Al Ḥet

("For the Sin"). Opening words of the "Great Confession of Sins" recited nine times on the Day of Atonement. Each line starts with the words al ḥet. This liturgical formula---more fully al ḥet she-ḥatanu le-fanekha, "for the sin we have committed before You ..."---is of uncertain authorship and was first mentioned in the second century CE. Written in alphabetical acrostics and using the first person plural form, Al Ḥet covers a multitude of transgressions between man and man. It is initially recited during the Afternoon Service preceding the Day of Atonement, then in both the silent Amidah and the reader's repetition during the Kol Nidré, Morning, Additional, and Afternoon Services of Atonement Day, but not in the Concluding (Ne'Ilah) Service. Textual variations occur in different prayer rites: Sephardim match one sin to each letter of the Hebrew aIphabet, Ashkenazim list two sins for each letter while both Yemenite and Reform Jews have shorter formulas. The Ashkenazi version is divided into four parts, the first three comprising 44 transgressions and the last their prescribed punishments. After the reader has repeated the concluding lines of each of the first three passages in turn, the congregation responds with Ve-al kullam---"And for all these [sins], O God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement." The response is normally sung to a traditional melody. It is also a widespread practice to bow the head and beat one's breast in contrition as each sin is mentioned. Ritual lapses are virtually ignored in Al Ḥet. Public confession and use of the plural form stress collective responsibility.

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