Pause for Prayer: WEDNESDAY 10/1

At sundown today (Wednesday), our Jewish friends and neighbors begin their celebration of Yom Kippur which will end at sundown tomorrow.

Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement and is considered the holiest and most solemn day on the Jewish calendar.

 

Over these two days, Jews will pray the Al Chet - ten times.  This is a prayer asking for God's forgiveness of the many ways the community may have sinned in the past year.  While we Christians don't observe Yom Kippur, any day of the year is a good day for us to take some personal inventory and pray for God's mercy.   If you search online for Al Chet, you'll find many versions of this prayer. The one below is drawn from several I found, along with some of my own additions.

For the sins we have committed before You

    under duress or willingly…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by our hardheartedness…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    - even inadvertently…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    with an utterance from our lips…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    through our immoral actions…

 

For the sins we have committed before You

   through war and aggression…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    openly or secretly...

For the sins we have committed before You 

    with knowledge and with deceit…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    through our silence…

 

For the sins we have committed before You

   through oppression and injustice…

 

For all of these, God of mercy: 

    pardon,  forgive and atone for us…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by deceiving another…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by improper thoughts…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by a gathering of lewdness…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by an insincere confession…

 

For the sins we have committed before You

   through bias and prejudice…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by disrespect for parents and teachers…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    intentionally or unintentionally…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by using coercion…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by desecrating the Divine Name…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by impurity of speech…

 

For all of these, God of mercy: 

    pardon,  forgive and atone for us…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by foolish talk…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    with evil inclination…

 

For the sins we have committed before You

   through selfishness and greed…

For the sins we have committed before You 

   knowingly or unknowingly…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by false denial and lying…

For the sins we have committed before You

   by giving or taking a bribe…

 

For the sins we have committed before You

   through carelessness

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by scoffing at others…

For the sins we have committed before You

    by evil talk about another…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    in our business dealings…

 

For all of these, God of mercy: 

    pardon,  forgive and atone for us…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    with food and drink…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    through extortion and embezzlement…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by a haughty attitude…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    through idle chatter…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by a glance of the eye…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    with proud looks…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    with impudence…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by throwing off your yoke…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    in passing judgment…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by scheming against another…

 

For all of these, God of mercy: 

    pardon,  forgive and atone for us…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by a begrudging eye…

 

For the sins we have committed before you 

   through negligence and carelessness... 

 

For the sins we have committed before you

   through our lust for power…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by our frivolity…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by our stubbornness…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by running to do evil…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by gossip and rumor…

For the sins we have committed before You

    by swearing in vain…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by baseless hatred…

For the sins we have committed before You 

    by a confused heart…

 

For all of these, God of mercy: 

    pardon,  forgive and atone for us…

 

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