Ne‘ilah of Yom Kippurim: From Philology to Ethics and Theology

by: Reuven Kimelman

The central element of the Yom Kippurim liturgy is the confessional, recited up to ten times. It begins “for the sin that I have committed before you.” The Ashkenazic liturgy then lists a plethora of ethical sins, whereas the Sefardic notes a religious sin or two. In contrast, Ne’ilah, the closing service of the day, appends an addendum that focuses on the dynamics of repentance, not the specifics of confession. The ethics and theology of the two-part addendum of Ne’ilah, however, have been obscured by misunderstandings of the Hebrew. A proper philological reading discloses its ethical and theological import for Yom Kippurim.

Neilah Part I

נוֹתֵן יָד

The opening line is the most misunderstood and most misleading.

אַתָּה נוֹתֵן יָד לַפּוֹשְׁעִים, וִימִינְךָ פְשׁוּטָה לְקַבֵּל שָׁבִים.. 1

This opening has been mistranslated due to the misunderstanding of biblical idiom. The translations of these three widely-used siddurim of three denominations are typical:

Artscroll = You reach out a hand to willful sinners

Lev Shalem = You extend Your hand to those who sin.

Mishkan HaNefesh = You hold out your hand to those who do wrong.

These translations are philologically incorrect as well as ethically and theologically misleading. God does not assist those who do wrong. Rather, following the talmudic statement –

בא לטמא פְּתָחִין^[1] לו בא לטהר מסייעין אותו

“One who seeks to be defiled will find openings; one who seeks to be purified will be assisted,” the line thus translates as: “You give latitude to sinners, but You extend Your right hand to penitents.” ^[2] The point is that God lets sinners sin, but assists penitents.^[3] This adheres to biblical idiom where אַתָּה נוֹתֵן יָד translates as “You give space for” following Deuteronomy 23:13 where: יָד תִּהְיֶה לְךָ מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה means “There shall be a space for you outside the camp.” Similarly, Joshua 8:20b וְלֹא־הָיָה בָהֶם יָדַיִם לָנוּס הֵנָּה וָהֵנָּה translates as “they had no space for flight in any direction” and Ezekiel 21:24 וְיָד בָּרֵא בְּרֹאשׁ דֶּרֶךְ־עִיר בָּרֵא translates as “select a spot, select it where roads branch off to [two] cities.”^[4]

As the אתה that initiates Part II ,אַתָּה הִבְדַּֽלְתָּ אֱנוֹשׁ מֵרֹאשׁ, is universal so is that of Part I; indeed, its full expression is

לכל באי העולם את ידך – זו ימינך שפשוטה

(“Your hand – this is Your right hand that is extended to all humanity” — Sifrei Numbers 134). The turning to God with אַתָּה is a turning point in both Parts (see below). Line 5 of Part I begins with ְאַתָּה יוֹדֵֽעַ; line 5 of Part II begins with בְּרַחֲמֶֽיךָ .אַתָּה

מֵעֽשֶׁק יָדֵֽינו

Also misunderstood is the idiom מֵעֽשֶׁק יָדֵֽינוּ of the next line:

וַתְּלַמְּדֵֽנוּ יי אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לְפָנֶֽיךָ עַל כָּל עֲו‍ֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ לְמַֽעַן נֶחְדַּל מֵעֽשֶׁק יָדֵֽינוּ .2

This should translate specifically as “You have taught us, A-donai, our God, to confess to you every one of our sins so that we cease holding on to ill-gotten goods,” not as Sefaria translates generally, “You have taught us, A-donai, our God, to confess before You all our iniquities so that we may refrain from the injustice of our hands.”

The confession that God taught us corresponds to Leviticus 16:21:

הִתְוַדָּה עָלָיו אֶת־כׇּל־עֲוֺנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת־כׇּל־פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכׇל־חַטֹּאתָם

“confess over it (the goat) all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins.” The novelty is specifying the sin as the ill-gotten goods in our hands thereby obviating any need for a scapegoat.

The crime is highlighted in the concluding prayer of Yom Kippurim due to it pervasiveness in general and its prominence in the just-read book of Jonah in particular. According to the Talmud, most fail to avoid holding on to ill-gotten goods. ^[5] It thus possessed the wherewithal to seal the fate of the whole generation of the Flood.^[6]

According to Jonah, this was also the pervasive crime of the people of Nineveh calling for their repentance and restoration, as it says:

Jonah 3:8 וְיָשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה וּמִן־הֶחָמָס אֲשֶׁר בְּכַפֵּיהֶם which translates specifically as “let everyone repent of their evil way by giving back the stolen goods in their palms”^[7] and not generally as NJPS: “Let everyone turn back from his evil ways and from the injustice of which he is guilty.” The “vav” of וּמִן־הֶחָמָסis the biblical explicative vav, i.e., namely. Nineveh succeeded and survived; the flood generation failed and died.

The abhorrence at keeping ill-gotten gain pervades the Torah and the Prophets and contrasts with doing what is just and right.^[8] The Torah provides detailed condemnation of such misappropriation:

Leviticus 5:23 (see Numbers 5:7):

וְהָיָה כִּי־יֶחֱטָא וְאָשֵׁם וְהֵשִׁיב אֶת־הַגְּזֵלָה אֲשֶׁר גָּזָל אוֹ אֶת־הָעֹשֶׁק אֲשֶׁר עָשָׁק

אוֹ אֶת־הַפִּקָּדוֹן אֲשֶׁר הׇפְקַד אִתּוֹ אוֹ אֶת־הָאֲבֵדָה אֲשֶׁר מָצָא.

“When one has sinned and, realizing their guilt, would restore either that which was gotten through robbery or fraud, or the entrusted deposit, or the lost thing that was found.”

Ezekiel 45:9 contrasts them with doing the right thing:

חָמָס וָשֹׁד הָסִירוּ וּמִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה עֲשׂוּ

“Rid yourself of ill-gotten gain and robbery; do what is just and right.”^[9]

Amos 8:4-6a points out how this markedly afflicts wealthy businessmen who maximize their position to defraud the vulnerable:

שִׁמְעוּ־זֹאת הַשֹּׁאֲפִים אֶבְיוֹן וְלַשְׁבִּית (ענוי) [עֲנִיֵּי־] אָרֶץ.

לֵאמֹר מָתַי יַעֲבֹר הַחֹדֶשׁ וְנַשְׁבִּירָה שֶּׁבֶר וְהַשַּׁבָּת וְנִפְתְּחָה־בָּר

לְהַקְטִין אֵיפָה וּלְהַגְדִּיל שֶׁקֶל וּלְעַוֵּת מֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה…וּמַפַּל בַּר נַשְׁבִּיר

“Listen to this, those who trample on the needy, annihilating the poor of the land, saying, ‘If only the new moon were over, so that we could sell grain; the sabbath, so that we could open the grain bins for sale, using an ephah that is too small, and a shekel that is too big, rigging a scale… and selling grain refuse as grain’ ’’

After exposing the ethical perverseness (עֲשׁוּקִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ) of Northern Israel, Amos 3:10 mocks their excuse of not restoring ill-gotten goods under the pretense of being hoarded away:

.וְלֹא־יָדְעוּ עֲשׂוֹת־נְכֹחָה נְאֻם־יי הָאוֹצְרִים חָמָס וָשֹׁד בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֵיהֶם

“They cannot make things right, declares A-donai, as they store away

the ill-gotten gain and robbery in their palatial fortresses.”

Jeremiah 22:3hones in, as does Tanakh repeatedly, on the likeliest victims, the most vulnerable, and like Ezekiel contrasts it with doing what is just and right:

: כֹּה אָמַר יי

עֲשׂוּ מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה

וְהַצִּילוּ גָזוּל מִיַּד עָשׁוֹק

וְגֵר יָתוֹם וְאַלְמָנָה אַל־תֹּנו

ּ אַל־תַּחְמֹסוּ וְדָם נָקִי אַל־תִּשְׁפְּכוּ בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה.

“Thus said A-donai:

Do what is just and right:

Rescue the stolen goods from the hand of the defrauder;

Don’t swindle the stranger, the orphan, and the widow;

Don’t steal nor shed innocent blood in this place.”

The fact that these practically undetectable crimes easily elude punishment enhances their attractiveness to man and their offensiveness to God.^[10] What tends to slip by a human judge is most picked up by the Divine. The theme unites biblical literary prophecy from its inception with that of the eighth-century BCE Amos and Hosea until its culmination with that of the sixth-century BCE Zechariah and Malachi. Zechariah (7:10) cites God admonishing:

וְאַלְמָנָה וְיָתוֹם גֵּר וְעָנִי אַל־תַּעֲשֹׁקוּ וְרָעַת אִישׁ אָחִיו אַל־תַּחְשְׁבוּ בִּלְבַבְכֶם.

“Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and do not plot evil against one another.” For Zechariah, defrauding the vulnerable is equivalent to plotting evil. Malachi (3:5) warns that God will personally avenge such wrongdoings:

וְהָיִיתִי עֵד מְמַהֵר בַּמְכַשְּׁפִים וּבַמְנָאֲפִים וּבַנִּשְׁבָּעִים לַשָּׁקֶר וּבְעֹשְׁקֵי שְׂכַר־שָׂכִיר אַלְמָנָה וְיָתוֹם וּמַטֵּי־גֵר וְלֹא יְרֵאוּנִי.

“I will contend against you and act as a relentless accuser against those who have no fear of Me: who practice sorcery, who commit adultery, who swear falsely, who cheat laborers of their hire, and who subvert [the cause of] the widow, orphan, and stranger.”

It is the capacity for avoiding notice that makes these appealing to man and odious to God.

Ne’ilah takes its cue from the Torah and the prophets in its condemnation of עֹשֶׁק. In fact, Jeremiah’s combination of גָזוּל מִיַּד עָשׁוֹק harks back to Leviticus 19:13:

לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת־רֵעֲךָ וְלֹא תִגְזֹל^[11]

לֹא־תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד־בֹּקֶר

“You shall not defraud your fellow; you shall not commit robbery:

the wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning.”

Leviticus 19:35-36 specifies how fraud is committed, viewing it as a denial of the God of the Exodus by abusing the vulnerable thereby backsliding to Egyptian mores.

35. לֹא־תַעֲשׂוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט בַּמִּדָּה בַּמִּשְׁקָל וּבַמְּשׂוּרָה

36. מֹאזְנֵי צֶדֶק אַבְנֵי־צֶדֶק אֵיפַת צֶדֶק וְהִין צֶדֶק יִהְיֶה לָכֶם

אֲנִי ייְ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר־הוֹצֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.

35. “You shall not falsify measures of length, weight, or capacity.

36. You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin; I am A-donai your God who freed you from the land of Egypt.

Similar admonishments are expressed in Deuteronomy 25:13-16 where they pointedly precede the onslaught of Amalek.^[12]

As does Jeremiah, Deuteronomy 24:14 concentrates on the likely victims: לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁק שָׂכִיר עָנִי וְאֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחֶיךָ אוֹ מִגֵּרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּאַרְצְךָ בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ

“You shall not deprive a needy and destitute laborer of his wages, whether of brethren or a stranger in one of the communities of your land.”

The withholding of wages is tantamount to keeping ill-gotten goods.

Jeremiah’s younger sixth-century BCE contemporary Ezekiel 33:15-17 sums up the whole issue:

15. וּבְאׇמְרִי לָרָשָׁע מוֹת תָּמוּת וְשָׁב מֵחַטָּאתוֹ וְעָשָׂה מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה

15. So, too, when I say to the wicked, “You shall die,”

and he turns away from his sinfulness and does what is just and right.

16. חֲבֹל יָשִׁיב רָשָׁע גְּזֵלָה יְשַׁלֵּם

בְּחֻקּוֹת הַחַיִּים הָלַךְ לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת עָוֶל חָיוֹ יִחְיֶה לֹא יָמוּת

16. If the wicked restores a pledge, makes good what he has taken by robbery

follows the laws of life, and not commit iniquity— he shall surely live, not die.

17. כׇּל־חַטֹּאתָו אֲשֶׁר חָטָא לֹא תִזָּכַרְנָה לוֹ

מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה עָשָׂה חָיוֹ יִחְיֶה

17. None of the sins that he committed will be charged against him; having done what is just and right, he shall surely live.

This harks back to Hosea’s (12:7-9) focus on the need to neutralize evil with doing good. As people tend to revel in their fraud, they scoff at or belittle their own fraudulent activities, indeed even gloat:

7. וְאַתָּה בֵּאלֹהֶיךָ תָשׁוּב חֶסֶד וּמִשְׁפָּט שְׁמֹר וְקַוֵּה אֶל־אֱלֹהֶיךָ תָּמִיד

7. “You are to return to your God, exercise goodness and justice, and keep relying on your God.”

8. כְּנַעַן בְּיָדוֹ מֹאזְנֵי מִרְמָה לַעֲשֹׁק אָהֵב

8. A trader who uses false scales, who loves to defraud,

9. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶפְרַיִם אַךְ עָשַׁרְתִּי מָצָאתִי אוֹן לִי כׇּל־יְגִיעַי לֹא יִמְצְאוּ־לִי עָוֹן אֲשֶׁר־חֵטְא.

9. Ephraim says: “Ah! I have become rich; I have achieved power/wealth!

All my (ill-gotten) gains do not add up to a single real offense.”

The position is summed up by Isaiah 54:14: בִּצְדָקָה תִּכּוֹנָנִי רַחֲקִי מֵעֹשֶׁק

which translates correctly as: “You shall be established through righteousness, keep away from fraud (ill-gotten gain),” not misleadingly as NJPS: “You shall be established through righteousness. You shall be safe from oppression.”

For the Torah and the prophets (from Hosea and Amos through Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah till the end of biblical prophecy — Zechariah and Malakhi, and, of course, Jonah) a misdemeanor in our eyes is a felony in theirs. There are no peccadillos or foibles in deception, extortion, and exploitation. As Heschel perceived: “To us a single act of injustice – cheating in business, exploitation of the poor – is slight; to the prophets a disaster… a catastrophe.”^[13]

Following suit, Rambam makes this the sine qua non of repentance. Rambam, “Laws of Repentance” 2:9:

אֲבָל עֲבֵרוֹת שֶׁבֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ כְּגוֹן הַחוֹבֵל אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ אוֹ הַמְקַלֵּל חֲבֵרו(a)

אוֹ גּוֹזְלוֹ וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן

אֵינוֹ נִמְחַל לוֹ לְעוֹלָם עַד שֶׁיִּתֵּן לַחֲבֵרוֹ מַה שֶּׁהוּא חַיָּב לוֹ וִירַצֵּהוּ (b)

אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהֶחֱזִיר לוֹ מָמוֹן שֶׁהוּא חַיָּב לוֹ צָרִיךְ לְרַצּוֹתוֹ וְלִשְׁאל מִמֶּנּוּ שֶׁיִּמְחל לוֹ.(c)

(a) But sins between man and man such as injuring him cursing his neighbor, or robbing him, and similar things,

(b) is not absolved until he gives back what he owes him and makes up with him.

(c) Even if he made restitution of what he owes him, he is still obliged to make up with him and seek to secure his forgiveness.

Return to God begins with returning ill-gotten gain to its rightful owner. Otherwise, as specifically relevant to Ne’ilah, one’s prayer is sullied:

כָּל מִי שֶׁהַגָּזֵל בְּיָדוֹ תְּפִלָּתוֹ עֲכוּרָה

כָּל מִי שֶׁמַּרְחִיק עַצְמוֹ מִן הַגָּזֵל תְּפִלָּתוֹ זַכָּה

“Anyone who holds on to stolen goods his prayer is sullied; Anyone who keeps away from stolen goods his prayer is pure.”^[14]

As Job (16:17) says: לֹא־חָמָס בְּכַפָּי וּתְפִלָּתִי זַכָּה

“As there is no ill-gotten goods in my palms, my prayer is pure.”

The rejection of stained-hands prayer harks back to Hosea’s younger Judean contemporary in the opening chapter of Isaiah:

“And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you.Though you pray at length, I will not listen.Your hands are stained with wrongdoing (1:15).”

Isaiah’s solution for undoing the wrong matches his fellow prophets:

“Learn to do good; seek out justice; take the side of the exploited;^[15] uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow” (1:17b, see 23b). And since wrong is redressed by doing right, “Zion shall be redeemed by mishpat; Her repentant ones by tzedakah” (1:27).

Similarly, Isaiah of the exile (56:1) focuses on tzedakah and mishpat as the mechanism of redemption:

כֹּה אָמַר ה’ שִׁמְרוּ מִשְׁפָּט וַעֲשׂוּ צְדָקָה כִּי קְרוֹבָה יְשׁוּעָתִי לָבוֹא וְצִדְקָתִי לְהִגָּלוֹת

“Thus said A-donai:

Observe what is right (mishpat) and do what is just (tzedakah).For soon My salvation shall come, and My deliverance be revealed.”

Suitably, blessing 11 of the daily Amidah, which deals with the judicial system in the context of the restoration of Israel, designates God as the sovereign of tzedakah and mishpat.

Ne’ilah part I continues with lines 3-5

וּתְקַבְּלֵֽנוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה שְׁלֵמָה לְפָנֶֽיךָ כְּאִשִּׁים וּכְנִיחוֹחִים לְמַֽעַן דְּבָרֶֽיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָמָֽרְתָּ .3

אֵין קֵץ לְאִשֵּׁי חוֹבוֹתֵֽינוּ, וְאֵין מִסְפָּר לְנִיחוֹחֵי אַשְׁמָתֵֽנוּ. .4

וְאַתָּה יוֹדֵֽעַ שֶׁאַחֲרִיתֵֽנוּ רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה, לְפִיכָךְ הִרְבֵּֽיתָ סְלִיחָתֵֽנוּ. .5

3. Accept us when we return to You fully as You promised to accept the sweet-smelling sacrifices.

4. endless are the fire offering; innumerable are the guilt offerings (that would have been required of us in Temple times).

5. And You know that we are destined for worms and maggots, therefore You have multiplied opportunities for our forgiveness.

All three lines pique our attention. Line 3 is baffling in not citing supporting verses such as Hosea 6:6 or 14:3 (as does the Yom Kippurim Musaf) for its contention that God promised to accept our full repentance as equivalent of the sacrifices. Line 4 contends, also without biblical support, that there are no limits on the number of required sacrifices, making it virtually unfeasible, whereas repentance is eminently feasible. Line 4’s ingratiating effect consists in its explication of the sacrifices of line 3 by deploying an internal and terminal rhyme scheme in which the first four words match the last four.

The rhyme scheme of line 5 significantly maintains that of line 4. Its logic corresponds to that of Psalm 103:14-16. There, our excuse is the lowliness of our origins; here, it is the lowliness of our end. Basing the case on our frailty,^[16] Psalm 78:38-39 makes the case for divine mercy on our being transient flesh and blood. “That our end is worms and maggots,” שֶׁאַחֲרִיתֵֽנוּ רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה, recalls Job 25:6 and echoes Mishnah Avot 3:1 where it also forms the link between the human lowliness of origin and end while nonetheless charging humanity with rendering an account before God:

Akabya ben Mahalalel said: ponder three things and you will avoid sin:

Know whence you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning.

Whence do you come? From a putrid drop.

Where are you going? To a place of dust, of worm and of maggot.

Before whom are you destined to give an account and reckoning?

Before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.

Ne’ilah I, section 2,^[17] starts with disparaging our worth and ends up negating all human achievement through an integration of biblical and extra-biblical material:

מָה אֲנַוּ מֶה חַיֵּינוּ .1

מֶה חַסְדֵּנוּ מַה צִּדְקֵנוּ.2

מַה יְּשׁוּעָתֵֽנוּ/ישענו))3.

4.מַה כּחֵנוּ מַה גְּבוּרָתֵנוּ

.1What are we? What is our life (see 1 Samuel 18:18)?

.2What is our kindness? What is our piety?

]or: What is our merit? What is our worth?[

).3What worth are our efforts at salvation?)

.4What is our power? What is our might (see Job 6:11)?

5.מַה נֹּאמַר לְפָנֶֽיךָ יי אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ וֵא-לֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ? הֲלֹא

6. כָל הַגִּבּורִים כְּאַיִן לְפָנֶיךָ

7. וְאַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם כְּלא הָיוּ

8. וַחֲכָמִים כִּבְלִי מַדָּע

9. וּנְבונִים כִּבְלִי הַשכֵּל

10. כִּי רב מַעֲשינו\מַעֲשיהֶם תּהוּ

11. וִימֵי חַיֵּינוּ\חַיֵּיהֶם הֶבֶל לְפָנֶיךָ.

12. וּמותַר הָאָדָם מִן הַבְּהֵמָה אָיִן כִּי הַכּל הָבֶל.

.5What shall we say before You, our God and God of our ancestors? After all,

6. All the super-heroes are as nothing to You,

7. Celebrities as if they never were (see Genesis 6:4),

8. Intellectuals as lacking knowledge,

.9Cognoscenti as lacking sense (see Jeremiah 4:22),

10. for the sum of our/their deeds is zilch

11. and the days of our/their lives are nothing to You.

12. “Indeed, the superiority of man over beast is meaningless, as all is nothing” (Ecclesiastes 3:19b).

This analysis of the human situation reappears in the “minimal Shema” of the daily morning prayers.^[18] There, however, the meaninglessness of human existence in general is countered by the meaningfulness of covenantal existence in particular:

1. אֲבָל אֲנַֽחְנוּ עַמְּ֒ךָ בְּנֵי בְרִיתֶֽךָ.

2. בְּנֵי אַבְרָהָם אֹהַבְךָ שֶׁנִּשְׁבַּֽעְתָּ לּוֹ בְּהַר הַמֹּרִיָּה,

3. זֶֽרַע יִצְחָק יְחִידוֹ שֶׁנֶּעֱקַד עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ,

4. עֲדַת יַעֲקֹב בִּנְךָ בְּכוֹרֶֽךָ

5. שֶׁמֵּאַהֲבָתְ֒ךָ שֶׁאָהַֽבְתָּ אוֹתוֹ וּמִשִּׂמְחָתְ֒ךָ שֶׁשָּׂמַֽחְתָּ בּוֹ

6. קָרָֽאתָ אֶת שְׁמוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל וִישֻׁרוּן.

1. But (אֲבָל) we are Your people, members of Your covenant.

2. The children of Abraham, Your beloved (or: Your lover), as You swore to him on Mount Moriah (see Genesis 22:17-18);

3. The seed of Isaac, his singular one, who was bound on the top of the altar (see Genesis 22:2, 12, 16);

4. The community of Jacob, Your first-born son (see Exodus 4:22),

5. who because of Your love that You loved him and Your delight that You delighted in him,

6. You renamed him Israel (see Genesis 32:29, 35:10) and Yeshurun (see Deuteronomy 32:15; 33:5, 26; Isaiah 44:2).

.7. לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַֽחְנוּ חַיָּבִים לְהוֹדוֹת לְךָ וּלְשַׁבֵּחֲךָ וּלְפָאֶרְךָ וּלְבָרֵךְ וּלְקַדֵּשׁ וְלָֽתֶת־שֶֽׁבַח וְהוֹדָיָה לִשְׁמֶֽךָ

8. אַשְׁרֵֽינוּ מַה־טּוֹב חֶלְקֵֽנוּ וּמַה־נָּעִים גּוֹרָלֵֽנוּ וּמַה־יָּפָה יְרֻשָּׁתֵֽנוּ

9. אַשְׁרֵֽינוּ שֶׁאֲנַֽחְנוּ מַשְׁכִּימִים וּמַעֲרִיבִים עֶֽרֶב וָבֹֽקֶר וְאוֹמְ֒רִים פַּעֲמַֽיִם בְּכָל־יוֹם

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יי אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ יי אֶחָד..10

7. Therefore, we should thank You, praise You, glorify You; bless, sanctify, and offer praise and thanks to Your Name.

8. We are fortunate: how good is our portion, how pleasant our destiny, how commendable our legacy.

9. We are fortunate that we rise early and retire at night, morning and evening, saying (the Shema twice daily):

10. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יי אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ יי אֶחָד

Ne’ilah Part II: The Uniqueness of Humanity

Ne’ilah part II, in contrast to the “minimal Shema,” focuses on the uniqueness of humanity as a whole. In the “minimal Shema,” it is the uniqueness of Israel that endows life with meaning; in Ne’ilah it is the uniqueness of humanity that endows life with meaning. In fact, it is the distinctly human that enables repentance, as is argued here:

1. [אבל]^[19] אַתָּה הִבְדַּֽלְתָּ אֱנוֹשׁ מֵרֹאשׁ, וַתַּכִּירֵֽהוּ לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶֽיךָ.

2. כִי מִי יֹאמַר לְךָ מַה תִּפְעַל, וְאִם יִצְדַּק מַה יִּתֶּן־לָךְ?

3. וַתִּתֶּן לָֽנוּ יי אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ בְּאַהֲבָה אֶת יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים הַזֶּה, קֵץ וּמְחִילָה וּסְלִיחָה עַל כָּל עֲו‍ֹנוֹתֵֽינו.ּ

4. לְמַֽעַן נֶחְדַּל מֵעֽשֶׁק יָדֵֽנוּ, וְנָשׁוּב אֵלֶֽיךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֵּי רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם.

5. אַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶֽיךָ הָרַבִּים רַחֵם עָלֵֽינוּ, כִּי לֹא תַחְפּוֹץ בְּהַשְׁחָתַת עוֹלָם

6. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר דִּרְשׁוּ יי בְּהִמָּצְאוֹ, קְרָאֻֽהוּ בִּהְיוֹתוֹ קָרוֹב.

7. וְנֶאֱמַר יַעֲזֹב רָשָׁע דַּרְכּוֹ, וְאִישׁ אָֽוֶן מַחְשְׁבֹתָיו, וְיָשֹׁב אֶל יי וִירַחֲמֵֽהוּ, וְאֶל אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ כִּי יַרְבֶּה לִסְלֽוֹחַ.

8. וְאַתָּה אֱ-לֽוֹהַּ סְלִיחוֹת חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם, אֶֽרֶךְ אַפַּֽיִם וְרַב חֶֽסֶד וֶאֱמֶת, וּמַרְבֶּה לְהֵיטִיב.

9. וְרוֹצֶה אַתָּה בִּתְשׁוּבַת רְשָׁעִים וְאֵין אַתָּה חָפֵץ בְּמִיתָתָם.

10. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר אֱמֹר אֲלֵיהֶם חַי אָֽנִי נְאֻם אֲ-דֹנָי יי, אִם אֶחְפֹּץ בְּמוֹת הָרָשָׁע כִּי אִם בְּשׁוּב רָשָׁע מִדַּרְכּוֹ וְחָיָה.

11. וְנֶאֱמַר שֽׁוּבוּ שֽׁוּבוּ מִדַּרְכֵיכֶם הָרָעִים וְלָֽמָּה תָמֽוּתוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל?

12. וְנֶאֱמַר הֶחָפֹץ אֶחְפֹּץ מוֹת רָשָׁע נְאֻם אֲ-דֹנָי יי, הֲלֹא בְּשׁוּבוֹ מִדְּרָכָיו וְחָיָה.

13. וְנֶאֱמַר כִּי לֹא אֶחְפֹּץ בְּמוֹת הַמֵּת נְאֻם אֲ-דֹנָי יי וְהָשִֽׁיבוּ וִחְיוּ.

14. כִּי אַתָּה סָלְחָן לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמָחֳלָן לְשִׁבְטֵי יְשֻׁרוּן בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר

15. וּמִבַּלְעָדֶֽיךָ אֵין לָֽנוּ מֶֽלֶךָּ מוֹחֵל וְסוֹלֵֽחַ אֶלָּא אָֽתָּה.^[20]

1. [But] You have distinguished humanity from the beginning, privileging it to stand before You.

2. For who would [dare] tell You what to do? and even were one acquitted, what would it give You (a mixture of Job 9:12b (=Ecclesiastes 8:4b), 35:6-7)?

3. Thus, You, A-donai, our God, gave us in love this Day of Atonement, a period of forgiveness and pardon for all our wrongdoings.

4. so that we forgo our unjust gain and return to You to fulfill wholeheartedly the laws You want us to do.

5. And You in Your abundant mercy have compassion on us, for You do not seek the destruction of humanity.^[21]

6. As it says, “Seek A-donai wherever/whenever God may be found, call out to God when He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

7. And it says, “Let the evildoer abandon his ways and the wicked his designs and return to A-donai who will have compassion on him and to our God who forgives and forgives” (Isaiah 55:7).

8. “And You, forgiving God, are gracious, compassionate, endlessly patient, abounding in love” (Nehemiah 9:17b, see Jonah 4:2) lovingly loyal, true, and generous (see Exodus 34:5).

9. You desire the repentance of the wicked, not seeking their demise.

10. As Your prophet declares: “Say to them, ‘as I live,’ declares our Lord, A-donai, I do not desire that the wicked die, only that they turn away from their ways and live,

11. (and continues) “turn back, turn back from what leads you astray. Why should you die, O House of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

12. And it says, “Is it my desire that the evildoer die? declares the Lord, A-donai; is it not that he turn away from his [evil] ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23).

13. And it further says: “For I do not desire the death of him who deserves death, declares the Lord, A-donai; so turn back and stay alive” (Ezekiel 18:32).

14. For You are the Pardoner of Israel, and the Forgiver of the tribes of Yeshurun in every generation.

15. Besides You we have no sovereign Who forgives and pardons — only You.

This pseudo-biblical cento consists of some fifteen lines of which only half (lines 7-13) are authentically biblical. It differs from other verse-based compositions such as Yehie Khevod of Pesukei DeZimra and the verses of Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot in the Rosh Hashanah Musaf. The former is an enchainment of whole and partial biblical verses, primarily from Psalms, of several topics based on common terms, mostly God’s name and kingship without a unifying thesis.^[22] The latter consists of ten verses for each section selected by common terminology without independent thematic cohesion.

Part II of Ne’ilah comprising the three sections of TaNaKH (Exodus, Ezekiel/Isaiah, Nehemiah), albeit primarily from Isaiah and Ezekiel, is biblically based but goal-driven. It exemplifies an essay on repentance that uses the Bible, yet not constrained by it. It even lacks mention of sacrifice unlike lines 3-4 of Part I. The explicit biblical material is in the middle. The non-biblical lines (lines 1-5, except for somewhat 2, and 14-15), at the beginning and end, frame the essay, determining its distinctive contribution to the theme of repentance.

Refined in the liturgical laboratory of Hasidei Ashkenaz a millennium ago,^[23] this formulation revamped line 2; added “love”^[24] to line 3 from the Yom Kippurim Amidah; appended Exodus 34:5 to Nehemiah 9:17b of line 8; and affixed the concluding lines 14-15.^[25] The result is an enhancement of the distinctive contribution to the theme of repentance.^[26]

How does Ne’ilah’s Part II make its argument for repentance? Line 1 is loaded with enhancing allusions. It accentuates the privileged human situation by employing אֱנוֹשׁ for humanity and opening withאַתָּה thereby pointing to the opening of the middle blessings of the daily Amidah, אַתָּה חוֹנֵן לְאָדָם דַּֽעַת וּמְלַמֵּד לֶאֱנוֹשׁ בִּינָה, “You grace man with knowledge and teach humanity understanding,” as well as Psalm 8:5

מָה־אֱנוֹשׁ כִּי־תִזְכְּרֶנּוּ וּבֶן־אָדָם כִּי תִפְקְדֶנּו , “What is humanity that You are mindful of them; mankind that You focus on them.” The latter also highlights the stature of humanity in the eyes of God. Indeed, the next two verses (Psalm 8:6-7) underscore humanity’s closeness to God and its God-assigned dominion over God’s creation. The opening line’s closest biblical parallel may be Psalm 41:13b, וַתַּצִּיבֵנִי לְפָנֶיךָ לְעוֹלָם, which could translate as “You let me stand before You forever.” Otherwise, Ne’ilah’s formulation of humanity’s exceptionalism is innovative. Whether of the daily Amidah or of Ne’ilah, man’s distinctiveness is God-given. To induce repentance, Ne’ilah plays up human greatness not human sinfulness.

The focus of line 1 on human distinctiveness counterpoints the preceding line with its undercutting of man’s superiority over the animal.^[27] Rambam’s version of opening with אֲבָל makes eminent sense. It parallels the contrasting use of אֲבָל in the former section: .אֲבָל אֲנַֽחְנוּ עַמְּ֒ךָ בְּנֵי בְרִיתֶֽךָ There, the antidote to the meaninglessness of human existence is covenantal existence; here, the antidote is the distinctiveness of human existence. The gap is dizzying. It is precisely the grandeur of humanity, of being singled out by God, that induces repentance. Rather than browbeaten down into repentance, humanity is boosted up into it by inspiring it to live up to its origins.

The thesis is promoted by redeploying two biblical expressions in the rest of line 1. The first is וַתַּכִּירֵֽהוּ ^[28] which rings with its use in Ruth 2:10b, מַדּוּעַ מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ לְהַכִּירֵנִי וְאָנֹכִי נׇכְרִיָּה, and Deuteronomy 21:17, יַכִּיר לָתֶת לוֹ פִּי שְׁנַיִם, both implying privileging as in preferential treatment. The second isלַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶֽיך . The comparable expression אֲשֶׁר עָמַדְתִּי לְפָנָיו appears four times in Tanakh,^[29] all pronounced by the prophets Elijah and Elisha, each time referring to God. The expression לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנֶיךָ appears in Ezra 9:15, and the reverse, לְפָנַי תַּעֲמֹד, in Jeremiah 15:19, also preceded by mentions of God. In each case, “standing before God” entails serving God loyally.^[30] It then came to refer to prayer as in the expression .כשאתה מתפלל דע לפני מי אתה עומד ^[31]

(“When you pray, know before whom you stand”).

The question becomes if humanity can rise to stand and serve God how could such distinguished handiwork have debased itself? No answer is provided, as the goal is resolution not explanation. The resolution holds sin to be a remediable rupture, not an inherent condition. Repentance can thus restore our primordial pristine stature. It entails recovery as much as renewal, as people will invest more in recovering what they lost than in attaining what they lack.

Line 2 is a synthetic liturgical verse amalgamated from elements of the Book of Job.^[32] The fact that lines 1-2 have no actual verbal biblical precedent highlights the novelty of their content. Along with its contribution to the theme of repentance, lines 2-4 contend that as God has nothing to gain by our acquittal, granting us the opportunity to repent constitutes a gift of love. All that is required of us is to give back what rightfully does not belong to us and to return to God by committing to fulfill God’s laws. Line 5 on the subject of divine compassion tilts the balance between the particular and the universal by mentioning us in the same breath as mentioning all humanity albeit making us the beneficiaries of God’s supererogatory compassion.

Line 6 initiates the biblical-constructed argument for repentance. Of the eight occurrences of the term for repentance (ְשׁוּב), seven appear in the upcoming verses. It begins by assuming the reader will supply the answer to this Yom Kippurim midrash to when, not where, is God found by the Rabbinic specification אֵלּוּ עֲשָׂרָה יָמִים שֶׁבֵּין רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה לְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים (B. Rosh Hashanah 18a), “These are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippurim.”^[33] The subtle switch from the spatial to the temporal easily eludes us. It simply slips in that the temple in space has become a moment in time making this ten-day period opportune for repentance. The shift from the spatial to the temporal reorients Isaiah 55:5 to a post-Temple world accounting also for the nonmention of sacrifice. It correlates well with the citations from Ezekiel of lines 9-13 with their multiple references to repentance, but not to sacrifice. This fits Ezekiel’s program of repentance and restoration from Babylonia where the possibility of sacrifice was non-existent. The effect severs the linkage between sacrifice, repentance, and forgiveness.^[34]

The guarantee of forgiveness of lines 7-8 goads us to make amends. Awareness of being loved by a forgiving God prods us to seek God’s favor. Line 9, “You desire the repentance of the wicked, not seeking their demise,” and the end of line 10, “I do not desire that the wicked die, only that they turn away from their ways and live,” evoke the line of the second part of Aleinu, להְַפנְוֹת אֵליֶךָ כָּל רִשׁעְי ארֶָץ, “To turn to You all the wicked of the earth.” In both cases, the wicked are rehabilitated not eradicated. Lines 11-13 consist of three rearranged verses of Ezekiel’s making of repentance a life-and-death issue. In all, lines 6-13 consist of verses or fragments thereof from all three sections of Tanakh (Exodus, Ezekiel, and Nehemiah) constructed to make the case for the divinely- desired repentance .

Instead of a biblical parallel, the concluding lines 14-15 upgrade blessing 6 of the weekday Amidah:

סְלַח לָנוּ אָבִינוּ כִּי חָטָאנוּ

מְחַל לָנוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ כִּי פָשָׁעְנו

ּכִּי מוֹחֵל וְסוֹלֵחַ אָתָּה.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי חַנּוּן הַמַּרְבֶּה לִסְלוֹחַ.

“Pardon us, our Father, for we have sinned,

forgive us, our King, for we have transgressed,

for You forgive and pardon.

Blessed are You, A-donai, gracious one, who pardons repeatedly.”

Rather than requesting of God forgiveness and pardon, lines 14-15 of Part II proclaim God as Forgiver and Pardoner, as do the other Amidahs of Yom Kippurim including Ne’ilah, assuring that repentance generates forgiveness. Whereas line 3 occasions forgiveness, lines 14-15 effectuate it. The result combines the Biblical סְלַח with the Rabbinic מְחַל extending its range of sins.^[35]

The midrashic process begins with the interweaving of various biblical verses to create a new weave. Except for Isaiah 55:6-7, the verses are not adjacent in Tanakh. The result is a midrashic edifice of repentance constructed mostly of juxtaposed disparate verses. The liturgical weave incorporates the common method of composition by juxtaposition.^[36] Line 8 is ingenious. It comes across as a single biblical verse. In fact, its first nine words consists of Nehemiah 9:17b, whereas its added tenth word, וֶאֱמֶת, links it to the ending of the similar verse of Exodus 34:6 (וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם) that initiates the thirteen attributes of God’s mercy.^[37] Along with the beginning of Exodus 34:7, they are the most-cited verses of the Yom Kippurim liturgy, especially of Ne’ilah. It is even possible that line 11, “so turn back, turn back from what leads you astray. Why should you die O House of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11), is cited because it also precedes the aforecited thematic verses of Ezekiel 33:15-16: “If the wicked restores a pledge, makes good what he has taken by robbery, follows the laws of life and not commit iniquity—he shall surely live, not die. None of their sins shall be charged against them; since they do what is just and right, they shall live.”

Expanding upon the biblical notion of humanity being created in the image of God, the opening line, “You have distinguished humanity from the beginning, privileging it to stand before You,” resonates with a midrash regarding Abraham:

וַיִּפֹּל אַבְרָם עַל פָּנָיו.

עַד שֶׁלֹּא מָל, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהָיְתָה הַשְּׁכִינָה מְדַבֶּרֶת עִמּוֹ, הָיָה נוֹפֵל.

מִשֶּׁמָּל, הָיָה מֵסִיחַ עִמּוֹ וְהָיָה עוֹמֵד, וְאַבְרָהָם עוֹדֶנּוּ עֹמֵד לִפְנֵי יי.

“And Abraham fell upon his face (Genesis 14:3);

Prior to his circumcision, whenever the Shekhinah addressed him, he would prostrate himself.

Once circumcised, he would stand while God talked with him,

as it says: And Abraham remained standing before A-donai” (Genesis 18:22).”^[38]

In both cases, standing before God indicates a privileged status. Just As standing upright characterizes the human, so standing before God characterizes the covenantal. As line 5 above, God’s siding with Israel is an intensification of God’s siding with humanity.^[39]

The fluctuation of the Ne’ilah section between us and all affirms God’s openness to repentance for all, as the same season commemorates the birthday of all humanity^[40] as well as its review before God in judgment.^[41]

Thus, the prayer opens with “You have distinguished humanity from the beginning, privileging it to stand before You” and closes with “Besides You we have no sovereign who forgives and pardons.” Of the fifteen or so lines, only two (11, 14) mention Israel. Even there, 11 can be subsumed as a specification under what precedes (10), and 14 under what succeeds (15).

Moreover, instead of including a more Israel-specific epithet for God such as father, the closing line employs only the more universal epithet for God as sovereign.^[42] This differs from the fifth and sixth blessing of the weekday Amidah, whose subjects are also repentance and forgiveness, where God is addressed as “our father” and “our king.” The exclusive focus on God’s sovereignty can bring to mind the most-cited verse in the liturgy on God’s universal sovereignty. It has for over a half of a millennium concluded every statutory service via Aleinu as well as virtually concluding the ten required verses of the Malkhuyot section of the Musaf Amidah, for two millennia, namely: “And God shall be sovereign over all the earth; in that day there shall be one God with one name” (Zechariah 14:9). This dovetails the leitmotif of the High Holiday Amidah, namely, God’s universal sovereignty, as it says:

מלוֹךְ עַל כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ… עַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל אַרְצֶךָ.

“Reign over the whole world… over all the residents of the world, Your land.”

About which, Rabbeinu Shlomoh, circa 1100, comments:

מפני שיום הדין הוא, ואנו ממליכין אותו ומבקשים ממנו להביא יום הדין על הגוים

“Since it is the day of judgment, we acclaim Him monarch and beseech Him to institute the day of judgment for the Gentiles.”^[43] God’s universal rule entails God’s universal judgment, for Jew and Gentile alike.^[44]

The featuring of the special status of humanity from creation on anticipates all humanity acknowledging God’s universal sovereignty as does the concluding Aleinu. Ne’ilah thus comes full circle reverting to the just-read Book of Jonah calling on all (Jonah 3:8), even the reprobates of Nineveh, to repent by making full restitution.

For Ne’ilah, only a change of deed evidences a change of heart. As Mishnah Ta’anit 2:1, states:

It is not stated with regard to the people of Nineveh: And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting. Rather, the verse says: “And God saw their deeds, that they had turned from their evil way” (Jonah 3:10).

The evil way they turned from is specified in Jonah (3:8): “Let everyone repent of their evil way by giving back the stolen goods in their hands.”^[45]A moral housecleaning requires an actual housecleaning.

Suddenly, it dawns on one the impossibility of making restitution this Yom Kippurim, notwithstanding the remaining hour. Confessions of Yom Kippurim require verbalization, commitment, specification,^[46] and if feasible restitution. Paradoxically, the closing service of Yom Kippurim urges a course of action that may not be consummated until next Yom Kippurim.^[47] We end this Day of Atonement by paving the way for the next by reverting to how we began in Kol Nidre מִיּוֹם כִּפּוּרִים זֶה עַד יוֹם כִּפּוּרִים הַבָּא עָלֵֽינוּ לְטוֹבָה

“from this Yom Kippurim to the upcoming Yom Kippurim for good.”

The literary unity emerges from the transition of Ne’ilah from the hand of God to the hand of man. God opens His hand figuratively to us and we open our hand literally to the defrauded.

ָאַתָּה נוֹתֵן יָד לַפּוֹשְׁעִים, וִימִינְךָ פְשׁוּטָה לְקַבֵּל שָׁבִים. and line 2 closing with יָד

(וַתְּלַמְּדֵֽנוּ יי אֱ-לֹהֵֽינוּ לְהִתְוַדּוֹת לְפָנֶֽיךָ עַל כָּל עֲו‍ֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ לְמַֽעַן נֶחְדַּל מֵעֽשֶׁק יָדֵֽינוּ).

The result is a יָד-based literary inclusion whose teaching on repentance involves God’s outstretched inviting hand inducing us to hand over the ill-gotten goods in our hands. Our return to God is predicated upon our return of ill-gotten gain to its rightful owner. To be reconciled with God we have to be reconciled with those we wronged.

Otherwise, “Anyone who makes a verbal confession without resolving in his heart to give it up (the behavior) is like one who immerses (in a mikvah) holding on to a contaminating animal.”^[48] Indeed, according to Sefer HaḤinukh (Mitzvah 364, 1), “Regarding confession: One has to truly return the ill-gotten goods (חָמָס) in his hands, otherwise, it is better not to confess this.”

In sum, the two-part addendum of Ne’ilah spells out what is entailed in Proverbs 28:13: מְכַסֶּה פְשָׁעָיו לֹא יַצְלִיחַ וּמוֹדֶה וְעֹזֵב יְרֻחָם

“One who covers up his misdeeds will not get away with it; One who confesses and gives them up will merit mercy.”^[49]

---

Notes

1. Following the Munich MS 95 of 1342 CE, available on Sefaria, and early editionsֹ; see B. Shabbat 104a, ed. A. Steinzalts, ad loc., parallels, and Rashi, ad. loc. Printed editions have been corrected to פותחין לו corresponding to מְסַיְּיעִין אוֹתו. Other sources that lack full bibliographic information are available on Sefaria. ↩
2. Following Siddur of R. Solomon ben Samson of Garmaise including the Siddur of the Haside Ashkenas [Hebrew], ed. M. Hershler (Jerusalem: Hemed, 1971), p. 238: שאתה מניחן לעשות הרעwhich is identical to MS of Rashi cited in Siddur Otzar HaTefillot (Jerusalem: Nehora DeOraita, 1960), ad loc. (Sefarad 2:1163 with bottom note). Both cite B. Shabbat 104a. In the same vein, Peirushei Siddur HaTefillah LaRokeạh, ed. M. and Y. Hershler, 2 vols. (Jerusalem: Machon Harav Hershler, 1992), p. 702, comments that You let: הפושעים לעשות רצון לבם . See Rashi’s comment on Psalms 10:14: אתה נותן יד לרשעים להצליח ברשעם ↩
3. There are several variants for פְשׁוּטָה, such as פרושה andפרוסה , all similar in form and in meaning; see, e.g., Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer 43, 1, ed. David Luria (RaDaL) (New York: Om Publishing, 1946), p. 101, n. 3 ↩
4. See Siddur Otzar Tefillot, (op. cit.), n. 1), ad loc. (Sefarad 2:1163, bottom note); and Menahem Kaddari, A Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew [Hebrew] (Bar-Ilan University: Ramat Gan, 2007), p. 397a. ↩
5. (B. Bava Batra 165a) אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר רַב: רוֹב בְּגָזֵל ↩
6. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: בֹּא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה גָּדוֹל כֹּחַ שֶׁל חָמָס, שֶׁהֲרֵי דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל עָבְרוּ עַל הַכֹּל, וְלֹא נֶחְתַּם עֲלֵיהֶם גְּזַר דִּינָם עַד שֶׁפָּשְׁטוּ יְדֵיהֶם בְּגָזֵל (B. Sanhedrin 108a). ↩
7. For cases of “sticky hands,” see Deuteronomy 13:18 וְלֹא־יִדְבַּק בְּיָדְךָ מְאוּמָה, Job 31:7b וּבְכַפַּי דָּבַק מאוּם, 16:17 לֹא־חָמָס בְּכַפָּי, and I Chronicles 12:18 חָמָס בְּכַפַּי. The antonym connects clean hands with a pure heart, נְקִי כַפַּיִם וּבַר־לֵבָב (Psalm 24:4). Note that this expression is preceded by “who shall ascend the mount of God” and succeeded by “he who has not sworn deceitfully.” To ascend, one must prevent one’s hands from being soiled by dishonest gain. ↩
8. As documented below. For Psalms, see Psalm 33:5, 99:4, 103:6, 106:3 . For by historical examples, see Reuven Kimelman, “Prophecy as Arguing with God and the Ideal of Justice,” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 68 (2014), pp. 17-27, 22-24. ↩
9. For poignant examples, see Ezekiel 18:12, 16-19. ↩
10. תּוֹעֲבַת יְי; see Deuteronomy 25:16 with Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz, Kli Yakar to Deuteronomy 25:13; and Proverbs 11:1; 20:10, 23. ↩
11. The Talmud asks: “What is the difference between fraud (עשק) and stealing (גזל)? Rav Ḥisda said: If he told him: ‘Go and return, go and return,’ deferring paying him while saying that he will pay him, this is fraud. If he says to him: ‘you have money owed to you in my possession, but I will not give it to you,’ this is stealing” (B. Bava Metsia 111a). ↩
12. For the significance of the juxtaposition, see Reuven Kimelman, “Israel’s Election and the Moral Dilemma of Amalek and the Seven Nations of Canaan,” in Alon Goshen-Gottstein, ed., Judaism’s Challenge: Election, Divine Love, and Human Enmity (Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2020), pp. 143-173, 150-151. ↩
13. Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (The Jewish Publication Society of America: Philadelphia, 1962), p. 4. ↩
14. Exodus Rabbah 22, 3 (end). ↩
15. See Psalm 71:4: אֱ-לֹהַי פַּלְּטֵנִי מִיַּד רָשָׁע מִכַּף מְעַוֵּל וְחוֹמֵץ “My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked; from the grasp of the criminal and exploiter.” ↩
16. For analysis of the comparable argument in Un’taneh Tokef, see Reuven Kimelman, “Un’taneh Tokef as a Midrashic Poem,” ed. D. Blank, The Experience of Jewish Liturgy: Studies Dedicated to Menachem Schmelzer (Leiden: Brill, 2011), pp. 115-146, 140. See also https://www.thetorah.com/article/unetaneh-tokef-a-commentary, text for nn. 94-110. ↩
17. The inclusion of which is attributed to Samuel, B. Yoma 87b; see Joseph Tabory, “The Early History of the Liturgy of Yom Kippur,” op. cit. (n. 16), pp. 284-308, 299-301. ↩
18. For the complexities of the “minimal Shema,” see Reuven Kimelman, The Rhetoric of the Jewish Liturgy: A Historical and Literary Commentary on the Daily Prayer Book (London: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Liverpool University Press, 2027), pp. 44-50. ↩
19. As in Rambam, Seder HaTefillah, E. D. Goldschmidt, On Jewish Liturgy (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1980), p. 215, line 16. Siddur Rav Sa‘adyah Ga’on, ed. I. Davidson, S. Asaf, and B. Joel (Jerusalem: Mekize Nirdamim, 1970), p. 162, l. 8, has justואתה as does Mahzor Vitry, ed. A. Goldschmidt, 6 vols. (Jerusalem: Otzar HaPoskim, 2004–2023), 3:792, variant 11. ↩
20. On the correspondence of lines 9-15 to the last sections of Un’taneh Tokef, see Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 16), pp. 142-143. ↩
21. In Tannaitic literatureעולם frequently refers to humanity, albeit later to the world. In all cases, it refers to totality either regarding time (= eternity), space (= world), or person (= humanity). For a comprehensive analysis of Rabbinic Hebrew in this regard, see Shamma Friedman, Studies in the Language and Terminology of Talmudic Literature [Hebrew] (Israel: Academy of the Hebrew Language, 2014), pp. 69, 99-108. ↩
22. See Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 18), pp. 102-07. ↩
23. See Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 18), p. 142, n. 374; and pp. 318-19, n. 50 ↩
24. See Mahzor Vitry, op. cit. (n. 19), 3:792, variant 12. ↩
25. These are absent from the Babylonian-based versions of Rambam, op. cit, (n. 19), p. 215, line 16; Siddur Rav Sa‘adyah Ga’on, op. cit, (n. 19), p. 262; and Siddur Rabbeinu Shelomoh b. R. Natan (Hasigilmasa), ed. Sh. Ḥaggai (Jerusalem, 1995), p. 60. Strangely, lines 14-15, absent from the other Babylonian-based versions, appear in the middle of Siddur Rav Sa‘adyah Ga’on (p. 262, lines 14-15). It may have been a later interpolation, see there, n. 17. These versions lack Part 1. They begin with the line from the Yom Kippurim Amidah מַה נֹּאמַר לְפָנֶֽיךָ יוֹשֵׁב מָרוֹם. וּמַה נְּסַפֵּר לְפָנֶֽיךָ שׁוֹכֵן שְׁחָקִים, continuing with the formulation of R. Judah (B. Yoma 87b) כִּי עֲוֹנוֹתֵינוּ רַבּוּ מִלִּמְנוֹת וְחַטֹּאתֵינוּ עָצְמוּ מִסַּפֵּר, followed by Ne’ilah Part I, section two, above. ↩
26. Part 1 appears only in the Ashkenazic version making it likely that it was appended to Part II in Ashkenaz. This accounts for the duplication of עַל כָּל עֲו‍ֹנוֹתֵֽינוּ לְמַֽעַן נֶחְדַּל מֵעֽשֶׁק יָדֵֽינוּ of Part I, line 3, with Part II, end of line 3 and the beginning of line 4. Both continue similarly on the subject of repentance. Part I says: וּתְקַבְּלֵֽנוּ בִּתְשׁוּבָה שְׁלֵמָה לְפָנֶֽיךָ; Part II says: וְנָשׁוּב אֵלֶֽיךָ. It also explains how Part I, line 4, uses קֵ֑ץ for “end,” as it predominates in Biblical Hebrew, whereas Part II, line 3, might be using it for a time period as is sometimes the case in Rabbinic Hebrew; see B. Sanhedrin 97b. Thus Siddur Rav Sa‘adyah Ga’on, op. cit, (n. 19), p. 262; and Siddur Rabbeinu Shelomoh b. R. Natan (n. 25) read קץ מחילה לכל דורותינו which likely means “a period of forgiveness for all our generations.” ↩
27. See The Wisdom of Ben Sira 33:10-11. For the impact of Ben Sira on the liturgy, see Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 18), pp. 52-53 and passim. ↩
28. Strangely, Siddur Rabbeinu Shelomoh b. R. Natan (Hasigilmasa), op. cit., (n. 25), p. 60, which usually lines up with the siddurim of Rambam and Rav Saadyah Gaon, has insteadותניחהו . ↩
29. I Kings 17:1, 18:15; 2 Kings 3:14, 5:16. ↩
30. See Dov Rappel, Gates to the Jewish Liturgy [Hebrew] (Tel Aviv: Yedioth Ahronoth, 2001), p. 161. ↩
31. Ozar Midrashim, ed. J. D. Eisenstein (New York: Reznick, Menschel & Co., 1928), p. 29b #18. For the plural form, see B. Berakhot 28b. See, e.g., ibid., 33a: אֲנִי שֶׁהָיִיתִי עוֹמֵד לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים . ↩
32. The Babylonian-based versions (above, n. 25), except for Rambam, have instead Lamentations 3:3 מַה־יִּתְאוֹנֵן אָדָם חָי גֶּבֶר עַל־חֲטָאָו. For the connection here, see the next two verses there and n. 45, below. ↩
33. A complementary position (B. Berakhot 12b) applies Isaiah 5:16a אֵימָתַי ״וַיִּגְבַּה ה׳ צְבָאוֹת בַּמִּשְׁפָּט״ — אֵלּוּ עֲשָׂרָה יָמִים שֶׁמֵּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה וְעַד יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים. “When is God exalted in judgment?” – these ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippurim. ↩
34. Such is the reality behind Leviticus 26:40, 41; I Kings 8:30, 34, 36, 39, 50; Daniel 9:3-5; Ezra 9:5-7; Nehemiah 9:2; and likely Psalm 106:6. ↩
35. See Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 18), pp. 271-272. ↩
36. See Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 18), pp. 384-385, 388-390. ↩
37. See also Psalm 86:15. The debate on the propriety of adding אֱמֶת misses this point; see David Abudarham, Abudarham, ed. E. Greentzeig, 3 vols. (Jerusalem: Keren Re’em, 2015–2017), 2:472, n. 209. ↩
38. Midrash Tanhuma, Lekh Lekha 20. ↩
39. As spelled out in Sifrei Deuteronomy 31, ed. L. Finkelstein, pp. 53-54, to account for the doubling of God’s name in the Shema verse. ↩
40. היום הרת עולם, see above, n. 21. ↩
41. בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה כׇּל בָּאֵי הָעוֹלָם עוֹבְרִין לְפָנָיו(M. Rosh Hashanah 1:2). Ethnocentric commentators engage in exegetical somersaults to wiggle out of the implications by limiting the reference to Adam or Abraham. ↩
42. See Kimelman, op. cit. (n. 18), p. 272, n. 97. ↩
43. Op. cit. (n. 2), p. 110. ↩
44. The linkage is most prominent in Psalms; see Psalm 9:8-9; 82:8; 94:2; 96:10, 13; 98:9. ↩
45. See Targum and Midrash Lekah Tov to Lamentations 3:41. ↩
46. See Joseph Karo, Shulkhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah 607:2: “One need not specify his sin. But if one wants to specify, he may do so. Silent confession is appropriate for specifying the sin”; and Reuven Kimelman, “Confession and Its Discontents,” We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism, Ashamnu and Al Chet, ed. L. Hoffman (Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights, 2012), pp. 186-190, esp. 187. ↩
47. Accordingly, as an interim measure, Alexander Susskind, Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah (Jerusalem: Machon Harry Fischel, 1965), p. 325, recommends that upon becoming aware of having ill-gotten goods to resolve to return them right after Yom Kippurim. ↩
48. Rambam, Hilkhot Teshuvah 2:3, based on B. Ta’anit 16a. ↩
49. See Tosefta Ta’anit 1:8, ed. S. Lieberman, p. 326, l. 48, nn. 48-49; and Yitshak Baer, Seder Avodat Yisra’el (Rosenheim, 1868; repr. Tel Aviv, 1957), pp. 436-437. ↩

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