גמר חתימה טובה

This list of prayers and stories for Yom Kippur id divided by topic: Vidui (confession), T’shuva (Repentance), Neilah (closing service), Living in Holiness, Sacred Time and Death/Mourning. Here are several additional lists of prayers for Elul, Rosh Hashana and Sukkot. Here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

Vidui (Confession)

• Meditation Before the Yom Kippur Vidui – On preparing for a thorough and honest confession.
• Meditation After the Yom Kippur Vidui – Living differently after a heartfelt confession.
• The Greatest Sin – Allowing the conditions for sin to take root.

T’shuva (Repentance, Return)

• Cry No More – This is the day G-d made to relieve your sorrow.
• Who, Still Broken – A meditation on Un’taneh Tokef.
• Repentance Inside – To leave my transgressions behind.
• Regarding Old Wounds – Are you willing to take your most crushing losses and turn them into a well of strength and love?
• Let Your Heart Stir – Let the shofar echo into your life.

Neilah (Closing Service)

• At the Gates – At the gates of prayer, repentance and charity.
• Meditation Before Neilah – What have I left to say to G-d?
• The Entry to Our Hearts – A cry for hope and healing.

Living in Holiness

• Is This the Fast? – An introspection based on Isaiah 58:6-7.
• For Wonder and Awe – To put aside vain pursuits and seek G-d.
• The Path of Righteousness – The path is paved with questions.
• G-d’s Plan: An Introspection – Surrendering to G-d’s will.
• Let Holiness – A prayer to embody holiness.

Sacred Time

• The Season of Healing – Healing our souls and our lives.
• The Season of Return – Preparing for t’shuva, returning to G-d.

Death and Mourning

For an annotated list of Memorial and Yizkor prayers, click here. Here are three prayers about preparing for death:

• Near the End: A Meditation – On preparing for the journey of death with grace and dignity.
• Remember – Whatever our fears, this is a call back to our deepest sense of peace and well-being.
• Things Break – Each day we face the flow of endings and beginnings. G-d’s love remains.

Short Story

“Cantor Cohen” is a Yom Kippur story of a Chazzan preparing to lead his congregation in prayer, repentance and righteousness.

Click here for the full list of prayers for the Yamim Noraim. Here are focused lists of prayers for Elul, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. And here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing. For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo Source: Temple Judea

Here’s a list of prayers for the month of Elul divided into categories: breaking free, living in holiness, time and confession. Here are additional links to prayers for Rosh Hashana, another one of prayers for Yom Kippur and one more for Sukkot. Here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

Breaking Free

Three meditations that ask why we stay chained to our sorrows, then challenge us to see life as a sacred journey:

• For Healing the Spirit – Why do we waste our days in grief and despair?
• For Sharing Divine Gifts – To live compassion, use your gifts in service to others.
• Forgiveness Inside – To find a deep sense of forgiveness.
• Regarding Old Wounds – Take your most crushing losses and turn them into a deep well of strength and love.

Living in Holiness

These prayers examine the art of living a life of holiness, focusing on attributes (grace, humility) and practices (listening for G-d’s voice, doing G-d’s will):

• Is This the Fast? – An introspection based on Isaiah 58:6-7.
• For Grace – A meditation about living a life of grace by offering grace to others.
• For Humility – For living a life of humility in service to G-d, ourselves and others.
• To Do Your Will – To ask for the guidance to do G-d’s will in humility and love.
• To Hear Your Voice – G-d’s voice is available to all who choose to listen.
• The Path of Righteousness – The path is paved with questions.
• For Compassion – About seeing ourselves in everyone.
• On Making a Mistake – To elevate a mistake into an act of love.
• To Ask – On asking for G-d’s guidance and support to live a life of righteousness.

Time

Prayers about the holiness of time in general and about the sanctity of this period in the Jewish calendar:

• Rhythms – A meditation on the contrasting rhythms of life.
• The Season of Healing – This is a season of healing our souls and our lives.
• The Season of Return – This is a season of return to G-d, repentance and t’shuva.
• History – A celebration of the gifts of history and memory.

Confession

Here are meditations on confession (vidui). Although they were written for use on Yom Kippur, they are appropriate as Elul meditations to prepare for vidui:

• Meditation Before the Yom Kippur Vidui – To prepare the heart and the mind for a thorough and honest confession.
• Meditation After the Yom Kippur Vidui – On living differently as a result of an honest and heartfelt confession.
• The Greatest Sin – Carelessly allowing the conditions for sin to take root.

Click here for the full list of prayers for the Yamim Noraim. Here’s a list of prayers for Rosh Hashana, another one of prayers for Yom Kippur and one more for Sukkot. Here’s a link to yizkor and memorial prayers.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. Connect with To Bend Light on Facebook and on Twitter.

Photo Source: ou.org