Jewish Beliefs about Peace and Conflict » Peacemaking, Forgiveness and Restorative Justice in Judaism

Peacemaking: truth, justice and peace

In Shalom: Peace, Pacifism and Passive Resistance in Judaism you met shalom and the work of the Jewish Peace Fellowship. This lesson looks at how Jews are taught to make peace between people, and what forgiveness has to do with it. The general ideas of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation are in Peace, Pacifism, Forgiveness and Reconciliation.

Key terms:

• Ethics of Our Fathers (Pirkei Avot): a collection of short sayings of the Jewish sages about how to live.
• Teshuvah (recap from Yetzer Hatov and Yetzer Hara: Sin in Judaism): "return", the Jewish word for repentance. The offender turns away from the wrong and returns to doing right.

Jews are taught that peacemaking is a duty. In Pirkei Avot the sage Hillel tells his students to be like Aaron, "loving peace and pursuing peace". A peacemaker does not wait for an argument to end by itself.

Pirkei Avot 1:18 teaches that the world stands on three things: truth, justice and peace. Jews read these as a set. Peace built on a lie is fragile. Peace without justice only lasts because the person who was wronged has no power to complain. So a Jewish peacemaker tries to find the truth, treat both sides fairly, and then bring them back together.

Forgiveness and teshuvah

Judaism teaches that the Almighty is merciful and forgives people who truly turn back. Psalm 130:7 says that Israel should hope in the Lord, because with him there is steadfast love and great power to redeem. Jews take this to mean that nobody is beyond a fresh start.

The way to that fresh start is teshuvah. As you learned in Yetzer Hatov and Yetzer Hara: Sin in Judaism, teshuvah means returning. It has steps:

1. Admit the wrong. The person says clearly what they did, without excuses.
2. Feel regret. They are truly sorry.
3. Put it right with the person harmed. They apologise and make up for the damage, for example by paying back what was taken.
4. Resolve not to repeat it. They decide to change, and show it when a similar chance comes again.
5. Seek the Almighty's forgiveness. They ask for it in prayer.

The order matters. Jewish teaching says a wrong against another person must first be put right with that person. Asking the Almighty for forgiveness is not a shortcut around the person who was hurt.

Forgiveness by the community

Offenders are also forgiven by the community. When someone has done teshuvah, Jewish teaching says the community should welcome them back and not keep reminding them of the past. This is needed because:

• a person who stays an outcast has little reason to change;
• Jews are taught that all of them are responsible for one another, so the community has a part in helping people put things right;
• peace in the community depends on old wrongs being finished with.

Forgiveness does not mean pretending nothing happened. The wrong must still be admitted and put right.

Restorative justice

In Punishment: Aims and Types you learned that restorative justice brings offenders and victims together so the harm can be repaired. Jewish teaching fits this closely. The Torah's laws on theft, in Exodus 22, require the thief to pay back what was taken, and more, and Leviticus adds a fifth when a person admits a wrong over property. The focus is on repairing the harm, not only on punishing.

Isaiah 55:6-8 shows the hope behind it. The prophet says the wicked should leave their way and return to the Lord, who will freely pardon. The prophet adds that the Almighty's ways are higher than human ways. Many Jews read this as encouragement to be ready to forgive others too.

Restorative justice is important for criminals because:

• they face the person they harmed and understand the damage;
• they can make up for it and show they have changed;
• it gives them a way back into the community, so they are less likely to offend again.

Victims also gain, because they are heard and the harm is repaired. What punishment is for is covered in Jewish Attitudes to Punishment and Its Aims.

Exam-style question

(a) Identify three steps of teshuvah. [3 marks]

(b) Choose one religion. Outline two Jewish teachings about forgiveness. [4 marks]

(c) Choose one religion. Explain why restorative justice is important for criminals in this religion. [6 marks]

(d) 'Forgiveness is more important than justice in making peace.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]