A Communal Al Chet for 5775
October 02, 2014
I experienced my first Jewish Renewal Yom Kippur at the old Elat Chayyim in Accord, New York ten years ago. One of the practices which moved me most was a practice of collaboratively writing our own Al Chet prayer.
The Al Chet prayer -- "For the Sins (Which We Have Sinned Against You By....)" -- is a laundry list of places where we have missed the mark in the last year. That year at Elat Chayyim, before the holiday began, we each wrote down the places where we felt we'd missed the mark in the previous year. Then the index cards containing our words were mixed up and re-distributed. When it came time for the Al Chet prayer, we sang each others' words. The intimacy of that experience moved me deeply.
For the last several years, we've adapted this practice at my shul. At Selichot services on the Saturday evening before Rosh Hashanah I play quiet guitar music while people write down places where they've missed the mark, things they feel they need to release in order to reach forgiveness on Yom Kippur. Some of our Hebrew school kids engage in this same practice during Hebrew school. Then I collect the basket of cards and type up what's in it, and that becomes the Al Chet which our student hazzan and I chant on Yom Kippur morning.
For those who are interested, here's my community's Al Chet for this year. I share it in hopes that it might speak to you, too, and might help this prayer come alive for you in a new way.
(And if you're going to be at CBI on Saturday morning, you might consider not reading any further, so that these words can reach you fresh when we sing them from the bimah...)
Our Al Chet 5775
For the sins we have sinned against You by giving in to fear and worry,
and the sins we have sinned against You by not learning to let go;
For the sins we have sinned against You by not being available to our parents,
and the sins we have sinned against You by not being present to our children;
For the sins we have sinned against You through impatience, worry, and frustration,
and the sins we have sinned against You in thoughtless and hasty speech;
For the sins we have sinned against You by stealing money from Mom's wallet,
and the sins we have sinned against You by yelling at our parents;
וְעַל כֻּלָּם, אֱלֽוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת,סְלַח לָֽנוּ, מְחַל לָֽנוּ, כַּפֶּר-לָֽנוּ.
Ve’al kulam, Elo’ah selichot, selach lanu, mechal lanu, kaper lanu.
For all of these—God of forgiveness— forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.
For the sins we have sinned against You by nurturing resentments,
and the sins we have sinned against You by letting fear overwhelm compassion;
For the sins we have sinned against You through feeling anger at You,
and the sins we have sinned against You through feeling anger at ourselves;
For the sins we have sinned against You by not respecting our teachers,
and the sins we have sinned against You by not nurturing our students;
For the sins we have sinned against You by railing against what we can't change,
and the sins we have sinned against You in anger at those whom we don't know;
וְעַל כֻּלָּם, אֱלֽוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת,סְלַח לָֽנוּ, מְחַל לָֽנוּ, כַּפֶּר-לָֽנוּ.
Ve’al kulam, Elo’ah selichot, selach lanu, mechal lanu, kaper lanu.
For all of these—God of forgiveness— forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.
For the sins we have sinned against You by not being caring;
and the sins we have sinned against You by letting perfectionism paralyze us;
For the sins we have sinned against You by interrupting in haste without listening,
and the sins we have sinned against You by contributing to another's pain;
For the sins we have sinned against You by hurting ourselves,
and the sins we have sinned against You by hurting others;
For the sins we have sinned against You by failing to live in the moment,
and the sins we have sinned against You by feeling guilt about our own failings;
וְעַל כֻּלָּם, אֱלֽוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת,סְלַח לָֽנוּ, מְחַל לָֽנוּ, כַּפֶּר-לָֽנוּ.
Ve’al kulam, Elo’ah selichot, selach lanu, mechal lanu, kaper lanu.
For all of these—God of forgiveness— forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.
For the sins we have sinned against You by feeling pity and hate,
and the sins we have sinned against You by drowning out the voices of others;
For the sins we have sinned against You by fearing those who are unlike us,
and the sins we have sinned against You by taking pleasure in gossip;
For the sins we have sinned against You through only listening to people with whom
we know we agree,
and the sins we have sinned against You through ignoring inconvenient voices;
For the sins we have sinned against You by not giving as much as we could,
and the sins we have sinned against You by being too proud to receive in return;
וְעַל כֻּלָּם, אֱלֽוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת,סְלַח לָֽנוּ, מְחַל לָֽנוּ, כַּפֶּר-לָֽנוּ.
Ve’al kulam, Elo’ah selichot, selach lanu, mechal lanu, kaper lanu.
For all of these—God of forgiveness— forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.