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A Confession of Communal Complicity, an Al Ḥet supplement for Yom Kippur by Rabbi Brant Rosen

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We say together:
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for forgetting that we were all once strangers
in a strange land;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for preferring militarized fences
to open borders.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for supporting trade policies
and murderous regimes
that uproot people, families and communities;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for drawing lines and turning away those
who come to our country seeking a better life.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for demonizing migrants
as threats to be feared;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for labeling human beings as “illegal.”
וְעַל כֻּלָּם
אֱלוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת
סְלַח לָנוּ,
מְחַל לָנוּ
כַּפֶּר לַנוּ
v’Al kulam
Elo’ah seliḥot
selaḥ lanu,
meḥal lanu,
kaper lanu.
For all these,
Source of forgiveness,
forgive us,
pardon us,
receive our atonement.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for internalizing and assenting
to racist ideologies;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for allowing oppressive systems
to continue unchecked.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for our complicity
in regularly profiling,
incarcerating
and murdering
people of color;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for denying fair housing,
public schools
and greater opportunity
to our black and brown communities.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for dehumanizing,
excluding
and murdering
gay, lesbian, trans and queer people;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for shaming and stigmatizing
the infirm,
the mentally and physically disabled,
and the elderly.
וְעַל כֻּלָּם
אֱלוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת
סְלַח לָנוּ,
מְחַל לָנוּ
כַּפֶּר לַנוּ
v’Al kulam
Elo’ah seliḥot
selaḥ lanu,
meḥal lanu,
kaper lanu.
For all these,
Source of forgiveness,
forgive us,
pardon us,
receive our atonement.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for buying into and promoting
the ideology of American exceptionalism;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for oppressing other peoples and nations
in the name of American power and influence;
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for profiting off of weapons of death and destruction;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for contributing to the increased militarization
of our nation and our world.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for expanding our military budget
while we cut essential services here at home;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for believing that militarism and violence
will ensure our collective security.
וְעַל כֻּלָּם
אֱלוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת
סְלַח לָנוּ,
מְחַל לָנוּ
כַּפֶּר לַנוּ
v’Al kulam
Elo’ah seliḥot
selaḥ lanu,
meḥal lanu,
kaper lanu.
For all these,
Source of forgiveness,
forgive us,
pardon us,
receive our atonement.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for the destruction of homes,
expropriation of land,
and warehousing of humanity;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for a brutal and crushing military occupation.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for blockading 1.8 million Gazans
inside an open air prison;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for repeatedly unleashing
devastating military firepower
on a population trapped in a tiny strip of land.
עַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
For the wrong we have done before you
for wedding sacred Jewish spiritual tradition
to political nationalism and militarism;
וְעַל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ
v’Al ḥet she’ḥatanu lifanekha
And for the wrong we have done before you
for rationalizing away Israel’s oppression
of the Palestinian people.
וְעַל כֻּלָּם
אֱלוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת
סְלַח לָנוּ,
מְחַל לָנוּ
כַּפֶּר לַנוּ
v’Al kulam
Elo’ah seliḥot
selaḥ lanu,
meḥal lanu,
kaper lanu.
For all these,
Source of forgiveness,
forgive us,
pardon us,
receive our atonement.

Rabbi Brant Rosen’s “A Confession of Communal Complicity: A New Al Ḥet For Yom Kippur” was first published on his blog on 17 September 2015.

 


 

 

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