If we do it before Pesach with our chometz, could we do it before Yom Kippur with our sins?
Authorization for Sale of Sins
1. If the contract includes sins that belong to someone else, be sure that you have received at least verbal authorization from the owner to include in this contract.
2. Please be meticulous in doing a thorough introspective examination. Checking all items indiscriminately does not do the transaction justice.
3. All items included in the sale should be sealed off and made inaccessible through regret, confession and commitment.
4. Personal belongings that can be used for sin are not sold, but must be secluded and made inaccessible nonetheless.
5. Sins committed in seclusion are included in the sale.
6. Be aware, that from the time of the sale to the non-Jew, the purchaser has right of access to any sins sold to him, and he may utilize them as he wishes even on Yom Kippur. He will owe the seller the remainder of the purchase price as will be determined by three experts after Yom Kippur.
I (print name) _____________________ hereby appoint Rabbi Dani Staum from this day forward to be my agent and attorney-in-fact to sell or dispose of, or make any arrangements for the sale or disposal in any manner and with any transaction that he deems fit, of all of my sins, iniquities or malicious sins which I have committed or for which I am otherwise responsible, and including good deeds which have not been performed adequately and with appropriate emotional investment until the time of sale on the ninth of Tishrei of this year.
These include, without limitation, the following sins:
(Check all items that apply)
- Wrongful speech and lashon hara
- Sins involved with davening
- Not studying Torah sufficiently
- Negative character traits
- Deceitfulness with money
- Marital disharmony
- Not fulfilling promises and pledges
- Sins involving sight and other senses
- Sins involving business or money
- Lack of adherence to laws of Shabbos
- Not reciting berachos properly
- Not caring enough about others
- Hurting other people’s feelings
- Lack of meticulousness with kashrus
- Not enough time with family
- Attending kiddush club
- Falling asleep during rabbi’s speech
In exchange for my sins, I will receive a year of blessing, spiritual growth, nachas, prosperity, serenity and fulfillment.
In evidence thereof, I have signed this authorization and power of attorney, this ___ day of Tishrei 5776/September __, 2015.
Signature _________________________
So why is there no such form before Yom Kippur? Part of the answer lies in what our objective is in doing teshuva. We aren’t merely looking to absolve ourselves from culpability and punishment. We have higher aspirations to spread the honor of God and “to rectify the world in the kingdom of Hashem.” That is accomplished when our focus is not only on ourselves, but on a greater mission: To build a world of divinity and holiness, a world untainted and unsullied by sin.
On a greater level, the Gemara says that when we perform teshuva out of love, our sins become merits. We surely don’t want to give away all those merits to a non-Jew.
Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is a popular speaker and author. He is a rebbe in Heichal HaTorah in Teaneck, NJ, and an experienced therapist, recently returning to seeing clients in private practice, as part of the Rockland CBT group. For appointments, Rabbi Staum can be reached at 914-295-0115. Looking for an inspirational and motivating speaker or scholar-in-residence? Contact Rabbi Staum for a unique speaking experience. Rabbi Staum can be reached at [email protected]. Archives of his writings can be found at www.stamtorah.info.
