The Text of Final Confessional Prayer: Viddui

Translated by Rabbi Amy Eilberg

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My God and God of my fathers and mothers

May my prayer come before You.

Do not ignore my plea.

Please, forgive me for all of the sins

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That I sinned before You throughout my lifetime.

I am ashamed of deeds that I have committed.

I regret things that I have done.

Now, O God, take my pain and suffering as atonement.

Forgive my mistakes, for against You have I sinned.

May it be Your will, Adonai, my God and God of my ancestors

That I sin no more.

In Your great mercy, cleanse me of the sins I have committed

But not through suffering and disease.

Send me a complete healing along with all those who are ill.

I acknowledge before You, Adonai my God and God of my ancestors,

That my healing and my death are in Your hands.

May it be Your will to grant me a complete healing.

If it be Your will that I am to die of this illness,

Let my death be atonement for all the wrongs that I have done in my life.

Shelter me in the shadow of Your wings.

Grant me a place in the world to come.

Parent of orphans and Guardian of widows

Protect my dear ones,

With whose souls my soul is bound.

Into your hand I place my soul.

You have redeemed me, O God of truth.

Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Echad.

Hear O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord is One.

Adonai Hu Ha’Elohim. Adonai Hu Ha’Elohim.

Adonai is God. Adonai is God.

Excerpted with permission from Saying Kaddish: How to Comfort the Dying, Bury the Dead, and Mourn as a Jew (Schocken Books).

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