Every year at the High Holidays we share our communal sins through the prayer titled “Al Cheit.” I thought we needed an update for this year.
Al Cheit for 2019
For all the sins we list here, may we do better, know better, be better.
For the sin which we have committed knowing full well what we’ve done.
And for the sin which we have committed in blissful ignorance.
For the sin which we have committed with unkind words toward coworkers.
And for the sin which we have committed by thinking ill of someone because of their Instagram post.
For the sin which we have committed by not taking the time to vote.
And for the sin which we have committed by lying to our partners.
For the sin which we have committed by walking past our neighbors without so much as a nod.
And for the sin which we have committed by crossing the street to avoid someone experiencing homelessness.
For the sin which we have committed by saying children are too young to know how to change the world.
And for the sin which we have committed by writing off anyone over 70 as feeble and uninspiring.
For the sin which we have committed by blaming plastic straws for climate change.
And for the sin which we have committed by driving when we could have walked or biked just as easily.
For the sin which we have committed by saying, “We were all immigrants,” without irony.
And for the sin which we have committed by allowing photos of children in cages to be the last straw instead of any deportations prior.
For the sin which we have committed by gatekeeping the definition of anti-Semitism.
And for the sin which we have committed by calling other Jews who disagree with us “capos.”
For the sin which we have committed by allowing powerful Jewish men to mistreat women because those men donate a lot of money in the community.
And for the sin which we have committed by not ensuring pay equity in Jewish institutions.
For the sin which we have committed by playing “both siderism” and pointing fingers to right/left anti-Semitism as equal types of hate.
And for the sin which we have committed by raising synagogue dues.
For the sin which we have committed by assuming people of color in Jewish spaces are converts, are Ethiopian, or aren’t Jewish without speaking to them.
And for the sin which we have committed by tokenizing Jews of color on our websites and marketing materials.
For the sin which we have committed by bickering over what is or is not a concentration camp.
And for the sin which we have committed by targeting congresswomen for vitriol rather than those who use violence against our community.
For all the sins we list here, may we do better, know better, be better.
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