Vidui (Confession)

With clenched fists, we beat our chests in confession on Yom Kippur—but what are we still holding in our hands? The prophets decry those who defraud the poor, hoard ill-gotten gains, and then lift their hands in prayer. Ne’ilah, the closing prayer of Yom Kippur, echoes their warning: repentance is not complete until we return what we have wrongfully held to its rightful owner. Yom Kippur may end before restitution is complete, but repentance does not.

Dismayed by claims of modern scholars that the Book of Daniel’s historical survey of the Seleucid era was written post-facto by a Hellenistic author, Chaim Shvilly (1907–1974) composed a ritual confession that Bible critics would be required to say at Daniel’s grave.

The few examples of confessions in the Bible use only generic language about sin. In contrast, the post-biblical Yom Kippur liturgical confessions, written as long alphabetical lists, include detailed admissions about specific sins, many of which the petitioner likely never committed. This kind of confession goes back to the second millennium B.C.E. ancient Near Eastern texts for people suffering from illness.

Drawing on biblical and ancient Near Eastern evidence about the consequences of swearing falsely, I suggest a new understanding of the asham case (Lev 5:20-26) involving property violation and a subsequent false oath.

Seeking truth and thinking critically are spiritual endeavors that, like mitzvot and other deeds, require reflection and self-correction.