Drawing near to Hashem erases sin

לפני מי מטהרין כו' דאנו מבקשין מחה פשעינו מנגד עיניך כאמור אנכי כו' מוחה פשעיך למעני.

"Before whom are you purified" etc.; for we request, "Wipe away our transgressions from before Your eyes," as it is said, "I, etc., wipe away your transgressions for My sake."

Drawing on the Yom Kippur theme of purification before Hashem, we ask Him to wipe away our sins from before His eyes, as the navi promises that Hashem erases our pesha'im for His own sake.

ומה הלשון מנגד עיניך הלא הבקשה הוא לכלות ולמחות כל החטא.

And why the expression "from before Your eyes"? Surely the request is to annihilate and wipe away the entire sin.

The Sefas Emes asks: if we want the sin utterly erased, why phrase it as merely removing it "from before Your eyes," rather than asking for total destruction?

רק הפי' שבאמת עי"ז שמתקרבין לפני השי"ת וזוכין להתוודות לפניו באמת בפרט במקדש ה'.

Rather, the explanation is that in truth, through drawing near before Hashem and meriting to confess before Him in truth — especially in the Mikdash of Hashem.

The answer: it is the very act of coming close to Hashem and giving honest vidui before Him — above all in the Bais Hamikdash — that accomplishes the erasure.

עי"ז נמחה החטא.

Through this the sin is wiped away.

The closeness and sincere confession themselves are what erase the sin.

וז"ש מנגד עיניך עי"ז מחה פשעינו.

And this is the meaning of "from before Your eyes" — through this, wipe away our transgressions.

"From before Your eyes" means: by our standing right before You in confession, the sin is wiped out.

כאמור אנכי כו' מוחה פשעיך למעני היינו בכח התגלות הקדושה:

As it is said, "I, etc., wipe away your transgressions for My sake" — that is, through the power of the revelation of holiness.

Hashem wiping away sin "for My sake" means that it is the revelation of His own kedushah, drawn down when we draw near, that dissolves the sin.

Summary: We ask Hashem to wipe our sins "from before Your eyes" — not as a separate act of destruction, but because the very act of drawing near to Hashem and offering sincere vidui, especially in the Mikdash, erases sin through the revelation of His holiness, which is why He wipes it away "for My sake."