Viduy And Tachanun

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May God have mercy on us

Hebrew

אֵל אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם אַתָּה וּבַעַל
הָרַחֲמִים נִקְרֵאתָ, וְדֶרֶךְ
תְּשׁוּבָה הוֹרֵיתָ. גְּדֻלַּת רַחֲמֶיךָ
וַחֲסָדֶיךָ, תִּזְכּוֹר הַיּוֹם וּבְכָל
יוֹם לְזֶרַע יְדִידֶיךָ. תֵּפֶן אֵלֵינוּ
בְּרַחֲמִים, כִּי אַתָּה הוּא בַּעַל
הָרַחֲמִים. בְּתַחֲנוּן וּבִתְפִלָּה
פָּנֶיךָ נְקַדֵּם, כְּהוֹדַעְתָּ לֶעָנָו
מִקֶּדֶם. מֵחֲרוֹן אַפְּךָ שׁוּב, כְּמוֹ
בְתוֹרָתְךָ כָּתוּב. וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ
נֶחֱסֶה וְנִתְלוֹנָן, כְּיוֹם וַיֵּרֶד יְיָ
בֶּעָנָן. תַּעֲבוֹר עַל פֶּשַׁע
וְתִמְחֶה אָשָׁם, כְּיוֹם וַיִּתְיַצֵּב
עִמּוֹ שָׁם. תַּאֲזִין שַׁוְעָתֵנוּ
וְתַקְשִׁיב מִמֶּנּוּ מַאֲמָר, כְּיוֹם
וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְיָ וְשָׁם נֶאֱמַר:

Sephardi

El erech apayim Atah uva'al
harachamim nikreta, v’derech
teshuvah horita. Gedulat rachamecha
vachasadecha, tizkor hayom uvechol
yom l’zera yedidecha. Tefen eleinu
berachamim, ki Atah hu ba'al
harachamim. B’tachanun uvitfillah
panecha nekaddem, kehodata le'anav
mikedem. Me-charon ap'cha shuv, kemo
v’Toratecha katuv. Uv’tzel k’nafecha
necheseh v’nitlonan, k’yom vayered Adonai
be'anan. Ta’avor al pesha
v’timcheh asham, k’yom vayityatzev
imo sham. Ta’azin shavateinu
v’takshiv mimenu ma’amar, k’yom
vayikra v’shem Adonai v'sham ne'emar:

English

אֵל God, You are slow to get angry at those who sin. You are called the “Master of Mercy,” and You have taught us in the Torah how to repent. Remember today, and every day, the greatness of Your mercy and kindness; show mercy and kindness toward the Jewish Nation, the descendants of Your precious ones, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Turn toward us and treat us with mercy, because You are the “Master of Mercy.” We come toward You with our requests and our prayers, as You instructed Moses, the most humble man on earth, a long time ago. You told Moses that when the Jewish Nation prays to You and recites the thirteen Attributes of Mercy, You will answer their prayers. Turn away from Your fierce anger just as Moses asked You, as it is written in Your Torah. May we find shelter and a place to stay in the shadow of Your wings, as we did on the day when You, Lord, came down in a cloud on Mount Sinai. Overlook our sins and erase our guilt, as You did on the day You stood with Moses there on Mount Sinai, and forgave the Jewish Nation for the sin of the Golden Calf. Hear our cries and pay attention to our prayers, as You did on the day Moses called out to You with the name of the Lord and asked You to forgive the Jewish Nation, as it says there in the Torah:

The following two paragraphs are said only in the presence of a minyan:

God’s thirteen Attributes of Mercy

Hebrew

וַיַּעֲבֹר1 יְיָ עַל פָּנָיו וַיִּקְרָא:

Sephardi

Vaya'avor1 Adonai al panav vayikra:

English

וַיַּעֲבֹר The Lord passed before1 Moses to teach him the thirteen Attributes of Mercy, and He called out:

For transliteration, see page 944.

Hebrew

יְיָ יְיָ אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ
אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת:
נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן
וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה וְנַקֵּה:

Sephardi

Adonai Adonai El rachum v'chanun erech
apayim v'rav chesed ve'emet:
notzer chesed la'alafim nosei avon
vafesha v'chata'ah v'nakeh:

English

יְיָ 1. The Lord is merciful and helps prevent people from sinning. 2. The Lord is merciful and helps people who have sinned to repent. 3. He is a God Who punishes people mercifully. 4. God is merciful to all of His creations. 5. God is kind and gracious to people, even if they do not deserve it. 6. God is slow to anger, giving people a chance to repent. 7. God has much kindness and judges people leniently. 8. God’s promises are true. 9. God guards and keeps His kindness for two thousand generations. He remembers the good things that our ancestors did for Him, and He is kind to us because of them. 10. God forgives intentional sins. 11. God forgives rebellious sins. 12. God forgives unintentional sins. 13. God completely cleanses us from our sins when we repent.

The following is said while sitting.2 If you are in a place where there is an Ark, lean forward, cover your forehead with your sleeve (or tallit) of the hand on which the tefillin are not being worn.

Hebrew

רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן חָטָאנוּ לְפָנֶיךָ רַחֵם עָלֵינוּ
וְהוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ:

Sephardi

Rachum v'chanun chatanu lefanecha rachem aleinu
v’hoshi’enu:

English

רַחוּם Merciful and gracious God, even though we have sinned before You, have mercy on us and save us.

May God forgive our sins and show us the path of repentance

Hebrew

לְדָוִד2, אֵלֶיךָ יְיָ נַפְשִׁי אֶשָּׂא:
אֱלֹהַי בְּךָ בָטַחְתִּי אַל
אֵבוֹשָׁה, אַל יַעַלְצוּ אוֹיְבַי לִי: גַּם
כָּל קֹוֶיךָ לֹא יֵבֹשׁוּ, יֵבֹשׁוּ
הַבּוֹגְדִים רֵיקָם: דְּרָכֶיךָ יְיָ
הוֹדִיעֵנִי, אֹרְחוֹתֶיךָ לַמְּדֵנִי:
הַדְרִיכֵנִי בַאֲמִתֶּךָ וְלַמְּדֵנִי כִּי
אַתָּה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי, אוֹתְךָ קִוִּיתִי
כָּל הַיּוֹם:
זְכֹר רַחֲמֶיךָ יְיָ וַחֲסָדֶיךָ כִּי
מֵעוֹלָם הֵמָּה: חַטֹּאות נְעוּרַי
וּפְשָׁעַי אַל תִּזְכֹּר, כְּחַסְדְּךָ זְכָר
לִי אַתָּה, לְמַעַן טוּבְךָ יְיָ: טוֹב
וְיָשָׁר יְיָ, עַל כֵּן יוֹרֶה חַטָּאִים

Sephardi

Ledavid2, eilecha Adonai nafshi esa:
Elohai b'cha batachti al
evoshah, al ya’altzu oyvai li: gam
kol kovecha lo yevoshu, yevoshu
habogedim reikam: derachecha Adonai
hodi’eni, orchotecha lammedeni:
hadricheni va’amittecha v’lammedeni ki
Atah Elohei yish'i, ot’cha kiviti
kol hayom:
z’chor rachamecha Adonai vachasadecha ki
me'olam hemah: chatta’ot n’urai
ufsha’ai al tizkor, k’chasd’cha z’chor
li Atah, lema'an tuvcha Adonai: tov
veyashar Adonai, al ken yoreh chatta’im

English

לְדָוִד The following Psalm was written by King David: I offer my soul to You, Lord. My God, I have put my trust in You; do not let me be embarrassed by others. Do not let my enemies rejoice over my downfall and make fun of me. Fulfill not only my requests but also the requests of all those who put their hopes in You, so that they too will not be embarrassed by others. Let those who trick other people for no reason be embarrassed. Lord, make Your ways known to me; teach me Your paths. Lead me along Your true paths and teach me, because You are the God of my salvation. I hope for You all day. Lord, remember Your acts of mercy and Your acts of kindness, because they have always been done—You’ve always acted with mercy and kindness. Do not remember the unintentional sins I committed when I was young, and do not remember my rebellious sins. Instead, remember my good deeds that cause Your kindness to be revealed. Remember them because of Your goodness, Lord. The Lord is good and upright. Therefore, He teaches sinners how to repent and go on the right path. He guides

Commentary

1 An alternative translation: “And God passed over His face.” According to this interpretation, God passed over His own face and not the face of Moses (as is literally understood). The term “face,” when applied to God, refers to the ten attributes that cover over and express God’s essence in various ways. In order for God’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy to be aroused, as this verse describes, God’s essence had to be “uncovered” and revealed to Moses. For this reason, God “passed over” His attributes and revealed His essence.

2 After confessing to our sins, we perform what is known as Nefillat Apayim—we sit, bend our heads down, and cover our foreheads while saying this Psalm. This shows our deep humility before God. When we lower ourselves during this prayer, we are symbolizing the descent of the soul into this lower world. The purpose of this descent is to elevate the physical domain and make the world a holier place for God. This is comparable to a miner who lowers himself into a deep pit in order to retrieve precious stones. Just as there is great danger involved in this task, so is there great spiritual danger to the soul during its descent. By following the ways of the great Jewish sages and connecting ourselves to them, we help protect the soul. This is the meaning of the Chassidic expression, “One who is connected from above does not fall down.”