“The concept of human forgiveness is derived from the basic unconscious supposition of an omniscient presence—one that rules over time itself.
It implies a relationship between man and the absolute, a relation to God, who is beyond space and time and natural law.
Every request for forgiveness of past action on the part of man is a plea to awaken in him the ‘spark of holiness,’ the ‘Divine part from above,’ which enables him to exist beyond the apparent limits of reality.”
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From Pebbles of Wisdom from Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz