In Judaism, confession (Hebrew וידוי, Viddui)
is a step in the process of atonement during which a Jew admits to committing a
sin before God. In sins between a Jew and God, our confession occurs without
others present (The Talmud teaches
that confession in front of another is a show of disrespect). However, confession pertaining to sins done TO
ANOTHER JEW is permitted publicly, and we make this confession on the morning
of Yom Kippur (in fact, we make this
confession several times on Yom Kippur
– and when we do so mindfully, it’s a profound experience. Stay with me, here!)
The confession of a sin marks
a point in time after which our demonstration of the recognition and avoidance
of similar FUTURE transgressions show whether we have truly recovered from the
sin and therefore whether we deserve forgiveness for it. Forgiveness does not come with the immediate
acknowledgement of the sin.
We say the Vidui
in plural, confessing transgressions that we clearly know we have not committed
(see below!), a firm reminder that our moral responsibilities go beyond our
personal realms. Judaism teaches that if
we see a friend acting wrongly we are commanded by the Torah to privately and
politely rebuke him or her, and when we don't, it is considered as if we share
their wrongdoings.
The Yom
Kippur confessional consists of two parts: a short confession beginning with the word Ashamnu (אשמנו, "we have
sinned"), which is a series of words describing sin arranged according to
the aleph-bet, and a long confession, beginning with the words Al Cheyt (על חטא, "for the
sin"), which is a set of 22 double acrostics,
also arranged according to the aleph-bet, enumerating a range of sins. The humbling thing about this is that even if
we can absolve ourselves of some of these wrongdoings, we have ALL fallen in
SOMETHING on this list. Darn it. Just when I thought I was being a better Jew…
Yom Kippur reminds me (as if I needed
it) that there is always room for improvement!)…
We say,
Ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu, dibbarnu dofi;
He-evinu, vhirshanu, zadnu, hamasnu, tafalnu
sheker;
Ya-atznu ra; kizzavnu,
latznu, maradnu, ni-atznu;
Sararnu, avinu, pashanu,
tzarnu, kishinu oref ;
Rashanu, shihatnu,
ti-avnu, ta-inu, titanu.
We mean,
We abuse, we betray, we
are cruel, we destroy, we embitter, we falsify, we gossip, we hate, we insult,
we jeer, we kill, we like, we mock, we neglect, we oppress, we perfert ,we
quarrel, we rebel, we steal, we transgress, we are unkind, we are violent, we
are wicked, we are extremists, we yearn to do evil, we are zealous for bad
causes.
And we say,
We have done wrong and
transgressed, and so we have not triumphed.
Inspire our hearts to abandon the path of evil, and hasten our
redemption. And so Your prophet Isaiah declared: “Let the wicked forsake their
path, and the sinful their design. Let them
return to Adonai, who will show them compassion. Let them return to our God, who will surely
forgive them.”
The High Holidays are about return in both literal
and figurative ways – children return home from university to celebrate Rosh
Hashanah with their families; often, adult children return to their parents
with their own children in tow to mark this beginning of our new year. The biggest return, though, happens with Yom Kippur, when we are enjoyed to
return to God.
Beginning with the Kol Nidre service on the evening before (this year, that will be
this Friday, October 3rd), we work to prepare ourselves for a
spiritual and often emotional marathon.
If you’ve never attended a Kol
Nidre service, I recommend it – it’s beautiful, moving, powerful, and
profound. When sun sets on Kol Nidre, we begin a fast from all food
and liquid until after the sun sets – and the shofar sounds for the last time –
on Yom Kippur. We abstain from all food and liquid so that
we can concentrate only on what is important: relationship. Relationship with one another, and
relationship with God.
This is the time of year at which Jews – even those
who might not be so observant during the rest of the year – are conscious of
making amends with those they feel they’ve wronged. We are mindful of t’shuvah, or in English, return. This is a time of reconciliation, return,
making things right if we can, because this is the time in which we are written
in the Book of Life. Be Rosh Hashanah, yika tevu, u’v’Yom Kippur
yika tehmu: On Rosh Hashanah, it is written; on Yom Kippur, it is sealed. May you be inscribed into the Book of Life
this year. May your new year be a time
of remembering the importance of the prayers we say on Yom Kippur, and may you have the kavanah – the mindful intention – of being the person you were
created to be.
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