The vidui (recounting of our sins) during the High Holidays is intended to make us feel uncomfortable, to confront us with the wrongs we have done. This vidui relates to our society today, to the way in which we treat the unemployed and disadvantaged, immigrants, migrant workers, single mothers, the elderly, the exploited women, the Arab citizens of the State and the Palestinians, and those we disagree with politically. Each one of us is guilty of some of these sins; collectively, we are guilty of them all.
For the sin which we have sinned against you by the closing of borders
To Sudanese refugees fleeing for their lives.
And for the sin which we have sinned against you by the closing of borders,
As Gazans killed each other and languished with a minimum of supplies.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by valuing the blood of some more than the blood of others.
When we did not say a word about the missiles falling on Sderot even as we protested against missiles falling on Gaza.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by valuing the blood of some more than the blood of others.
When we protested against the missiles falling on Sderot, but were silent regarding the missiles falling on Gaza.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by indulging in food and drink
As the social gap has grown.
And for the sin which we have sinned against you by the chasing of material gain,
Casting Kfar Shalem* residents into the street so that private developers can profit.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by hardening our hearts
To poverty, hunger and despair, allowing the unequal distribution of resources.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by insensitivity
Repeatedly cutting away the safety net from underneath the weaker sections of society
For the sin which we have sinned against You through Lashon HaRa (slander)
Claiming that the unemployed are “faking it” and “parasites.”
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by casting aside the weak
Neglecting medicines for the sick, those requiring assisted living and the mentally ill in the health care budget.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by intentionally forgetting
As we exploit foreign workers, that we were once strangers in the Land of Egypt.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You in doing business
Rather than fighting those operating as pimps and trafficking in women.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by desecrating Your name
Abandoning the “agunot” and those women who were not granted a divorce in the name of our religion, and ignoring the solutions which exist in the Halacha.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by scoffing,
Denigrating new immigrants and failing to honor their traditions and cultures.
For the sin which we have sinned against You consciously or unconsciously,
When fellow citizens are under-represented in government, academia and business,
And are not permitted to fully be a part of society.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You through the words we have mouthed,
As if we truly cared about the weakest and poorest among us.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by being silent,
when we knew that others were being mistreated and yet we did nothing.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by standing by
Or even defending those who took the law into their own hands.
For the sin which we have sinned against you by light headedness.
When we failed to distinguish between genuine self defense and the use of exaggerated Deadly force.
And for the sin which we sinned against you through justification
When we said that everything is permitted in the name of our defense.
For the sin which we have sinned against You knowingly or unknowingly,
Allowing Israeli governments to continue steal or prevent access to lands, demolish homes, pave roads, uproot trees, limit the flow of basic goods, torture, abuse and humiliate.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You through insolence –
Saying that only Jews have rights to the Land.
For the sin which we have sinned against you knowingly or through self deception,
When we found excuses for collective punishment and the harming of civilians.
And for the sin which we have sinned against you by running to do evil
When we used force before looking for other options.
For the sin which we have sinned against You through baseless hatred
Of all who are not “us.”
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by narrow mindedness –
Feeling only our own pain, while closing our minds to the agony of bereaved Arab mothers and fathers.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by desecrating Your Name –
By abusing others and calling it Your Will.
And for the sin which we have sinned against You by thinking to ourselves and by Whispering in closed rooms about that which we should have shouted from the Rooftops.
For the sin which we have sinned against you through lack of knowledge
Because we didn’t want to know how we could have helped.
For the sin which we have sinned against You by lack of faith in You, in ourselves, and in our society,
When we said that Tikun Olam (Repairing the World) is “In the heavens” or “Across the Sea,” and thus beyond our capability.
For all these and more, God of forgiveness, we ask forgiveness, pardon, and atonement.
May the words and the intentions of our prayer bring us to true repentance and lead us forward to acts of righteousness and tzedaka, in order to make our world a place in which Shechina can dwell.
*Kfar Shalem is a Tel Aviv neighborhood populated by Yememite Jews, who allegedly squatted in houses 50 years ago. Some of this land has been sold to private developers and there have been repeated attempts to expel the residents. Until 1996 it was recognized that, after so many years, expelled residents must be compensated. However, now they are just thrown out of their homes.
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