G’Mar Khatima Tova – May the Final Seal Be For the Good and For Life
Introduction
Von Rabbi Arik Asherman
Here are this year’s versions of the “small” and “large” Yom Kippur viduim (Confessions of our sins) combining the traditional texts and our modern Israeli sins. Reciting these words may not feel like prayer because, like the traditional vidui, it is concrete and asks us to take individual responsibility for the collective sins of our society and our people. The traditional confessions were never meant to be just a collection of words that we thoughtlessly recite on Yom Kippur. They are burning words, intended to make us feel uncomfortable because they speak painful truths about our lives and our society and our people that we must confront if we are to truly engage in the kheshbon nefesh (soul searching) that is a primary task during this season. We can then engage in “teshuvah.” Often translated as “repentance,” it means to hear and answer the call of God and conscience, make an effort to turn and change, and return to our truest and highest selves individually and collectively.
Just as the High Priest in ancient times had to recite his own vidui before saying a vidui for others, we need to look at our own sins before we recount the sins of others. One misses the point if one reads these modern versions in order to criticize those we don’t agree or identify with. The vidui is in the plural, because we say that, even if I have not personally committed these sins, my society has committed the sins recited in the traditional or the modern vidui, and I therefore share responsibility. This vidui is written for those who in some way identify Israel, and include themselves in the Israeli “we” when we recite “For the sins we have committed…” If you are not a part of the Israeli “we,” you might want to construct a similar vidui looking at the societies and communities of which you are a part, and share responsibility for.
For some the sin they must confess is always assuming the worst about Israel, while others must confess defending Israel, no matter what.
If some of the lines do not feel to you like they apply to Israeli society, please try to drop your defenses, and think again. If you still don’t think something applies, we again hope that the Torat Tzedek vidui will challenge you to create your own. Please feel free to download our vidui, then cut and paste and add and subtract to create your own personal/societal vidui. The point is to challenge you to engage in khesbon nefesh (soul searching), not to silence or intimidate. It is also possible to only recite a limited number of these texts, and concentrate on them. In many cases the first line is from the traditional viduis, and there are notes after the vidui explaining which traditional sources many of the concepts are taken from.
Most of us simply can’t be so self critical for most of the year. But, sometimes the power of the High Holy days allows us to do what we don’t manage to do at other times of the year. These viduis are not intended to be a delegitimization of ourselves, of our people, or our country. They are actually an expression of our deep faith in ourselves, our ability to return to the good that is our true selves, and our ability to improve our society.
When we engage in kheshbon nefesh about ourselves and Israel on Yom Kippur, we can then celebrate our personal and Israeli assif rukhani (spiritual harvest) on Sukkot-our attributes and accomplishments that we are proud of. The vidui and the assif go together.
“Short” Vidui 5782
Ashamnu We have sinned against You by ignoring Your Image in every human being .
Bagadnu We have betrayed the Torah, and our Declaration of Independence.
Gazalnu We have stolen lands and hope.
Dibarnu Dofi We have slandered those who think differently than us.
He’Evinu We have acted perversely by refusing to obey Covid regulations.
V’Hirshanu We have acted wickedly, evicting families from public housing.
Zadnu We have acted evilly towards those living in poverty.
Khamasnu We have used settler violence and the power of the State to dispossess.
Tifalnu Sheker We have told lies to steal lands and homes.
Ya’atznu Ra We have counseled evil to sell arms to rogue Governments.
Kizavnu We have falsely claimed that the Bedouin are falsely taking over the Negev, and asylum seekers are all infiltrators.
Latznu We have scoffed at those who believe in Tikun Olam.
Maradnu We have rebelled against the good within us.
Niatznu We have incited against human rights activists.
Sararnu We have undermined our courts.
Avinu We have committed iniquity in East Jerusalem.
Pashanu We have transgressed by denying access to shepherds Farmers.
Tzararnu We have oppressed the weak.
Kashinu Oref We have stubbornly flaunted international law.
Rashanu We have acted wickedly towards those in need of public housing.
Shikhatnu We have corrupted Your Image within us.
Tiavnu We have committed abomination by wiping out non-Jewish homes and communities.
Tainu We have strayed from Your Path.
Tiatanu We have caused soldiers and police to go astray by leading them to believe they are above the law.
“Long” Vidui 5782
For the sin we have sinned against You, saying, “If I am not for myself who will be for me,” Caring only for fellow Jews, and justifying injustice to non-Jews.
And for the sin we have sinned against You, saying, “If I am only for myself, who am I,” Caring only about non-Jews, and always blaming our own people.
For the sin we have sinned against You by ignoring “If not now, when,” As we silenced those suffering by saying, “Wait-this isn’t the time ”
And for the sin we have sinned against you by not respecting parents and teachers
We neglected education and investing in the long term because we believed we would fix everything today.
For the sin we have sinned against You through false and harsh judgments,
Lacking faith in Your ability to help us act justly, the good within our people, and our capability of doing better.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through offensive talk,
Scorning those whose concept of justice is different than ours.
For the sin we have sinned against you through baseless hatred
Towards human rights defenders.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through evil speech,
Claiming that human rights defenders are traitors.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through evil speech.
Claiming that all those who disagree with us don’t care about human rights.
For the sin we have sinned against You by justifying
The current reality as the ideal reality.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through knowingly deceiving ourselves,
Saying, “there is nothing we can do,” in order to justify inaction.
For the sin we have sinned against You willfully or unintentionally,
Believing that tikun olam (repairing the world) is beyond us, “In the heavens.”
And for the sin we have sinned against You through faintness of heart
Ceasing to believe “It is very close to you…that you may do it.”
For all these sins, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
For the sin we have sinned against you through light headedness
Claiming that Covid isn’t real.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through envy
Saying “We will congregate in mass gatherings because “they” are.
And for the sin we have sinned against you by standing on principle
Over the value of human life.
For the sin we have sinned against you through breach of trust,
Allowing the majority to “democratically” vote to trample the rights of the disadvantaged and minorities
And for the sin we have sinned against you by gathering to do harlotry,
Creating a majority to do every evil our hearts wished.
For the sin we have sinned against you by breaking the most basic ground rules,
Undermining our legal system so that it no longer balances the majority.
And for the sin we have sinned against you by throwing off the yoke,
Exploiting legitimate criticism of court decisions to delegitimize the courts.
For the sin we have sinned against you thorough our pronouncements,
Our High Court said that it trusts the legal system to only interpret the
Nation State Law in light of Human Dignity and Freedom Law.
And for the sin of justification,
Saying, “but the court ruled.”
For the sin we have sinned against you through laws and regulations,
Demolishing and stealing homes and lands.
And for the sin we have sinned against you,
We renewed evictions from public housing and used irrelevant criteria to
deny eligibility.
For the sins we have sinned against you actively,
Security forces backed violence against non-Jews, and takeovers.
And for the sins we have sinned against you passively,
The legal system didn’t enforce the law against those harming non-Jews.
For the sin we have sinned against you passively,
when we looked the other way.
Ad for the sin we have sinned against you through denial,
For we didn’t want to know or act.
For all these sins, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
For the sin we have sinned against You through indulging in food and drink,
As unemployment and poverty increase.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You through abandoning your Torah,
By abandoning responsibility for one another.
For the sin which we have sinned against You through hardening our hearts,
To grinding poverty.
For the sin we have sinned against You through lashon ha’ra (slander),
Treating those living in poverty as leeches.
For the sin we have sinned against You through raising barriers,
Setting unfair criteria denying the needy public housing.
And for the sin we have sinned against you by perverting the law,
Giving public housing apartments to unauthorized organizations while families lack homes.
For the sin we have sinned against You through usurious interest.
Trapping people in endless debt.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through casting aside the weak,
Underfunding healthcare and vital medicines.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through lack of caring
About those who have lost their livelihoods due to Covid.
For the sin we have sinned against You through not taking action (shev v’al ta’aseh),
Claiming we aren’t responsible.
For the sin we have sinned against You through quieting our conscience,
Giving charity rather than addressing the roots of poverty.
For the sin we have sinned against You, saying, “What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours,”
To justify the unfair distribution of resources.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through coveting
Putting profits before people.
For all these sins, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
For the sin we have sinned against You through the desecration of Your Name,
Applying the interpersonal commandments only towards Jews.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You through insolence,
For the sin we have sinned against you through abuse of power,
Imposing unjust laws to “Judaize” East Jerusalem.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through abuse of power,
Using unnecessary force to suppress demonstrations in Sheikh Jarakh
For the sin we have sinned against you through knowingly acting deceitfully
Using questionable evidence to evict families from Sheikh Jarakh.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through wronging others
The courts refusing to entertain new evidence that could prevent the threatened evictions.
And for the sin we have sinned against by gathering to do harlotry
The KKL JNF, Elad and the State conspired to steal the Sumarin family home.
For the sin we have sinned by stalking fellow human beings
The KKL JNF falsely claimed that the Sumarin home was abandoned.
For all these sins, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
For the sin we have sinned against You through drunken vision,
Not seeing Israeli Arabs as equal partners.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through slanderous speech,
Claiming that Arab parties should not be in the governing coalition.
.
For the sin we have sinned against You through defiling our lips–
With hate speech and racism.
And For the sin we have sinned against You by not using our minds,
Believing the Bedouin are “taking over the Negev.”
For the sin we have sinned against You through denial and falsehood,
Not recognizing Bedouin land ownership, we previously acknowledged.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through selfish envy,
Coveting the 5.4% of the Negev claimed by the Bedouin.
For the sin we have sinned against You through abuse of power,
Demolishing Bedouin homes, destroying crops and villages.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through hurrying to do evil,
Rushing to steal El Araqib’s land before a court rules who owns it.
And for the sin we have sinned against You by incriminating
The court finding the leaders of Al Araqib guilty for “trespassing” on their own land.
For the sin we have sinned against You through hardening our hearts,
Acting mercilessly to wipe out Umm Al Hiran
And for the sin we have sinned against You through negotiation
We have serially reneged on agreements with the residents.
For the sin we have sinned against You through idolatry,
Elevating the Land of Israel over human beings created in Your Image.
For the sin we have sinned against You because we were seduced and blinded
By The Land’s holiness, so that we couldn’t see Your Image in all human beings.
For the sin we have sinned against You through ruling high handedly,
Making ourselves the lawmakers, judges and enforcers over another people.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through cynical speech
Calling the decrees we imposed on others, “the rule of law.”
For the sin we have sinned against You through theft,
Stealing lands through the laws we imposed.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through not enforcing laws,
That defend Palestinians.
For the sin we have sinned against you through the use of force
To keep farmers and shepherds from their lands.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through “sit and do nothing”
When security forces didn’t prevent trespassing, theft of crops and violence.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through “sit and do nothing”
Not prosecuting those who harm non-Jews.
For the sin we have sinned against you through unfair double standards (eifah v’eifah)–
We created separate and unequal planning systems for Jews and Palestinians.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through ensnaring our fellow-
The rules we created for Palestinians prevents legal building, and then we demolish “illegal” homes.
For the sin we have sinned against You through disingenuous words–
Saying there is not difference between illegal homes built by the occupier and those built by the occupied.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through closing our ears-
Ignoring children’s wails on the rubble of their homes
For the sin we have sinned against you through discriminatory double standards,
We handed out orders to eliminate shepherding communities where they have existed for tens of years, while allowing new outposts to thrive.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through false comparisons,
We confiscated seasonal Palestinian encampments exploiting regulations for new settler outposts.
For the sin we have sinned against You knowingly or unknowingly-
Permitting successive governments to steal, demolish, uproot, dispossess and humiliate.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through weakness-
Failing to prevent hate crimes.
For the sin we have sinned against You through entrapment-
Abusing children to extract confessions.
And for the sin we have sinned against You by claiming that “never again”
Means that defense justifies everything.
For all these sins, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
For the sin we have sinned against You through closing our borders
To asylum seekers fleeing for their lives.
And for the sin we have sinned against You through causing needless hatred-
Concentrating asylum seekers in South Tel Aviv neighborhoods, not ours.
For the sin we have sinned against You thoughtlessly-
Labeling asylum seekers “infiltrators” without fairly processing their refugee status claims.
For the sin we have sinned against You through our words-
Inciting and sowing fear.
For the sin we have sinned against You through abandonment-
Taking no responsibility after forcing “voluntary deportation.”
And for the sin we have sinned against You through entrapment-
Denying work permits, then complaining of crime.
For the sin we have sinned against You through forgetting
How we suffered from closed borders.
And for the sin we have sinned against You for forgetting
That we were strangers in the land of Egypt.
For all these sins, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
For the sin we have sinned against You through the desecration of Your Name-
Ignoring “agunot” (women not granted a Jewish divorce) and halakhic solutions.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through closing our ears,
Disbelieving women testifying about violence and rape.
For the sin we sinned against you saying, “We didn’t know”–
But, we knew.
And, for the sin we sinned against You without knowing-
Not wanting to know
For the sin we have sinned against You through teaching
Stereotypes, racism, orientalism and hatred of the other.
And for the sin we have sinned against you through blindness
To Your Presence in every human being.
For the sin we have sinned against You through faintheartedness-
Acting from fear, instead of our values.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You through thinking to ourselves and mumbling in closed rooms
What we should have cried aloud, raising our voices like a shofar.
For all these sins and more, God of forgiveness, we seek forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts bring us to true teshuva, pushing us to act to make the world a place in which Your Shekhina can dwell.
May it be Your Will that we merit to give expression to Your Image within us in the coming year through how we treat others.
May it be Your Will that we in some small way help to reduce evil and injustice, glorifying You by improving the human condition in our country and in our world. For, we are all created in Your Image.
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Some of the References:
Because we sometimes use translations of phrases from the traditional vidui that are different than the ones you may find in your High Holy Day prayerbook, we provide here a transliteration of the key words from the traditional vidui, as well as other references that are found in the Torat Tzedek vidui. If no reference is found here, that means that the phrase in question is not taken from the traditional vidui or other source.
The next three phrases are a well-known quote from Hillel in Pirkei Avot 1:14:
“If I am not for myself who will be for me,” Im eyn ani li, mi li
If I am only for myself, who am I – K’sh’ani l’atzmi, mah ani
If not now, when – Im eyn akshav, az ei-matai
False and harsh judgments – Flilut
Offensive talk – Dibur peh
Baseless hatred-Sinat khinam
Evil Speech-Lashon HaRa
Justifying – Tziduk hadin
Knowingly deceiving ourselves-B’da’at u’vmirmat atzmeinu
Willfully or unintentionally – B’zadon u’v’shgaga
In the heavens – “The Torah I enjoin upon you this day is not baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it’ …No, the thing is very close to you, in our mouth and in your heart, to observe it,” Deuteronomy 30:11-12
Faintness of heart-Timahon levav
Throwing off the yoke – Frikat ol
Lip service – Vidui peh
Short sightedness –Kalut rosh – literally levity or lack of seriousness
Breach of trust-Tsomet yad
Gathering to do harlotry-V’idat znut
Breaking the most basic ground rules-shvirat hakelim
Going too Far-Harkhat lekhet
Desecration of Your Name –Khilul haShem
Insolence – Azut metzakh
Knowingly and deceitfully-B’da’at u’v’mirmah
Harsh and unfair judgment-Flilut
Breach of trust-Tsomet yad
Ensnaring our fellow-B’zdiat reah
Denying and Lying-B’khakhash u’v’khazav
Drunken vision – Shikur ayin
False Oaths-B’shvuot Shav
Defiling our lips – Tum’at sfatayim
Not using our minds – Bli da’at
Denial and falsehood – Khakhash u’khazav
Selfish envy-Tzarut Ayin
Abuse of power – Khozek yad
Running to do evil – ritzat reglayim le’ha’ra
Incriminating-flilut
Hardening our hearts – Imutz halev
Negotiation-Masa u’matan
Eating and drinking-B’Ma’akhal u’v’mishteh
Abandoning Your Torah-B’azveinu et Toratekha
Hardening our hearts – Imutz halev
Not taking action – shev v’al ta’aseh
Quieting our conscience – Hashtakat matzpun
Slander – Lashon hara
Raising barriers – Ha’amadat miksholim
Leaving buildings empty – Hashirnu binyanim reykim
Trapping innocents-b’neskhekh u’marbit-Literally, “Userous interest”
Casting off the weak – Kfitzat yad lelu sh’tash kokham. Miserliness to those whose strength has abandoned them. “Whose strength has abandoned them” is part of the plea to God in the Yom Kippur liturgy “Do not cast us aside in our old age, don’t abandon us when our own strength fails us.”
“What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours” Sheli, sheli-shelkha shelkha – Pirkei Avot One who says “What is mine is mine, what’s yours is mine is clearly an evil person, while one who says “What is mine is mine, what is yours is yours is an average person. However, we are told that there are those who say that this is the quality of the Sodomites, because they would offer no help to a person in need, but say that they were ok, so long as they didn’t take anything from that person.
Usury and exploitation – B’neshekh u’b’marbit
Idolatry-Avodah zarah
Seduced and blinded – shikur ayin
Ruling high handedly – yad ramah
Cynical speach-Bitui Sfatayim
Land theft-gzeilat karkaot
Not enforcing laws-Ei akhifat khok
Double standards – Eifah v’eifah (Originally in the Torah referring to false weights and measures, the rabbis expanded the concept to refer to many forms of discrimination.)
Plotting – tz’dayat raiah – Plotting against those who are essentially like us (Raiah is often translated “neighbor”-“Love your neighbor as yourself,” but better translated as those who are essentially like us. All human beings are essentially like us because we are all created in God’s Image.
Closing our ears-Atimat ozneinu
Words of our lips – siakh sfateinu – Literally the conversation of our lips.
Legal approval- tziduk hadin
Knowingly or unknowingly- B’yodim u’v’lo yodim
Weakness-Ozlat yad
Entrapment – flilut
Never again – l’olam lo od
Closing our borders-N’eilat sha’arim. On Yom Kippur we pray for forgiveness before the gates are closed-Neilah
Needless Hatred-Sinat Khinam
Thoughtlessly-Bli da’at
Our words-dibur peh
Abuse of power-khozek yad
Abandonment – Hafkarat b’nei adam
Entrapment-tzdayat reah
Forgetting-shikhakha
Desecration of Your Name –khilul HaShem
We didn’t know-Lo Yadanu
Without knowing-bli da’at
Teaching-khinukh
Blindness-Ivaron
Faintheartedness – Timahon levav
Cried out loud, raising our voices as a shofar (Adopted from Yom Kippur Morning Haftorah, Isaiah 58)
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