Attended Seminar

     I love attending seminars.  I love interacting with the people I meet and catching up with previous school mates.  I saw no classmates yesterday.  Yesterday I attended a morning seminar which was relatively inexpensive and breakfast was included.  That is always a motivator.
     The speaker yesterday is a Rabbi who has experience working as a Chaplain.  She is a training supervisor as well and spoke  about a book which included a chapter she has written regarding multi faith.  There were no handouts and my notes were restricted to what I felt I needed to dwell on.  I have sufficient books regarding multi faith.
      It is no secret that I have an admiration for the Jewish community.  How can I not?  Jesus was a Jew.  Jesus was persecuted and the Jews have been persecuted forever.  What an analogy.  Why not?  Who prosecuted the Jews?  Prejudice is not spared among people from organized religions.  How many Christians persecuted and continue to do so thinking it is ok, regardless of what the institution believes in?  Selective selection perhaps of the desired religion?  For what motive? 
      Initially, while I sat and listened to the speaker, I thought I was not really learning anything and wondered if my time was wasted.  However, I was able to identify with the speaker even though I am far from being a Rabbi or any religious for that matter.  I am strictly a lay person and quite comfortable in that position.
       I perked up as she mentioned Catholics and forgiveness.  She spoke of Holocaust survivors and how there may be something else besides forgiveness.  She indicated that a Catholic student indicated that forgiving others is beneficial to the person that is forgiving.  She suggested that there may be another way, which I took to mean is not forgiveness.  As I ponder, I wonder how much of an imposition forgiveness is?  Is it practical to forgive people who literally try to eliminate you from the human race?  Is it possible to forgive those responsible who have destroyed and killed every member of your family?  I don't know.  There are so many tragedies going on all the time but the Jews have been exiled over and over again. 
     There was more that I pondered on which I will turn over to you at another time.  In the mean time, have you suffered and feel the need to forgive?  Is it premature to forgive?  Can you really forgive?  I have lots of notes from classes about forgiveness.  I have chapters that I have read about forgiveness.  I have the theory, but my question is about the spirituality, the feelings, the despair, the destruction of innocence?  Can you forgive?  And if not, why not?  What do you think?  I really would like to know.