Community and the Individual Jew, Ronald Aigen
If modernity has taught us to say, ‘I,’ Judaism still asks us to say, ‘we.’
(יט) וְלָ֥מָּה לֹא־שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ בְּק֣וֹל ה' וַתַּ֙עַט֙ אֶל־הַשָּׁלָ֔ל וַתַּ֥עַשׂ הָרַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֥י ה'׃ (ס) (כ) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שָׁא֜וּל אֶל־שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֤ר שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ בְּק֣וֹל ה' וָאֵלֵ֕ךְ בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ אֲשֶׁר־שְׁלָחַ֣נִי ה' וָאָבִ֗יא אֶת־אֲגַג֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ עֲמָלֵ֔ק וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖ק הֶחֱרַֽמְתִּי׃ (כא) וַיִּקַּ֨ח הָעָ֧ם מֵהַשָּׁלָ֛ל צֹ֥אן וּבָקָ֖ר רֵאשִׁ֣ית הַחֵ֑רֶם לִזְבֹּ֛חַ לַֽה' אֱלֹקיךָ בַּגִּלְגָּֽל׃ (כב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל הַחֵ֤פֶץ לַֽה' בְּעֹל֣וֹת וּזְבָחִ֔ים כִּשְׁמֹ֖עַ בְּק֣וֹל ה' הִנֵּ֤ה שְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ מִזֶּ֣בַח ט֔וֹב לְהַקְשִׁ֖יב מֵחֵ֥לֶב אֵילִֽים׃ (כג) כִּ֤י חַטַּאת־קֶ֙סֶם֙ מֶ֔רִי וְאָ֥וֶן וּתְרָפִ֖ים הַפְצַ֑ר יַ֗עַן מָאַ֙סְתָּ֙ אֶת־דְּבַ֣ר ה' וַיִּמְאָסְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ (ס) (כד) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שָׁא֤וּל אֶל־שְׁמוּאֵל֙ חָטָ֔אתִי כִּֽי־עָבַ֥רְתִּי אֶת־פִּֽי־ה' וְאֶת־דְּבָרֶ֑יךָ כִּ֤י יָרֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם וָאֶשְׁמַ֖ע בְּקוֹלָֽם׃
(19) Why did you disobey the LORD and swoop down on the spoil in defiance of the LORD’s will?” (20) Saul said to Samuel, “But I did obey the LORD! I performed the mission on which the LORD sent me: I captured King Agag of Amalek, and I proscribed Amalek, (21) and the troops took from the spoil some sheep and oxen—the best of what had been proscribed—to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal.” (22) But Samuel said: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As much as in obedience to the LORD’s command? Surely, obedience is better than sacrifice, Compliance than the fat of rams. (23) For rebellion is like the sin of divination, Defiance, like the iniquity of teraphim. Because you rejected the LORD’s command, He has rejected you as king.” (24) Saul said to Samuel, “I did wrong to transgress the LORD’s command and your instructions; but I was afraid of the troops and I yielded to them.
כָּל מִצְוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה בֵּין עֲשֵׂה בֵּין לֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה אִם עָבַר אָדָם עַל אַחַת מֵהֶן בֵּין בְּזָדוֹן בֵּין בִּשְׁגָגָה כְּשֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה תְּשׁוּבָה וְיָשׁוּב מֵחֶטְאוֹ חַיָּב לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לִפְנֵי הָאֵל בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר ה ו) "אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה כִּי יַעֲשׂוּ" וְגוֹ' (במדבר ה ז) "וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת חַטָּאתָם אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ" זֶה וִדּוּי דְּבָרִים. וִדּוּי זֶה מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה. כֵּיצַד מִתְוַדִּין. אוֹמֵר אָנָּא הַשֵּׁם חָטָאתִי עָוִיתִי פָּשַׁעְתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ וְעָשִׂיתִי כָּךְ וְכָךְ וַהֲרֵי נִחַמְתִּי וּבֹשְׁתִּי בְּמַעֲשַׂי וּלְעוֹלָם אֵינִי חוֹזֵר לְדָבָר זֶה. וְזֶהוּ עִקָּרוֹ שֶׁל וִדּוּי. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה לְהִתְוַדּוֹת וּמַאֲרִיךְ בְּעִנְיָן זֶה הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח.
All commandments of the Torah, whether they be mandatory or prohibitive, if a man violates any one of them, either presumptuously or erroneously, when he will repent himself and turn away from his sinful way, he is obliged to confess before God, blessed is He! even as it is said: "When a man or woman shall commit any sin..… Then they shall confess their sin which they have done (Num. 5.6–7), which is a confession of words. Such confession is a mandatory commandment. How is the verbal confession made? The sinner says thus: "I beseech Thee, O Great Name! I have sinned; I have been obstinate; I have committed profanity against Thee, particularly in doing thus and such.
What do you feel is the difference between thinking something versus uttering it out loud?
Does it make a difference if it is uttered in the presence of others?
At first, I found this insistence on confession surprising - all the more so as both the Sefer haMitzvot and the Minchat Chinuch (mitzvah 364) understood this passage as an indication that only viduy could fulfill the mitzvah of Teshuvah, rather than the inner feeling of Teshuvah itself, or the decision of atoning for one’s transgressions that stems from this feeling. Speech has the strength of a deed in many a context (see Bava Metzia 90b), as is the case here. Thus, it is the utterance of atonement that seals the mitzvah of Teshuvah. It is quite conspicuous during the Yamim Noraim, times of collective repentance that unite Am Israel in a heartfelt plea to Hashem - the confession of an entire people.
וָֽאֶתְפַּֽלְלָ֛ה לַיהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהַ֖י וָאֶתְוַדֶּ֑ה וָאֹֽמְרָ֗ה אָנָּ֤א אֲדֹנָי֙ הָאֵ֤ל הַגָּדוֹל֙ וְהַנּוֹרָ֔א שֹׁמֵ֤ר הַבְּרִית֙ וְֽהַחֶ֔סֶד לְאֹהֲבָ֖יו וּלְשֹׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֺתָֽיו׃ חָטָ֥אנוּ וְעָוִ֖ינוּ והרשענו [הִרְשַׁ֣עְנוּ] וּמָרָ֑דְנוּ...
I prayed to the Eternal my God, confessing, “O Eternal, great and awesome God, who stays faithful to the covenant with those who love God and keep the commandments! We have sinned; we have gone astray; we have acted wickedly; we have been rebellious...
This form first appeared in the prayerbook of the Amram Gaon (8th century).[2]
The following declaration is made by the Cantor and repeated three times:
With the consent of the Almighty, and consent of this congregation, in a convocation of the heavenly court, and a convocation of the lower court,(The court of man) we hereby grant permission to pray with transgressors.
Why do we need permission to pray with transgressors?
(מז) אָשַֽׁמְנוּ. בָּגַֽדְנוּ. גָּזַֽלְנוּ. דִּבַּֽרְנוּ דֹּֽפִי. הֶעֱוִֽינוּ. וְהִרְשַֽׁעְנוּ. זַֽדְנוּ. חָמַֽסְנוּ. טָפַֽלְנוּ שֶֽׁקֶר. יָעַֽצְנוּ רָע. כִּזַּֽבְנוּ. לַֽצְנוּ. מָרַֽדְנוּ. נִאַֽצְנוּ. סָרַֽרְנוּ. עָוִֽינוּ. פָּשַֽׁעְנוּ. צָרַֽרְנוּ. קִשִּֽׁינוּ עֹֽרֶף. רָשַֽׁעְנוּ. שִׁחַֽתְנוּ. תִּעַֽבְנוּ. תָּעִֽינוּ. תִּעְתָּֽעְנוּ:
(47) We have trespassed; We have betrayed ; We have stolen; We have slandered. We have caused others to sin; We have caused others to become wicked; We have sinned with malicious intent; We have committed violence; We have added falsehood upon falsehood; We have joined with evil individuals or groups; We have given harmful advice; We have deceived; we have mocked; We have rebelled; We have caused God to be angry with us; We have turned away from goodness; We have sinned deliberately; We have been negligent; We have caused our friends grief; We have been stiff-necked. We have been wicked. We have committed sins of moral corruption; We have committed abominations; We have gone astray; We have led others astray.
Ashamnu is an alphabetic acrostic, consisting of 24 lines (the last letter of 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.
Why is this confession written in plural?
Do you feel more or less responsible for a sin you have committed if it is declared in plural? Why?
Why is the confession composed in the plural, so that we say "We have sinned," rather than "I have sinned"? Because all Israel is one body and every one of Israel is a limb of that body. - Yesod HaTeshuva quoting Isaac Luria (from Days of Awe, ed. S.Y. Agnon)
An alphabetical confession was instituted because the sinner is destroying the world which God created using the letters of the Torah. - Asarah Ma'amarot (from Days of Awe, ed. S.Y. Agnon)
Why should I confess sins that I have not committed?
"Each of us becomes a human being when we answer that call, accept our share of responsibility, say the words “I have sinned” and mean them. The “I” is earned by the “we have sinned.” Until then, we might say, your “I,” like mine, is merely the voice of intentions and desires, struggling within us and competing for attention. When I take responsibility for my sin, do not avoid it, attain honesty with myself and with my neighbor, my self attains gravity, weight, personhood. And when you say it too, when you say it beside me, our assemblage becomes more than a random collection of individuals. At that moment every one of you becomes my neighbor, joined to me in mutual responsibility, and we together become a community."
Chancellor Arnie Eisen
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…”
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/short-vidui-and-long-vidui-yom-kippur-5780/
Chet' refers to unintended sin; `Avon refers to intentional sin; Pesha` refers to an act of rebellion.
Is one of these types of sins more difficult for you to admit? Why?
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר,
יְהִי כְבוֹד חֲבֵרְךָ חָבִיב עָלֶיךָ כְּשֶׁלָּךְ,
וְאַל תְּהִי נוֹחַ לִכְעֹס.
וְשׁוּב יוֹם אֶחָד לִפְנֵי מִיתָתְךָ.
וֶהֱוֵי מִתְחַמֵּם כְּנֶגֶד אוּרָן שֶׁל חֲכָמִים, וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּגַחַלְתָּן שֶׁלֹּא תִכָּוֶה...
Rabbi Eliezer says:
The honor of your friend should be as dear to you as your own; do not be easy to anger; and repent one day before your death. And warm yourself by the fire of the Sages...
תנן התם רבי אליעזר אומר:
שוב יום אחד לפני מיתתך.
שאלו תלמידיו את רבי אליעזר:
וכי אדם יודע איזהו יום ימות?
אמר להן:
וכל שכן ישוב היום שמא ימות למחר! ונמצא כל ימיו בתשובה.
ואף שלמה אמר בחכמתו:
"בכל עת יהיו בגדיך לבנים ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר."
אמר רבי יוחנן בן זכאי:
משל למלך שזימן את עבדיו לסעודה ולא קבע להם זמן פיקחין.
שבהן קישטו את עצמן וישבו על פתח בית המלך. אמרו: כלום חסר לבית המלך.
טיפשין שבהן הלכו למלאכתן. אמרו: כלום יש סעודה בלא טורח!
בפתאום ביקש המלך את עבדיו פיקחין.
שבהן נכנסו לפניו כשהן מקושטין והטיפשים נכנסו לפניו.
כשהן מלוכלכין שמח המלך לקראת פיקחים וכעס לקראת טיפשים
אמר: הללו שקישטו את עצמן לסעודה ישבו ויאכלו וישתו!
הללו שלא קישטו עצמן לסעודה יעמדו ויראו!
חתנו של רבי מאיר משום רבי מאיר אמר אף הן נראין כמשמשין אלא אלו ואלו יושבין הללו אוכלין והללו רעבין הללו שותין והללו צמאים שנאמר כה אמר ה׳ הנה עבדי יאכלו ואתם תרעבו הנה עבדי ישתו ואתם תצמאו הנה עבדי ירונו מטוב לב ואתם תצעקו מכאב לב דבר אחר בכל עת יהיו בגדיך לבנים אלו ציצית ושמן על ראשך אל יחסר אלו תפילין:
We learned there in a mishna that Rabbi Eliezer says:
Return in teshuva one day before your death.
Rabbi Eliezer’s students asked him:
But does a person know the day on which they will die?
He said to them:
All the more so this is a good piece of advice. You should repent today lest you die tomorrow!
And by following this advice you will spend your entire life in a state of teshuva.
And King Solomon also said in his wisdom:
“At all times your clothes should be white, and oil shall not be absent from upon your head” (Ecclesiastes 9:8), meaning that a person always needs to be prepared.
Similarly, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said the following story as a parable to this lesson: The situation is comparable to a king who invited his servants to a feast and did not set a time for them to come. The wise among them adorned themselves and sat at the entrance to the king’s house.
They said: Is the king’s house missing anything necessary for the feast? Certainly the king could invite them at any moment.
The fools among them went to attend to their work and said: Is there such thing as a feast without the toil of preparing for it? While the feast is being prepared, we will attend to other matters.
Suddenly, the king requested that his servants come to the feast. The wise among them entered before him adorned in their finest clothes, and the fools entered before him dirty. The king was happy to greet the wise ones and angry to greet the fools.
The king said: These wise servants who adorned themselves for the feast shall sit and eat and drink, but these fools who did not adorn themselves for the feast shall stand and watch!
There is a similar outcome for people who think that their day of death and judgment is far away and do not prepare themselves for it.
The order of the Vidui, set down in the Siddur, should be said by all alike. If you are aware of an individual sin not enumerated in the Vidui, since the Vidui is recited in an undertone, you should specify that sin, and confess it with a grieving heart, and profuse tears. If that sin is one that is mentioned in the Vidui, then, when you come to it, you should burst out in bitter self-reproach.
ויעבור ה' על פניו ויקרא א"ר יוחנן אלמלא מקרא כתוב אי אפשר לאומרו מלמד שנתעטף הקב"ה כשליח צבור והראה לו למשה סדר תפלה אמר לו כל זמן שישראל חוטאין יעשו לפני כסדר הזה ואני מוחל להם ה' ה' אני הוא קודם שיחטא האדם ואני הוא לאחר שיחטא האדם ויעשה תשובה אל רחום וחנון אמר רב יהודה ברית כרותה לי"ג מדות שאינן חוזרות ריקם שנאמר (שמות לד, י) הנה אנכי כורת ברית
"God passed over his face and called": Rabbi Yohanan said: If the text itself did not say this, no one would be able to! It teaches that the Holy Blessed One wrapped himself like a congregational leader and showed Moshe the sequence of prayer. God said to him: Every time that Israel sins, they should do this sequence before me and I will forgive them. "YHVH, YHVH": I am the One before a person sins and I am the One after a person sins and repents. "Merciful and compassionate God": Rav Yehudah said It is covenant that the thirteen attributes always work (lit.: do not return empty), as it says (Exodus 34:10) "Behold, I make a covenant."
(ב) בא לו אצל שעיר המשתלח. וסומך שתי ידיו עליו ומתוודה. וכך היה אומר. אנא השם. עוו פשעו חטאו לפניך עמך בית ישראל. אנא בשם. כפר נא לעונות. ולפשעים. ולחטאים. שעוו. ושפשעו. ושחטאו. לפניך עמך בית ישראל. ככתוב בתורת משה עבדך לאמר (ויקרא טז, ל) כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם מכל חטאתיכם לפני ה' תטהרו. והכהנים והעם העומדים בעזרה. כשהיו שומעים שם המפורש שהוא יוצא מפי כהן גדול היו כורעים ומשתחוים. ונופלים על פניהם. ואומרים ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד:
(2) [The High Priest] would come to the goat for Azazel and place his two hands on it, and confess. And this is what he would say: "Please God, we, Your people the House of Israel, have committed wrongdoing, transgressed, and sinned before You. Please God, please forgive the wrongdoing, transgressions and sins that we, Your people the House of Israel, have committed, transgressed, and sinned before You. As it is written in the Torah of Moses Your servant (Leviticus 16:30), 'On this day, you will be forgiven and cleansed from all your sins—before Adonai you will be cleansed.'" Then, the priests and the people standing in the courtyard, when they heard the explicit Name from the mouth of the High Priest, would bend their knees, bow down and fall on their faces, and they would say, "Blessed be the Honored Name of God's Sovereignty forever."
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
In a free society, only some are guilty, but all are responsible.