Siman 607

It has already been explained in siman 403 that for teshuvah one requires vidui, and that vidui is a positive commandment from the Torah, as it is written: "And they shall confess their sin" (Numbers 5:7). The primary commandment of vidui is on Yom Kippur. In the time of the Temple, the Kohen Gadol would confess on behalf of all Israel over the scapegoat, as it is written: "And he shall confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel" etc. (Leviticus 16:21). Therefore, everyone is obligated to confess on Yom Kippur, in each of the prayers. And even though the primary obligation is on Yom Kippur, nevertheless the sages said at the end of Yoma that one must confess during the Mincha of the eve of Yom Kippur, before one eats and drinks the seuda hamafseket. And the reason: lest some mishap occur to him during the meal, such that his mind becomes unsettled due to drunkenness, and he will be unable to confess afterward. And the Rambam in the second chapter of Teshuvah explains: lest he choke during the meal.

And so we learned in a baraita ibid.: Our rabbis taught: The mitzvah of vidui is on the eve of Yom Kippur at nightfall. But the sages said: One should confess before he eats, etc. And even though he confessed before, etc. – he confesses after he eats and drinks, lest a sin occurred during the meal. And even though he confessed during the evening service – he confesses during the morning service, etc., Musaf, etc., Mincha, etc., Neilah. See there. And according to many of the commentators, that which they said that the mitzvah of vidui is at nightfall, and he confesses after he eats – refers to the evening service. But the Ramban explained that this is a vidui unto itself before nightfall, before the evening service, so that he enters Yom Kippur at the beginning of the day when he has already confessed. And based on this, many and likewise the upright have the custom, when they come to the synagogue and the time is close to sunset – they confess.

And where does one say the viduy? An individual says it after the prayer, before he uproots his feet. And the shaliach tzibbur says it within the prayer before "pardon our iniquities." And it appears to me that the individual, after the blessing of peace, says "May the words of my mouth be acceptable," and afterwards says the viduy, and after the viduy says "My God, guard my tongue" etc., "May the words of my mouth be acceptable" etc., for since he finished the prayer—it is necessary to say "May the words of my mouth be acceptable," as this is also like part of the prayer. And after the viduy, it is obvious that he must say "May the words of my mouth be acceptable," so that his viduy shall be accepted. And in the mincha of the eve of Yom Kippur—the shaliach tzibbur does not repeat the viduy, but rather prays the Shemoneh Esrei like other days of the year, since this viduy is only due to a mere concern, as I have written. And I did not know how to align the words of our teacher, the Beit Yosef, in section 5, who wrote: In the mincha prayer of the eve of Yom Kippur—one does not conclude with a blessing in the viduy after it; thus far his words. And it is a wonder: what conclusion of a blessing is there in the prayer of an individual after the viduy? Behold, he says it after the prayer! And from the Levush it is implied that his intention was not specifically regarding the eve of Yom Kippur, but also regarding Yom Kippur itself (and so wrote the Gra"z). And it does not sit well upon the heart. And it seems to me that this is the explanation: that it is understandable that on Yom Kippur itself—one does not need a conclusion of a blessing for the viduy, for he has already said "King who pardons and forgives" etc. But on the eve of Yom Kippur, when he prayed a weekday prayer—I would have said that he should conclude with a blessing. He comes to teach us that he does not. And they do not perform nefilat apayim at mincha, and they do not say "Avinu Malkeinu." (And it appears more likely to me regarding the intention of the Beit Yosef, because according to Rashi, of blessed memory, one may conclude with a blessing in the viduy of Yom Kippur, as the Tur wrote, see there. Regarding this, he comes to teach us that in the mincha of the eve of Yom Kippur—even according to Rashi, he shall not conclude with a blessing.)

The essence of the vidui is when one says "I have sinned." And one must confess standing, and with a bowed head. And according to the law, one does not need to specify his sins, and it is sufficient that he says "I have sinned, I have been iniquitous, I have transgressed." Nevertheless, ab initio it is proper to specify the sin, that he should say in a whisper "I have done such and such," and he will feel more shame before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and regret from the depth of his heart. But it is forbidden to specify the sins in a loud voice in public, and regarding this it is said (Psalms 32:1) "Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered," as I wrote in siman 603. And this is regarding a sin that is not public knowledge. But a sin that is public knowledge—it is permitted even in a loud voice, and there is no obligation in this. And he may specify it in a whisper. And that which we say "Al Chet" in alphabetical order—it is not called specifying his sins, since it is a version equal for all, and it is like a prayer version, and it is permitted to say it in a loud voice.

The order of the confession in "Al Cheit" is: olah, chatat, korban oleh ve-yored, asham vadai, and asham talui, for thus he ordered them in Parshat Vayikra. And afterwards: makat mardut, forty lashes, meaning: minus one. And afterwards: death at the hands of Heaven, and afterwards: karet and childlessness, and afterwards: the four deaths of beit din. For thus one must first request for the light, and afterwards for the severe, as I wrote in siman 582.

One should say the term "kapparah" for sins [chata'im], "mechilah" for iniquities [avonot], and "selichah" for transgressions [pesha'im]. For the sin is lighter than the iniquity, as a sin is unintentional and an iniquity is intentional. And an iniquity is lighter than a transgression, as a transgression is a rebel. And "kapparah" is the greatest of them all, as it is written: "And he shall make atonement [ve-chipper] for the soul that sins unintentionally," for it is a wiping and a rinsing, like "golden bowls [kipporei]," and therefore it is called "Yom Kippur," and therefore it is associated with sins. And "mechilah" is greater than "selichah." And the term "mechilah" we do not find in the Tanakh, and also the root we do not know, only in the language of the Mishnah is it regarding a monetary claim, that he forgives [mochel] and does not claim, and it is associated with iniquity. And "selichah" is the smallest of them all, for he only pardons and does not forgive entirely, and therefore it is associated with a rebel. However, in the Torah we find "selichah" for iniquity: "Pardon [selach na], I pray Thee, the iniquity of this people" (Numbers 14:19). And in the Tanakh we find "kapparah" for iniquity: "But He, being full of compassion, forgiveth [ye-chapper] iniquity" (Psalms 78:38), "By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be atoned [ye-chupper]" (Isaiah 27:9). And in the Torah we find "selichah" alongside "kapparah": "And the kohen shall make atonement [ve-chipper] for him... and he shall be forgiven [ve-nislach]" (Leviticus 4:26). But the version that we wrote thus, they testified regarding our teacher, the Rema, that he said so (Magen Avraham end of subsection 3 in the name of the Shelah; and in the Magen Avraham there is a printing error, see there). And so it is implied from the text of "El Melekh," where we say "increases mechilah for sinners, and selichah for transgressors" — behold, that "selichah" is "for transgressors," and "increases mechilah" is like kapparah. And so it is implied from the wording of "And for all of them" in the "Al Chet": "Pardon us [selach lanu], forgive us [mechal lanu], atone for us [kapper lanu]," for he requests first a light thing, etc. However, we find in the prayer "selichah" for "sin" and "mechilah" for "transgression": "Pardon us [selach lanu] our Father for we have sinned, forgive us [mechal lanu] our King for we have transgressed."

And in the Yerushalmi at the end of Yoma it says: How does one confess? Rabbi Berechiah etc.: "I have sinned... may it be Your will before You that You grant atonement (kapparah) for all my rebellious sins (pesha'ai), and pardon (mechilah) my iniquities (avonotai), and forgive (selichah) all my unintentional sins (chatatai)," see there. Behold, it is exactly the opposite: "kapparah" for rebellious sins, "mechilah" for iniquities, and "selichah" for unintentional sins. And in my humble opinion, it would appear that the term "kapparah" does not belong to prayer at all. This is only regarding the altar, where the sacrifice effects atonement, or the essence of the day effects atonement, like Yom Kippur. But in prayer—only the term "selichah" is appropriate. Therefore, our teacher Moses regarding the spies requested with the term "selichah": "Forgive (selach), I pray, the iniquity of this people." And the Holy One, Blessed be He, answered him: "I have forgiven (salachti) according to your words." And for us, according to the wording of the Mishnah, the term "mechilah" was also added. Therefore, in prayer there is "Forgive (selach) us our Father... pardon (mechal) us our King." And only in selichot and liturgical poems did they also use the term "kapparah" for prayer. And we find "kapparah" in the Torah regarding the eglah arufah, which is also like a sacrifice. And the term "kapparah" found in the Prophets, such as "By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be atoned (yekhuppar)"—is not prayer. And so too in Psalms: "He atones (yekhappper) for iniquity." But in prayer, only "selichah" and "mechilah" are appropriate. And there is no strictness in how they are said, since we find everything—deduce from this that there is no strictness in the wording (so it appears in my humble opinion).

And one must confess while standing and bowing, as in "Modim." And one should not lean himself against the wall. And also during the confessions that are said with the sheliach tzibbur – they must stand. And during all the piyyutim one may sit. However, when the sheliach tzibbur reaches "But we have sinned" – they must stand (Gemara end of Yoma). And it is customary to strike the heart, as if to say: You caused this for me through sinful thoughts. And some strike the chest. And the essence of the confession is "But we have sinned." And there are those who say "But we sinned," and there are those who say "But we and our fathers have sinned." And so we find that David said: "We have sinned with our fathers"; and so Daniel said: "For through our sins and the iniquities of our fathers – Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach" etc. And one should not speak during the time of the confession (Magen Avraham). And transgressions that one confessed for on the previous Yom Kippur, and did not repeat them – even so, he may return and confess for them. And on the contrary, this is praiseworthy, as it is written: "And my sin is before me always." And this is when he specifies each iniquity, but in the text of "Al Chet" – this is not relevant at all, since it is a text equal for everyone, and in all years it is not relevant to distinguish between whether he committed them or did not commit them.

It is customary to receive forty lashes after the Mincha prayer, so that through this one will take to heart to repent for the transgressions in his hand. Above, in the previous siman, section 6, we explained that it is better to receive lashes before Mincha; see there. It is customary that the one receiving lashes says confessions during the lashes, and the one administering the lashes says "And He, being merciful, atones for iniquity" three times, which are thirty-nine words corresponding to the thirty-nine lashes. They lash with any strap whatsoever, as it is only a remembrance of the lashes. And he should take a strap of a calf, in the manner of "The ox knows its owner... Israel does not know." The one receiving lashes shall be leaning, neither standing nor sitting, with his face to the north and his back to the south. And know that Yom Kippur only atones for those who believe in its atonement and perform teshuvah. But one who rebels against it and thinks in his heart, "What does Yom Kippur avail me," and even if he believes but does not repent—it does not atone for him.