Out of the Depth, a prayer from a state of depression (CCAR 1923)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (transcription), Unknown and Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

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17 February 2026 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

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20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Aseret Yemei Tshuvah, English vernacular prayer, Forgiveness, self-forgiveness, teḥinot in English

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Out of the depths have I called unto Thee, O Lord. Lord hearken to my voice; let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? For with Thee is forgiveness that Thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning; yea, more than watchmen for the morning. (Psalms 130:2-6)
	Saith the congregation of Israel unto the Lord: “I am well beloved of Him even when I sink into the deepest trouble; for God raiseth me from my grief, and I flower in righteousness as the lily, and utter songs of praise unto Him.” (Shir haShirim Rabbah 2.8)
	Repentance waiteth patiently at all times for the sons of men. When can a man be purified of iniquity? When he returneth to the King on High, and uttereth prayer from the depths of his heart, as Scripture saith (Psalms 130:1): “Out of the depths I call unto Thee.” (Zohar Achrei Mot 41.244-245)
	Though sages have taught men not to judge each other harshly, to be tolerant of each other, yet all men know well that the lesson has remained unlearned. All men have felt the pain of the world’s scorn, for there is no man that sinneth not. The world, ready with its praise for success, pours out its merciless rebuke upon the unfortunate. Few men receive human pity for their iniquities.
	Should harsh circumstance or unfortunate weakness lead man into flagrant wrongdoing, he will often plumb the very depths of misery. The world despises him, yet he cannot flee from the contempt of men, because even in himself he finds no pity. Conscience, once the guide of his life, now bitterly rebukes him. Scorned of men, in shame before his own soul, he loses heart. Courage vanishes, self respect weakens, despair adds its burden to iniquity.
	God, who has no delight in human power, has no contempt for human weakness. To His endless might, even the greatest are weak. Hethe Lord judges the heart. He pities weakness, He is aware of all hidden temptations, He is gentle with human frailty, and He forgives sin, re-creating the broken man, granting a new heart and a clean soul.
	When man has sinned grievously, when he is rejected of his fellowmen, and despised in his own heart, let him approach God humbly and reverently, but without fear. God is near to the humble. His mercies endure for ever.
	Hear our voice when we call unto Thee, O God of righteousness. Men have looked upon our transgressions; they have mocked us and cast us away. Out of the depths we lift up our eyes to Thine eternal hills and call in trembling upon Thy name.
	Men may recall all our failings, and recount to each other all our shortcomings. Yet we will not heed the tongues of men, if we can but escape into the awesome silence of Thy presence. If Thou shouldst ever mark against us our transgressions we could never stand before Thee. But with Thee is forgiveness. In Thine eternal mercy, Thou pitiest our weakness, and even our faintest strivings after Thee, Thou rememberest in love.
	Redeem us, O Lord, by Thy help, for in Thee alone do we trust. Create us anew by Thy word. Let there be light in our darkness. More than the watchman waiteth for the morning do we wait for Thee. Be Thou near to us, and teach us to call upon Thee in truth, Amen.

“Out of the Depth” is the eleventh prayer found in ברכה ותהלה Blessing and Praise: A Book of Meditations and Prayers for Individual and Home Devotion (CCAR 1923), pp. 41-43. Unfortunately, we do not yet know of a resource providing clear attribution of authorship for any of the prayers in this volume.

Source(s)

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Unknown

Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please leave a comment or contact us.

Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו׃ (תהלים צ:יז) · "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." (Psalms 90:17)

Out of the Depth, a prayer from a state of depression (CCAR 1923)

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