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42-575: The confession of a sin in itself does not bring immediate forgiveness. Rather, it is one component of repentance in Judaism , which can lead to forgiveness. Vidui is not found as a noun in the Hebrew Bible , but the concept of confession and the hithpael verb form of yadah ( ידה ) – from which vidui is derived – are found, and seems to fall into the category of speech actions. Individuals might confess their sins or their people's sins as

84-507: A deed." That is the essence of confession. In addition to each person's own personal confessions, in many communities a form of confession has been added to the standard prayer service . The standard confession text begins by referring to the prayer that has proceeded it: Our God and God of our ancestors, may our prayer come before you... for we are not so shameless and stiff-necked as to say before You... that we are righteous and have not sinned; rather, we and our ancestors have sinned. This

126-568: A place in the World-to-Come ." The patient is then to recite the deathbed Viduy. There is an abbreviated form intended for those in a severely weakened state and an elongated form, "obviously if the sick person wishes to add more to his confession—even the Viduy of Yom Kippur—he is permitted to do so". Afterwards it is also encouraged for the patient to recite the Shema , enunciate acceptance of

168-462: A portion of Tachanun (daily supplications) immediately following the Amidah , and by all communities on Yom Kippur and during the recitation of Selichot . It is recited standing and quietly, except during the chazzan's repetition on Yom Kippur when it is customary to recite it aloud. In many congregations (mainly Ashkenazi ones), it is even customarily sung on this date. This form first appeared in

210-540: A precondition to achieving forgiveness, while confession was required along with certain sin-offerings in the Temple. In Leviticus 16:21 , the people's sins were confessed "on the head" of the scapegoat , which then was said to carry those sins out of the camp. Maimonides writes: How does one confess? One says: "Please God! I have sinned, committed iniquity, rebelled. I have done [such-and-such] and I regret it, and I am ashamed of my deeds, and I shall never return to such

252-506: Is commonly known by its first word, Ashamnu (also transliterated Oshamnu ). An early form of this confession is found most directly in Daniel 9:5–19 ; see especially verses 5, 9, 18–19, where the supplicant acknowledges himself meritless, and entreats for God's forgiveness based only on God's own merit, and that God's name should not be tarnished among the nations. Ashamnu is an alphabetic acrostic, consisting of 24 lines (the last letter of

294-450: Is followed by a list of specific sins which the individual or community may have committed. After the list comes a statement of regret for the sins. For example, the standard short confession concludes as follows: We have strayed from Your good commandments and laws, and it was not worthwhile for us. You are righteous in all that comes upon us, for You have done truth while we have done evil. There are two commonly recited confession texts:

336-402: Is in danger, he is told: 'Make confession, for all who are sentenced to death make confession.'" Masechet Semachot adds that "When someone is approaching death, we tell him to confess before he dies, adding that on the one hand, many people confessed and did not die, whilst on the other, there are many who did not confess and died, and there are many who walk in the street and confess; because on

378-510: Is not offered in accordance with that rite. It is generally held that every Jew is bound to observe the mitzvot (commandments of Judaism) by following the customs appropriate to hir family of origin. For this reason, a number of rabbis disapprove of the adoption of Nusach Sefard by Ashkenazi Jews. However, it was a common kabbalistic belief that the Sephardic rite, especially in the form used by Isaac Luria, had more spiritual potency than

420-469: Is that a person who repents out of love embarks on a journey of self-transformation, in which they use the pain of their failure as a spur to self-improvement. Thus, the magnitude of the original sin is eventually reflected in the magnitude of the good traits which the penitent develops in response. According to the Talmud , God created repentance before He created the physical universe , making it among

462-400: Is the secret of the twelve gates mentioned at the end of [the book of] Yechezkel . There is no question that were the prayers of all the tribes the same, there would be no need for twelve windows and gates, each gate having a path of its own. Rather, without a doubt it necessarily follows that because their prayers are different, each and every tribe requires its own gate. For in accordance with

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504-477: Is told in the Talmud that Rabbi Eliezer taught his disciples, "Repent one day before your death." The disciples politely questioned whether one can know the day of one's death, so Rabbi Eliezer answered, "All the more reason, therefore, to repent today, lest one die tomorrow." Because of Judaism's understanding of the annual process of Divine Judgment , Jews believe that God is especially open to repentance during

546-402: Is traditionally known as a baal teshuva . Numerous guides to the repentance process can be found in rabbinical literature. According to Gates of Repentance , a standard work of Jewish ethics written by Rabbenu Yonah of Gerona , a sinner repents by: The second of Rabbenu Yonah's "Principles of Repentance" is "forsaking the sin" ( Hebrew : עזיבת–החטא, azivat-hachet ). After regretting

588-602: The Thirteen Principles of Faith and to donate some money to charity. Repentance in Judaism Repentance ( /tʃuvɑː/ ; Hebrew : תשובה , romanized :  tǝšūvā "return") is one element of atoning for sin in Judaism . Judaism recognizes that everybody sins on occasion, but that people can stop or minimize those occasions in the future by repenting for past transgressions. Thus,

630-726: The kabbalistic customs of Isaac Luria . To this end it has incorporated the wording of Nusach Edot haMizrach , the prayer book of Sephardi Jews , into certain prayers. Nusach Sefard is used nearly universally by Hasidim , as well as by some other Ashkenazi Jews , but has not gained significant acceptance by Sephardi Jews. Some Hasidic dynasties use their own version of the Nusach Sefard siddur , sometimes with notable divergence between different versions. Some versions are nearly identical to Nusach Ashkenaz , while others come far closer to Nusach Edot Mizrach : most versions fall somewhere in between. All versions attempt to incorporate

672-689: The Ashkenaz tradition similar to one associated with the triumphant Song at the Red Sea. This may seem unusual, as one might have expected a confession of sins to be chanted as a dirge. But an uplifting melody is common in all Jewish traditions. One explanation is that by this confession, "the worshipper is stimulated to a mood of victory and a sense of hopeful living in the face of an unknown and unpredictable future." Or that, by making this confession and repenting, "our sins are transformed into merits." The Talmud teaches that "if one falls sick and his life

714-778: The Ashkenazi. Many Eastern Jewish communities, such as the Persian Jews and the Shami Yemenites , accordingly adopted the Sephardic rite with Lurianic additions in preference to their previous traditional rites. In the same way, in the 17th and 18th centuries, many Kabbalistic groups in Europe adopted the Lurianic-Sephardic rite in preference to the Ashkenazi. This was, however, the custom of very restricted circles, and did not come into widespread public use until

756-416: The Temple offering or the punishment (including lashing and death) that might be imposed. And concluding with a brief categorization of sins (such as the violation of a positive commandment, or of a negative commandment, or whether the sin can or cannot be remedied, as well as those we do not remember committing). It is traditional that both Ashamnu and Al Cheyt are chanted in a somewhat upbeat melody, in

798-532: The alphabet, תּ ‎ ( tav ), used three times). Each sin is usually expressed as one word (a few are two words), a verb in the past tense, first person plural. The last two sins (repetitions of the letter תּ ) are " תָּעִינוּ תִּעְתָּעְנוּ " ( taw'inu, titawnu ) are usually translated as: "We went astray, We led others astray". Occasionally the last word is translated as "You [i.e. God] allowed us to go astray"—the ArtScroll siddur uses both possibilities,

840-477: The claim emerged that, while in general one should keep to one's minhag of origin, the Nusach Sefard reached a believed "thirteenth gate" ( Shaar ha-Kollel ) in Heaven for those who do not know their own tribe. Nusach Sefard, with its variant Nusach Ari , became almost universal among Hasidim , as well as some other Ashkenazi Jews, but has not gained significant acceptance by Sephardi Jews. One consequence thereof

882-467: The contemporary Sephardic rite, Italian Nusach and Romaniote rite, as well as in the medieval French rite and most early manuscripts of the Ashkenazic rite, it is a single acrostic . In later Ashkenazic manuscripts and all Ashkenazic printed machzorim, al cheyt follows a double acrostic . This is then followed by a non-acrostic list whose lines begin "And for the sin for which we are"—here naming

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924-596: The customs of Isaac Luria, with greater or lesser success. There are many differences between the [various] prayer books, between the Sefardi rite, the Catalonian rite, the Ashkenazi rite, and the like. Concerning this matter, my master [the Ari ] of blessed memory told me that there are twelve windows in heaven corresponding to the twelve tribes, and that the prayer of each tribe ascends through its own special gate. This

966-430: The first things created. Jewish tradition describes many people who repented, including: If a person strays from the path of goodness in some aspect, there is always a "way back" if a person wills to try taking it. (Although texts mention some specific categories for whom the way back will be exceedingly hard, such as the slanderer, the habitual gossiper, and the malicious person.) [REDACTED]   One or more of

1008-509: The immigration of many Ashkenazi Jews from America, the millennia-old Ashkenazi rite has regained a strong following. Today many of the various sects and dynasties of Hasidism each use their own version of Nusach Sfard . Many Hasidic groups have slightly varying versions. A significant difference compared to Nusach Ashkenaz resides in the text of kaddish . For example, Nusach Sfard adds the words " ויצמח פורקניה ויקרב משיחיה ‎" (may His redemption sprout and His Messiah approach), which

1050-410: The intentional sins actually become merits. The first statement can be easily understood, in that if one committed the sin unaware of its consequences (e.g. punishment), and subsequently becomes aware, the sin was committed in a state of incomplete knowledge. The second statement is harder to understand, and different interpretations have been suggested. According to Joseph Dov Soloveitchik , the meaning

1092-466: The merit of confession you will live." Similar language is employed in the Shulchan Aruch 's codification where it is ruled that the following text should be recited to the terminally ill: "Many have confessed but have not died; and many who have not confessed died. And many who are walking outside in the marketplace confess. By the merit of your confession, you shall live. And all who confess have

1134-457: The mid- to late 18th century Hasidism . Luria taught that twelve gates of prayer exists, corresponding to the twelve tribes of ancient Israel (and to the twelve Jewish communities that existed in Safed in his lifetime ), and that twelve nusachs for Jewish prayer [ nasachot ha-tefillah ] emanated accordingly. In alteration of this Lurianic concept, especially in 18th/19th-century Hasidism,

1176-471: The period from the beginning of the month of Elul through the Ten Days of Repentance (including Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur ), and, according to Kabbalah , Hoshana Rabbah . Another good time to repent is toward the end of one's life. Another occasion on which forgiveness is granted is whenever the entire community gathers and cries out to God full-heartedly due to their distress. The Talmud debates

1218-415: The plural ("we have sinned"). They are thus recited in the name of the whole Jewish people, and it is presumably true that every sin mentioned has been committed by at least one Jew. During confession the congregant stands, with head bowed in regret or shame, and with the mention of each sin, thumps his fist over his heart. Some individuals might quickly add (silently or in a whisper) additional sins, not in

1260-537: The point being that the last word is an unusual form (not found in the Bible) that suggests a positive determination to go astray, the misuse of free will. However, the translation of "You let us go astray" has been criticized as an error, and it has been suggested that the last word means "we have scoffed" or "we have mocked" or "we tricked" or "we misled others". The short confession is said by Nusach Sefard and most Sephardic communities (except Spanish and Portuguese) as

1302-544: The prayerbook of the Amram Gaon (8th century). The long confession, known as Al Chet (also Al Cheyt , Al Hayt or Al Ḥet ; עֵל חֵטְא 'For the sin ...'), is said only on Yom Kippur, and in Ashkenazic communities, it also recited by a groom on the day of his wedding in the last prayer before the Chuppah. Each line begins "For the sin we committed before You through ..." ( על חטא שחטאנוּ לפניך בּ־ );

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1344-496: The preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Agrippa, Herod, I. ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 425. Nusach Sefard Nusach Sefard , Nusach Sepharad , or Nusach Sfard is the name for various forms of the Jewish siddurim , designed to reconcile Ashkenazi customs with

1386-405: The prefix בּ־ meaning 'through' or 'by means of', and the rest of that word is in alphabetic sequence: בּ א נס ('compulsion'), בּ ב לי דעת ('ignorance'), and so on. In the siddurim of Rav Saadia Gaon and Maimonides , as well is in the contemporary Yemenite prayer book , there are merely a few lines of Al Cheyt in no specific order. In the siddur of Rav Amram Gaon , as well as in

1428-452: The primary purpose of repentance in Judaism is ethical self-transformation. Maimonides defines the essence of repentance as follows: "The sinner must leave his sin, and remove it from his thoughts, and decide in his heart not to do it again... and he must regret the past... and [God] must know that he will never return to this sin... and he must confess with his lips, and say those matters which he decided in his heart." A Jewish penitent

1470-414: The same sin under the same conditions, yet they manage to refrain from doing so. The Mishnah states: To a man who says, 'I will sin and repent, I will sin and repent', Yom Kippur brings no atonement. For sins against God, Yom Kippur brings atonement. For sins against one's fellow man, Yom Kippur brings no atonement until he appeases the fellow man he wronged. One should repent immediately. A parable

1512-424: The short confession ( וידוי הקטן ) and the long confession ( וידוי הגדול ). Both include a list of sins that a person confesses to in the order of the alephbet . The short confession lists one sin per letter, while the long confession lists two. A number of purposes have been suggested for the alphabetical arrangement: While not everyone has committed every sin in the standard confession texts, they are worded in

1554-431: The sin (Rabbenu Yonah's first principle), the penitent must resolve never to repeat the sin. However, Judaism recognizes that the process of repentance varies from penitent to penitent and from sin to sin. For example, a non-habitual sinner often feels the sting of the sin more acutely than the habitual sinner. Therefore, a non-habitual sinner will have an easier time repenting, because he or she will be less likely to repeat

1596-471: The sinful behavior. The case of the habitual sinner is more complex. If the habitual sinner regrets his or her sin at all, that regret alone clearly does not translate into a change in behavior. In such a case, Rabbi Nosson Scherman recommends devising "a personal system of reward and punishment" and avoiding circumstances that may cause temptation toward the relevant sin. One is shown to have fully repented if they are presented with an opportunity to perform

1638-468: The source and root of the souls of that tribe, so must be its prayer rite. It is therefore fitting that each and every individual should maintain the customary liturgical rite of his forefathers. For you do not know who is from this tribe and who from that tribe. And since his forefathers practiced a certain custom, perhaps he is from that tribe for whom this custom is appropriate, and if he comes now and changes it, his prayer may not ascend [to heaven], when it

1680-486: The spiritual level of a person who has repented (a baal teshuvah ). According to one opinion, this level is lower than that of a "fully righteous " person who has never sinned. According to another opinion, though, it is even higher than that of a fully righteous person. The Talmud makes two statements about the power of repentance to transform one's past sins: If one repents out of fear, the intentional sins are turned into unintentional sins. But if one repents out of love,

1722-746: The traditional list, beginning with the same letters. With reference to the Ashkenaz text, it has been said, "out of the 44 statements that make up the Al Cheyt , twelve deal with sins rooted in speech (five in Ashamnu ). Only four statements relate to transgressions committed by man against God in the strict sense (only two in the Ashamnu text). Dominating both confessional texts are general expressions of sin (fifteen in Al Cheyt and seventeen in Ashamnu )." This formula begins "We have incurred guilt, we have betrayed, we have stolen, we have spoken falsely, etc." (" ... ,אָשַמנוּ, בָּגַדְנוּ, גָזֵלְנוּ "). It

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1764-628: Was that, before the establishment of the State of Israel and in Israel's early years, it was the predominant rite used by Ashkenazim in the Holy Land, with the exception of certain pockets of traditional Lithuanian Jews . One reason for this was that the Land of Israel was regarded as part of the Sephardic world, so that it was felt that new immigrants should adopt the local rite. In recent decades, following

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