In Judaism, confession (Hebrew: וִדּוּי, romanized: vīddūy) is a step in the process of atonement during which a Jew admits to committing a sin before God.
Regarding the long confession, there are several customs: In the siddurim of Rav Saadia Gaon and Maimonides, as well is in the contemporary Yemenite prayer book, there are merely a few lines of Al Cheyt in no specific order.
They are thus recited in the name of the whole Jewish people, and it is presumably true that every sin mentioned has been committed by at least one Jew.
[10] During confession the congregant stands, with head bowed in regret or shame, and with the mention of each sin, thumps his fist over his heart.
[11] Some individuals might quickly add (silently or in a whisper) additional sins, not in the traditional list, beginning with the same letters.
[12] With reference to the Ashkenaz text, it has been said, "out of the 44 statements that make up the Al Cheyt, twelve deal with sins rooted in speech (five in Ashamnu).
Only four statements relate to transgressions committed by man against God in the strict sense (only two in the Ashamnu text).
Dominating both confessional texts are general expressions of sin (fifteen in Al Cheyt and seventeen in Ashamnu).
[15] However, the translation of "You let us go astray" has been criticized as an error, and it has been suggested that the last word means "we have scoffed" or "we have mocked" or "we tricked" or "we misled others".
In the siddurim of Rav Saadia Gaon and Maimonides, as well is in the contemporary Yemenite prayer book, there are merely a few lines of Al Cheyt in no specific order.
[6] This is then followed by a non-acrostic list whose lines begin "And for the sin for which we are"—here naming the Temple offering or the punishment (including lashing and death) that might be imposed.
[20] One explanation is that by this confession, "the worshipper is stimulated to a mood of victory and a sense of hopeful living in the face of an unknown and unpredictable future.
[27] Afterwards it is also encouraged for the patient to recite the Shema, enunciate acceptance of the Thirteen Principles of Faith and to donate some money to charity.