Setting the Stage for Tomorrow

Tonight at the Friendship House we discussed the prayer that we traditionally read every night before retiring to sleep:

Master of the universe! I hereby forgive anyone who has angered or vexed me, or sinned against me, either physically or financially, against my honor or anything else that is mine, whether accidentally on intentionally, inadvertently or deliberately, by speech or by deed, in this incarnation or in any other – any Israelite; may no man be punished on my account.
May it be Your will, L-rd my G-d and G-d of my fathers, that I shall sin no more nor repeat my sins, neither shall I again anger You nor do what is wrong in Your eyes.
The sins I have committed, erase in Your abounding mercies, but not through suffering or severe illnesses.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable before You, L-rd, my Strength and my Redeemer.

I once asked Rabbi Ben A. what in our prayer book would correspond to the Seventh Step Prayer (Big Book of AA page 76):

My creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen

Ben pointed out to the above prayer where we ask G-d to remove our sins. That prayer also has a 10th step element where we take a daily inventory of the people to whom we have resentments, and let go of them all.

By clearing up the previous day we create a space for bringing in a new tomorrow. By making an inventory of today's actions, we set the stage for a successful new day.

In yeshiva my spiritual mentor used to say: Heint Is Heint, Morgen Vet Zein Gooooor Andersh - Today is today, tomorrow will be toooootally different. Only when I know what happened today and why I did it, can I avoid repeating it tomorrow.