In Judaism, confession () is a step in the process of atonement during which a Jew admits to committing a sin before God. In sins between a Jew and God, the confession must be done without others present (The Talmud calls confession in front of another a show of disrespect). On the other hand, confession of sins done to another person may be done publicly, and in fact Maimonides calls such confession "immensely praiseworthy".
The confession of a sin in itself does not bring immediate forgiveness. Rather, it is one component of repentance in Judaism, which can lead to forgiveness.
Hebrew Bible
Vidui is not found as a noun in the Hebrew Bible, but the concept of confession and the hithpael verb form of yadah (ידה) – from which vidui is derived – are found, and seems to fall into the category of speech actions.
Individuals might confess their sins or their people's sins as a precondition to achieving forgiveness, while confession was required along with certain sin-offerings in the Temple. In , the people's sins were confessed "on the head" of the scapegoat, which then was said to carry those sins out of the camp.
The structure of a confession
Maimonides writes:
In prayer
In addition to each person's own personal confessions, in many communities a form of confession has been added to the standard prayer service.
The standard confession text begins by referring to the prayer that has proceeded it:
This is followed by a list of specific sins which the individual or community may have committed.
After the list comes a statement of regret for the sins. For example, the standard short confession concludes as follows:
Alphabetical texts
There are two commonly recited confession texts: the short confession (וידוי הקטן) and the long confession (וידוי הגדול). Both include a list of sins that a person confesses to in the order of the alephbet. The short confession lists one sin per letter, while the long confession lists two. A number of purposes have been suggested for the alphabetical arrangement: To aid in memorizing the list To provide a more comprehensive list of sins, and better remind the confessor of additional sins they have committed which they can add to the list To symbolize that one has confessed for any possible sin
While not everyone has committed every sin in the standard confession texts, they are worded in the plural ("we have sinned"). They are thus recited in the name of the whole Jewish people, and it is presumably true that every sin mentioned has been committed by at least one Jew.
During confession the congregant stands, with head bowed in regret or shame, and with the mention of each sin, thumps his fist over his heart. Some individuals might quickly add (silently or in a whisper) additional sins, not in the traditional list, beginning with the same letters.
With reference to the Ashkenaz text, it has been said, "out of the 44 statements that make up the Al Cheyt, twelve deal with sins rooted in speech (five in Ashamnu). Only four statements relate to transgressions committed by man against God in the strict sense (only two in the Ashamnu text). Dominating both confessional texts are general expressions of sin (fifteen in Al Cheyt and seventeen in Ashamnu)."
Ashamnu, the short confession
This formula begins "We have incurred guilt, we have betrayed, we have stolen, we have spoken falsely, etc." (""). It is commonly known by its first word, Ashamnu (also transliterated Oshamnu). An early form of this confession is found most directly in ; see especially verses 5, 9, 18–19, where the supplicant acknowledges himself meritless, and entreats for God's forgiveness based only on God's own merit, and that God's name should not be tarnished among the nations.