - מידה כנגד מידה (Mishna Sotah 1,7) WIKI here:

"בַּמִדָּה שֶׁאָדָם מוֹדֵד, בָּהּ מוֹדְדִין לוֹ"

In the measure that a person measures, so it is measured out to him.

But once again, to translate it into our language: "one who [wholeheartedly] forgives others will be judged more favorably that one who does not [on Yom Kippur or Yom Hadin].

  • Still, another point is that if one counts on that a-priori, that he can sin and then forgive someone and G-d will forgive him, the Talmud says (Mishnah Yoma 8,9)

"האומר אחטא ואשוב. אחטא ואשוב. אין מספיקין בידו לעשות תשובה. "

One who says, "I will sin, and then repent, I will sin [again], and then repent," will not receive an opportunity to repent;

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  • Um. Regarding that first paragraph? You might want to review the first Perek of Rambam Hil. Teshuvah again. Most aveiros do not need Yom Kippur to be atoned for. Some are bad enough that Yom Kippur alone isn’t enough. I think your assumption that Yom Kippur is absolutely necessary in the process of atonement needs tweaking, because it’s clearly not.
    – DonielF
    Aug 10, 2018 at 14:45
  • @DonielF YK was just an analogy for the very idea of G-d judging us at different times. I didn't like the original OP's phrasing of "G-d forgives all sins".
    – Al Berko
    Aug 10, 2018 at 15:27
  • I don’t follow.
    – DonielF
    Aug 10, 2018 at 16:27

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