by Rabbi Joyce Newmark

April 17, 2008

Parashat Aharei Mot begins with a description of the atonement ritual for Yom Kippur conducted by the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. In the Torah, the purpose of this ritual is to cleanse the sanctuary of the impurity generated by the people’s sins. Without this ritual, the impurity of these sins would become a kind of invisible but real cosmic “gunk” clogging up the works and interfering with the connection between God and Israel.

There’s very little here that we recognize as being part of our Yom Kippur, only:

• T’anu et nafshoteichem, you shall practice self-denial, which the rabbis understand to mean fasting; and
• V’hitvada alav et kol avonot b’nai Yisrael, the Kohen Gadol shall confess all the sins of the Israelites.

Fasting and confession (vidui) are central to our observance of Yom Kippur as we strive for reconciliation with God and with other people.

However, the use of the word vidui is not limited to the Yom Kippur confession of sins. It is used for the vidui bikkurim, the declaration recited when an Israelite brought his first fruits to the Temple on Shavuot: “My father was a fugitive Aramean....” And it is also used for the vidui ma’aser, the declaration made in connection with ma’aser oni, the tithe set aside for the poor in the third and sixth years of the seven-year agricultural cycle. And the vidui ma’aser is not about sins and flaws, but a declaration of mitzvot fulfilled: “I have cleared out the consecrated portion from the house; and I have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, just as You have commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor neglected any of your commandments.” (Devarim 26:13)

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, z”l, explained that the vidui of ma’aser and the vidui of teshuva (repentance) represent two sides of the same coin. The essence of confession is that a person expresses his recognition that he is guilty of a sin and undertakes not to repeat his error. However, if a person believes that he is not capable of changing his ways and behaving better, then his confession is empty and without meaning. This is precisely the function of vidui ma’aser — to express that I did everything that I was commanded to do and that I did it correctly. And because I am capable of doing things correctly, I can sincerely regret my actions when I fail to do so. Therefore the ma’aser declaration is called vidui because it provides the necessary corollary to the vidui of teshuva.

Vidui should be an honest self-assessment of both negatives and positives. Surely, if you refuse to accept responsibility for your sins, your thoughtless cruelties, and the many opportunities you missed to show kindness and to do good you have wasted your time on Yom Kippur. But if you see only flaws and failures, you may become demoralized and discouraged, thinking that there’s no point in trying to do better. Through this small word, vidui, the Torah is teaching us to look at ourselves honestly and really see our sins as well as our mitzvot and positive qualities. If you can do that, then your vidui will be an inspiration and you will have taken the first step to changing for the better and becoming the person you are capable of being.

Rabbi Joyce Newmark, a resident of Teaneck, is a former religious leader of congregations in Leonia and Lancaster, Pa.

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