B´nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica
The Strength of the Collective Viddui
The Viddui, confession of our sins, is one of the main concepts of Yom Kippur. Sages consider the Viddui as a Mitzvah, and its source is found in the Torah: “When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man […] he shall confess the wrong that he has done…” (Num. 5:6-7). At the same time, the Vidduiconstitutes one of the steps of Teshuvah, repentance; the fact of acknowledging oursins and mistakes, admitting them and expressing them, so as not to repeat them.
It is often difficult to express our mistakes in words; thus, our tradition has developed two specific prayers with the purpose of guiding us and helping us to confess our mistakes.
One of those tefillot is “Ashamnu”, in which we say "We have incurred guilt, we have betrayed, we have stolen, we have spoken falsely…”, and which we recite thumping our fist over our hearts, to express that our repentance is sincere and comes from our heart. In this prayer, each transgression starts with a different letter, finally making up the entire alphabet. One of the explanations for this acrostic way of writing the prayer is that, since all the letters of the alphabet appear, all possible misdemeanors of human beings are included within this small text. Therefore, each person should acknowledge the sins and mistakes he/she has committed.
The second Tefillah is “Al chet shechatanu lephanecha”, in which we say “The sin we have committed against You”, adding a list of sins that we human beings often do.
What is interesting in these prayers, which help us confess our transgressions, is that they are both written in the plural form. It doesn’t say "I have incurred guilt, Ibetrayed, I stole…;” neither does it say “For the sin I have committed against You.” It makes us wonder why something as personal as the act of confessing a fault is written in plural. There are several explanations that try to answer this question.
One explanation that I can think of, and which I would like to share with you today, is that the possibility of expressing our mistakes together as a group provides it with a special power and magic. It is written in the Torah that, one day, while ourpeople were in the wilderness and after God had sent them the poisonous serpents, they came before Moses and said “Chatanu”, “We sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you…” (Num. 21: 7). And according to the Midrash, they were immediately pardoned by God (Bemidbar Rabbah 19:23).
The entire nation said, in unison, “We have sinned”, and for that reason, they were immediately forgiven. This example teaches us about the strength and efficacy that lies in the repentance and confession of our sins said in the plural form, all together.
Today, in Yom Kippur, we are all alike, we are all equal before God, we all cover ourselves with the Tallit since we recite the Kol Nidre. We are all human, we all committed some sin during the past year. Today, we all share our failures,squalors, and blames. We unite in community, because we have much in common.
In general terms, when we feel embarrassed and full of guilt for our mistakes, we feel isolated and separate from society. Today, however, the holiest day of the year, day in which we must repent and confess our sins, our tradition suggests that we should all stand together, so that we do not feel alone but rather that we are all on the same side. We accompany each other during these times of weakness, failure, and confession. Our hearts intertwine, asking God to have mercy for each and every one of us.
Today, all the synagogues in the world are overflowing with parishioners. One beside the other, with few room and less oxygen than at other times. We are touched to see we have so many brothers and sisters, who support us and whose presence makes us feel protected.
What is happening today should act as a message for the rest of the year. Our lives cannot be complete if we do not live in community. Community strength is much stronger than the strength of each individual.
What the community can achieve is so big that even God feels moved when He sees His people united, confessing their transgressions and asking for mercy together as one.
May God grant that, just as we unite our hearts in this holy day, confessing our faults, our squalors, and shames, we may unite, support, help, enrich, and share with each other during the different times of the year.
May God grant us the ability and courage to acknowledge and express our sins and mistakes. That while we pray in unity, may we find our inner self and our individuality within the community.
May God grant us, this year, the capacity to know how to take advantage of the strength, magic, and initiative held by our community in particular, and the UJCL in general, so that we may crystallize projects to the purpose of building strong ties of friendship, and to determine the course of our future endeavors.
Chatimah Tovah! Shabbat Shalom!
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