Forgetfulness is a very bad quality both in matters of this world and in matters of the world to come. A person who is in the habit of forgetting should write down all matters that arise between him and his fellows so that he will remember them. If he borrows or lends, he should write down everything; even if he borrows only a prutah, he should write down and determine not to forget. And it is fitting for an esteemed person who is forgetful not to borrow from people, for they will be ashamed to ask for the return of their loan and he will forget it and not repay it, and will bear his guilt therefor. And he who knows himself that he is forgetful should guard himself exceedingly to review all of his affairs. A parable will illustrate the point. There was once a king who gave one of his servants a slip of paper and said to him, "When you see that I am wrathful, give me this slip of paper." And on this slip of paper was written, "Know that you are not God, but you are just a physical body that wears away and whose end will devour its end [meaning that worms will go forth from part of his flesh and devour the rest of his flesh] and which will soon return to vermin and worms." And the king had a servant whom he commanded to stand before him whenever he (the king) ordered that someone be scourged with whips of fire. And he would say this to him to subdue his heart.
From this we can learn several things. A forgetful person should make reminders for himself. And high fences are needed in order that one should not forget the Torah. As it is written, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw" (Deut. 4:9). And he must be very careful not to forget the good qualities.
However, a man should employ the quality of forgetfulness to forget the commandments that he has fulfilled. For if he sets his mind on remembering the precepts that he has fulfilled and the Torah that he has studied, while forgeting his bad deeds and evil schemes, then he will be a righteous man in his own eyes and will not repent. But he should remember his transgressions and write them in a book and read them, in order to remember all of them and repent of each and every one, and he should confess them. But as for the good deeds that he has done, he should not hasten to remember them, and he should always appear in his eyes as though he were empty of good deeds and filled with transgressions. He should forget the sins of his fellow man and forgive him, and he should remove from his heart all hatred, jealousy, and evil thoughts. And at the time of prayer he should remove from his heart everything in the world, but there should be uppermost in his thoughts the kindness of God, and he should cleave to Him with great attachment. And when he performs his bodily needs, he must forget all the words of the Torah and words of holiness, but he may think about the needs of his household, at that time. He should also think that he is filled with excrement, lowering the pride of his heart. The general rule here is that with respect to every precept of the Torah he should do something that will cause him not to forget, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light" (Prov. 6:23).
שַׁעַר הָעֶשְׂרִים – שַׁעַר הַשִּׁכְחָה
Chapter Twenty: ON FORGETFULNESS
הַשִּׁכְחָה הִיא מִדָּה רָעָה מְאוֹד בְּעִנְיְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה וּבְעִנְיְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וּמִי שֶׁהוּא שַׁכְחָן – יִכְתֹּב כָּל עִנְיָנִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין חֲבֵרוֹ כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּזְכֹּר. אִם הוּא לוֹוֶה וּמַלְוֶה – יִכְתֹּב הַכֹּל; אֲפִלּוּ אִם לוֹוֶה פְּרוּטָה מֵחֲבֵרוֹ – יִכְתֹּב הַכֹּל, וְיִתֵּן לֵב שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁכַּח. וְרָאוּי לְאָדָם שֶׁהוּא נִכְבָּד וְשַׁכְחָן שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא לוֹוֶה מִבְּנֵי אָדָם, כִּי הֵם מִתְבַּיְּשִׁים לִשְׁאוֹל מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהוּא שׁוֹכֵחַ וְלֹא יִפְרַע, וְנָשָׂא עֲוֹנוֹ. וּמִי שֶׁיּוֹדֵעַ בְּעַצְמוֹ שֶׁהוּא שַׁכְחָן – יִזָּהֵר מְאוֹד לַחֲזֹר עִנְיָנָיו. מָשָׁל: כְּמוֹ שֶׁעָשָׂה מֶלֶךְ אֶחָד, שֶׁנָּתַן לְאֶחָד מֵעֲבָדָיו הַמְּשָׁרְתִים כְּתָב, וְאָמַר לוֹ: כְּשֶׁתִּרְאֶה שֶׁאֲנִי כּוֹעֵס – תְּנֵהוּ לִי. וְהָיָה בַּכְּתָב כָּתוּב בְּזֶה הַלָּשׁוֹן: דַּע כִּי אֵינְךָ אֱלֹהִים, אֶלָּא אַתָּה גּוּף כָּלֶה, שֶׁיֹּאכַל קְצָתוֹ אֶת קְצָתוֹ, וְיָשׁוּב בְּקִרְבּוֹ לְרִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה. וְהָיָה לַמֶּלֶךְ עֶבֶד אֶחָד, שֶׁצִּוָּה שֶׁיַּעֲמֹד לְפָנָיו בְּעֵת שֶׁיְּצַוֶּה לְהַכּוֹת בְּנֵי אָדָם בְּשׁוֹטִים שֶׁל אֵשׁ, וְהָיָה אוֹמֵר לוֹ כָּךְ לְהַכְנִיעַ אֶת לִבּוֹ.
Forgetfulness is a very bad quality both in matters of this world and in matters of the world to come. A person who is in the habit of forgetting should write down all matters that arise between him and his fellows so that he will remember them. If he borrows or lends, he should write down everything; even if he borrows only a prutah, he should write down and determine not to forget. And it is fitting for an esteemed person who is forgetful not to borrow from people, for they will be ashamed to ask for the return of their loan and he will forget it and not repay it, and will bear his guilt therefor. And he who knows himself that he is forgetful should guard himself exceedingly to review all of his affairs. A parable will illustrate the point. There was once a king who gave one of his servants a slip of paper and said to him, "When you see that I am wrathful, give me this slip of paper." And on this slip of paper was written, "Know that you are not God, but you are just a physical body that wears away and whose end will devour its end [meaning that worms will go forth from part of his flesh and devour the rest of his flesh] and which will soon return to vermin and worms." And the king had a servant whom he commanded to stand before him whenever he (the king) ordered that someone be scourged with whips of fire. And he would say this to him to subdue his heart.
מִזֶּה יִלְמַד כַּמָּה דְּבָרִים: אָדָם שֶׁהוּא שׁוֹכֵחַ – יַעֲשֶׂה לוֹ זִכְרוֹנוֹת. וְצָרִיךְ גְּדֵרִים גְּדוֹלִים שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁכַּח אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, כְּדִכְתִיב (דברים ד ט): ״רַק הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ וּשְׁמֹר נַפְשְׁךָ מְאֹד, פֶּן תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ״. וְצָרִיךְ לִזָּהֵר שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁכַּח מִדּוֹת הַטּוֹבוֹת.
From this we can learn several things. A forgetful person should make reminders for himself. And high fences are needed in order that one should not forget the Torah. As it is written, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes saw" (Deut. 4:9). And he must be very careful not to forget the good qualities.
אַךְ יִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּמִדַּת הַשִּׁכְחָה לִשְׁכֹּחַ הַמִּצְווֹת שֶׁעָשָׂה. כִּי אִם יִתֵּן לֵב לִזְכֹּר מִצְווֹתָיו וְתוֹרוֹתָיו, וְיִשְׁכַּח רָעוֹתָיו וְתַחְבּוּלוֹתָיו – אָז יִהְיֶה צַדִּיק בְּעֵינָיו וְלֹא יָשׁוּב. אַךְ יִזְכֹּר פְּשָׁעָיו, וְיִכְתְּבֵם עַל סֵפֶר וְיִקְרָאֵם כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּזְכֹּר הַכֹּל, וְיָשׁוּב מִכָּל אַחַת וְיִתְוַדֶּה עֲלֵיהֶם. אַךְ עַל מִצְוָה שֶׁעָשָׂה לֹא יָחוּשׁ לִזְכֹּר. לְעוֹלָם יְדַמֶּה בְּעֵינָיו כְּאִלּוּ הוּא רֵיק מִמִּצְווֹת וּמָלֵא עֲבֵרוֹת. וְיִשְׁכַּח חַטֹּאת חֲבֵרוֹ וְיִמְחֹל לוֹ, וְיִשְׁכַּח מִלִּבּוֹ שִׂנְאָה וְקִנְאָה וְהִרְהוּרִים רָעִים. וּבְעֵת הַתְּפִלָּה יִשְׁכַּח מִלִּבּוֹ כָּל דָּבָר שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, אַךְ יַעֲלֶה בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ חֶסֶד הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, וְיִדְבַּק בּוֹ בִּדְבֵקוּת גְּדוֹלָה. וּכְשֶׁהוּא עוֹשֶׂה צְרָכָיו – יִשְׁכַּח מִלִּבּוֹ כָּל דִבְרֵי תוֹרָה וְדִבְרֵי קְדֻשָּׁה, אַךְ יַחְשֹׁב בְּצָרְכֵי בֵּיתוֹ בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה. וְיַחֲשֹׁב שֶׁהוּא מָלֵא צוֹאָה, וּבָזֶה יַשְׁפִּיל לִבּוֹ. כְּלָלוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָר: לְכָל מִצְוָה וּמִצְוָה יַעֲשֶׂה מָה שֶׁלֹּא יִשְׁכָּחֶנָּה, ״כִּי נֵר מִצְוָה וְתוֹרָה אוֹר״ (משלי ו כג).
However, a man should employ the quality of forgetfulness to forget the commandments that he has fulfilled. For if he sets his mind on remembering the precepts that he has fulfilled and the Torah that he has studied, while forgeting his bad deeds and evil schemes, then he will be a righteous man in his own eyes and will not repent. But he should remember his transgressions and write them in a book and read them, in order to remember all of them and repent of each and every one, and he should confess them. But as for the good deeds that he has done, he should not hasten to remember them, and he should always appear in his eyes as though he were empty of good deeds and filled with transgressions. He should forget the sins of his fellow man and forgive him, and he should remove from his heart all hatred, jealousy, and evil thoughts. And at the time of prayer he should remove from his heart everything in the world, but there should be uppermost in his thoughts the kindness of God, and he should cleave to Him with great attachment. And when he performs his bodily needs, he must forget all the words of the Torah and words of holiness, but he may think about the needs of his household, at that time. He should also think that he is filled with excrement, lowering the pride of his heart. The general rule here is that with respect to every precept of the Torah he should do something that will cause him not to forget, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light" (Prov. 6:23).