For the sin

The fast of Yom Kippur is over and with freshly-scrubbed souls we venture out into the New Year. At least that's the way we're supposed to feel. Often, it doesn't last very long.

One of the central prayers of the Yom Kippur liturgy is the long list of possible sins against God for which we ask forgiveness, commonly known as the "al chet" (for the sin). The prayer is an old and venerable one. But in the spirit of similar abuses of the traditional liturgy by the likes of Tikkun, a group that calls itself "Rabbis for Human Rights" has come up with an astonishing degradation of the "al chet" (more like a sick parody). And they apparently had the chutzpah to distribute it to rabbis across this country and in Israel for use in their services yesterday.

Here are a few choice excerpts (the words in brackets are RHR's "contributions").

For the sin which we have sinned against You by hardening our hearts [to the grinding poverty and despair of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs]...

And for the sin which we have sinned against You knowingly or unknowingly [allowing the Israeli government to continue expropriating land, demolish homes, build roads, uproot trees and deny water in our name, even while publicly speaking words of peace]....

For the sin which we have sinned against You by desecrating Your Name [by abusing others and calling it Your Will....

And for the sin which we have sinned against You by narrow mindedness [feeling only our own pain, closing our minds to the agony of bereaved Arab mothers and fathers.

For the sin which we have sinned against You by hating ourselves so deeply and thoroughly that we are no longer capable of distinguishing right from wrong, good from evil, deliberate mass murder from regrettable but unintentional collateral casualties, aggression from self-defense or tolerance from capitulation....

Forgive us, pardon us and grant us atonement.