It’s that time of year again, from sunset tonight, when Jews worldwide are called to repent. They are not only called to repent for what they’ve done or not done as individuals but what the community has or has not done. That communal confession is most clearly shown in the Al Chet prayer which lists sins that the vast majority of Jews would not have done, but some might. The basic message of Yom Kippur is that we have all fallen short, we have all done things that we may have regretted. Some Jew somewhere has been a bit of an arsehole, they’ve been rude, passed by those in distress, have slandered or defamed or been uncharitable or naively followed ideologies that have gone against the exhortation to ‘keep the peace of the city in which you live’ (Jeremiah 29:7).

For myself I am still repenting about being associated with the Left when I was a young man. I look at the state of my country and it’s difficult to escape the knowledge that I may have unknowingly contributed, although in a very small way, to our current problems when I was a follower of what I see clearly now is a bad and destructive ideology. I also repent about advice that I’ve taken that might have seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out not to be.

On those occasions I should have trusted my own judgement rather than the judgement of others. I repent about the times when I’ve been silent when I should have spoken up or have shown cowardice by not speaking the words I should have said because of fear of the consequences that could occur if I should voice views that the oppressive state I live in doesn’t like. I hope this year I can speak more freely and without cowardice in the face of what is likely to be ever growing oppression in my country.

We as humans may be made in G-d’s image but we are not perfect. We are all too human and are afflicted by failings. We cannot return to Gan Eden, that route is closed to us, but we can attempt to be better than we are.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my Jewish readers well over the fast and may you be sealed for good in the Book of Life.

I’ll be back Monday night or thereabouts.

Here’s the Al Chet prayer. This version is from Chabad Lubavitch and varies in wording from that used by other Jewish movements but the sentiment is the same, the confession of personal and communal sins before the Eternal One:

For the sin which we have committed before You under duress or willingly.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by hard-heartedness.

For the sin which we have committed before You inadvertently.

And for the sin which we have committed before You with an utterance of the lips.

For the sin which we have committed before You with immorality.

And for the sin which we have committed before You openly or secretly.

For the sin which we have committed before You with knowledge and with deceit.

And for the sin which we have committed before You through speech.

For the sin which we have committed before You by deceiving a fellowman.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by improper thoughts.

For the sin which we have committed before You by a gathering of lewdness.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by verbal [insincere] confession.

For the sin which we have committed before You by disrespect for parents and teachers.

And for the sin which we have committed before You intentionally or unintentionally.

For the sin which we have committed before You by using coercion.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by  desecrating the Divine Name.

For the sin which we have committed before You by impurity of  speech.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by foolish  talk.

For the sin which we have committed before You with the evil  inclination.

And for the sin which we have committed before You knowingly or unknowingly.

For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us. 

For the sin which we have committed before You by false denial and lying.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a bribe-taking or a bribe-giving hand.

For the sin which we have committed before You by scoffing.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by evil talk  [about another].

For the sin which we have committed before You in business  dealings. 

And for the sin which we have committed before You by eating  and drinking.

For the sin which we have committed before You by [taking or  giving] interest and by usury.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a haughty demeanor. 

For the sin which we have committed before You by the prattle of our lips. 

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a glance of the eye.

For the sin which we have committed before You with proud looks.

And for the sin which we have committed before You with impudence.

 For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us. 

For the sin which we have committed before You by casting off the yoke [of Heaven].

And for the sin which we have committed before You in passing judgment.

For the sin which we have committed before You by scheming against a fellowman. 

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a begrudging eye. 

For the sin which we have committed before You by frivolity.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by obduracy.

For the sin which we have committed before You by running to do evil.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by tale-bearing.

For the sin which we have committed before You by swearing in vain. 

And for the sin which we have committed before You by causeless hatred.

For the sin which we have committed before You by embezzlement.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by a confused heart.

 For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us. 

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a burnt-offering. 

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a sin-offering.

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a varying offering [according to one’s means].

And for the sins for which we are obligated to bring a guilt-offering for a certain or doubtful trespass. 

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of lashing for rebelliousness. 

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of forty lashes.

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of death by the hand of Heaven. 

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of excision and childlessness. 

And for the sins for which we incur the penalty of the four forms of capital punishment executed by the Court: stoning, burning, decapitation and strangulation. 

For [transgressing] positive and prohibitory mitzvot, whether [the prohibitions] can be rectified by a specifically prescribed act or not, those of which we are aware and those of which we are not aware; those of which we are aware, we have already declared them before You and confessed them to You, and those of which we are not aware — before You they are revealed and known, as it is stated:The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things are for us and for our children forever, that we may carry out all the words of this Torah. For You are the Pardoner of Israel and the Forgiver of the tribes of Yeshurun in every generation, and aside from You we have no King who forgives and pardons.