As Rosh Chodesh Elul approaches, rough draft of an al chet [litany of missing the mark] in hopes of awakening us to some areas of error we might try to fix as the Days of Awe draw near. Part of series: Calendar Notes for a Summer of Collapse
Selichot for Institutions, Elul 5785
New text for Elul 5785 (by V. Spatz, CC BY-SA-NC) with **quotations from Machzor Lev Shalem (Rabbinical Assembly, 2010)**
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Selichot (Forgiveness) Prayers for Institutions
The soul is Yours, the body is Your creation Have compassion on Your handiwork ** (p.225)
In function and in failure, our institutions are Yours as well
Re-orient us to divine sparks and powers within
Save us from ourselves with ourselves under Your guidance
Grant relief to this driven leaf (Lev 26:36)
Have compassion on that which is but dust and ashes
Cast away our sins, be kind to Your creations.
God saw it and appraised it, examined it and plumbed it,
and then God said to human beings:
“The fear of HASHEM — that is wisdom;
departing from sin — that is true knowledge” (Job 28:28) ** (p.224)
Our institutions are at once fragile and ponderous,
fleeting and stagnant, intractable and so easily toppled
conflict and confusion foster many modes of collapse
Keep us from contributing our own brittleness and turmoil
Remind us of connection’s strength and possibility
Help us pursue repair when all seems lost
If you see within me cause for sadness, guide me toward eternal truths
Hear my prayer, God, give ear to my cry; do not disregard my tears;
like all my forebears I am a wanderer, a guest in Your house
Make me an instrument of Your salvation ** (p.228)
My soul yearns for You, though I am afraid of Your judgment
My heart is caught in the web it has spun.
Form me anew, granting me a heart freshly born ** (p.230)
Our understanding is limited, obstacles abound
Our errors serve as brambles, adding pain along the way
We’ve lost ourselves and misled others
Clarify our missteps so we know when we must turn
Teach us to notice stumbling-blocks and dangers in the road
When despair threatens, nudge us back toward hope
We call out in words You taught Moses to use in times of trouble: “HaShem, HaShem, God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, full of kindness and trust, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin –” (Ex 34:6-7)
For the sin we have committed before You in destroying without thought to the future
For the sin we have committed before You by bowing down to the past
For the sin we have committed before You by focusing on policy in a world on fire
For the sin we have committed before You by thinking crisis overrides all planning and care
For the sin we have committed before You by thoughtlessly allowing ourselves to be led
For the sin we have committed before You by refusing to honor leadership
For the sin we have committed before You by failing to ask how we can help
For the sin we have committed before You by assuming it’s easier to do it all ourselves
For the sin we have committed before You by approving decisions that worry us
For the sin we have committed before You by second-guessing every step
For the sin we have committed before You by treating critique as attack
For the sin we have committed before You by attacking under the guise of help
For the sin we have committed before You by treating lock-step as unity
For the sin we have committed before You by mistaking variety of opinion for inclusion
For the sin we have committed before You by assuming we know too little to offer opinion
For the sin we have committed before You by thinking we know it all
For the sin we have committed before You by assuming our perspectives somehow universal
For the sin we have committed before You by assuming our own experiences unique
For the sin we have committed before You by mistaking outrage for justice
For the sin we have committed before You by succumbing to complacency
For the sin we have committed before You by fearing uncertainty and pause
For the sin we have committed before You by letting uncertainty paralyze us
For the sin we have committed before You by bringing punitive efforts into abolition work
For the sin we have committed before You by using abolition language to absolve real error
For the sin we have committed before You by putting Movement above people
For the sin we have committed before You by failing to keep our eyes on the prize
To all these sins, awaken us, help us recognize harm, and grant us ability to change
Bring us to the day when we can ask that you forgive us, pardon us, and grant us atonement.
Featured image is cropped from earthquake photo by Angelo Giordano via Pixabay
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