Confession (Judaism)
Confession (Judaism)
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Confession (Judaism)

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Confession (Judaism)

In Judaism, confession (Hebrew: וִדּוּי, romanizedvīddūy) 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.

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 Leviticus 16:21, the people's sins were confessed "on the head" of the scapegoat, which then was said to carry those sins out of the camp.

Maimonides writes:

How does one confess? One says: "Please God! I have sinned, committed iniquity, rebelled. I have done [such-and-such] and I regret it, and I am ashamed of my deeds, and I shall never return to such a deed." That is the essence of confession.

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:

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