#AlChet – Tweeting Sins During Yom Kippur

There were several unique Yom Kippur services this week. In South Florida, a longtime estranged father-daughter duo led services; he is a 65-year old rabbinical student, and she is a freelance cantorial leader. In some synagogues, gender free bathrooms were set up, so that congregants did not have to select a gender with its current social expectations. And there was word that a rabbi in Florida had congregants tweet their sins which were then displayed behind the bima during Yom Kippur.

Although this sounds like a distraction, a quick review of the twittersphere finds a few choice #AlChet’s.

I regret not being more forward with my needs #AlChet
For the sin committed untimely and without good cause. #AlChet
For the sin we have committed by over-sharing on Twitter #AlChet
For negelecting my spiritual meditation time. #alChetHarvard
For not holding my ground to prevent injustice. #AlChetHarvard
For not thinking before I spoke #AlChetHarvard
I have sinned against them and You by not using my power as a citizen to influence our government for good.#AlChetHarvard
I have sinned against them and You by buying products I love, even though I know they were made by slaves. #AlChetHarvard
For the sin I have committed by paying more attention to social media than to the people who surround me #AlChetHarvard

Other I heard were:
For the sin which WE committed by not recycling
For the sin which WE committed by taking someone else’s taxicab
For the sin which WE committed by not dating a Jewish person when we could have
For the sin which WE committed by not supporting Israel enough
For the sin which WE committed by not supporting the rights of others enough
For the sin which WE committed by not fighting community members who create hate and division in the community and world
For the sin which WE committed by not overindulgence and overeating

You can add your own below.

Note: The graphic is the cover of We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism (Jewish Lights Publishing, Summer 2012), Edited by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD. The contributors explain that Judaism did not just explain sin as “missing the mark,” as some teachers impart. It was seen as a burden that weighs us down, and can be lifted during Yom Kippur. And another metaphor was that of “a sin is a debt,” and the more the members of the community sin, the greater it debt and accrued interest, and the greater the amount that must be paid off.