Confession in Judaism - Ashamnu, The Short Confession

Ashamnu, The Short Confession

The abbreviated confession is said as a portion of Tachanun (daily supplications) immediately following the Amidah. It is recited standing and quietly except on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when it is customary to recite it aloud. In many congregations, (mainly Ashkenazic ones) it is even customarily sung on these dates. This form first appeared in the prayerbook of the Amram Gaon (8th century).

This formula begins "We have incurred guilt, we have betrayed, we have stolen, we have spoken falsely, etc.", ("... ,אָשַמנוּ, בָּגַדְנוּ, גָזֵלְנוּ"). It is commonly known by its first word, Ashamnu (also transliterated Oshamnu). An early form of this confession is found most directly in Daniel 9:5-19; see especially verses 5, 9, 18-19, where the supplicant acknowledges himself merit-less, and entreats for God's forgiveness based only on God's own merit, and that God's name should not be tarnished among the nations.

Ashamnu is an alphabetic acrostic, consisting of 24 lines (the last letter of the alphabet, תּ (tav), used three times). Each sin is usually expressed as one word (a few are two words), a verb in the past tense, first person plural. The last two sins (repetitions of the letter תּ) are "תָּעִינוּ תִּעְתָּעְנוּ" (taw'inu, titawnu) are usually translated as: "We went astray, We led others astray". Occasionally the last word is translated as "You (= the Deity) allowed us to go astray"—the widely used ArtScroll Siddur uses both possibilities, the point being that the last word is an unusual form (not found in the Bible) that suggests a positive determination to go astray, the misuse of free will. 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".

The congregant stands, with head bowed in regret or shame, and with each confessed sin, thumps his fist over his heart. Some individuals, who are fluent in Hebrew, might quickly add (silently or in a whisper) additional sins, not in the traditional list, beginning with the same letters.

There are spiritual explanations for the alphabetic arrangement, but the most obviously practical explanation is to make it much easier to memorize, as Ashamnu is recited frequently and is supposed to be recited in the face of death. Additionally, by including every letter, the individual will be facilitated in recalling and repenting every sin, so that, when the end of the alphabet is reached, the individual presumably has repented of a complete catalogue of his sins.