Halakhah su Salmi 32:1

Every commandment of the Law, both positive and negative, if a man transgresses one of them through error or deliberately, if he repents and returns from his sins he is enjoined to confess before God, may His name be exalted, as it is written, “When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to commit a trespass … then they shall confess their sin” (Num. 5:6). This is a verbal confession and it involves a positive commandment. In what manner does one confess? He says, “I pray, O Lord, I have sinned, I have done perversely, I have transgressed before Thee, such and such have I done, and behold I am sorry, I am ashamed of my actions and I will never return to this thing.”¹Maimonides, Hilkhoth Teshuvah, 1:1. This is the essence of the confession. And he who adds to his confession and elaborates in the matter is all the more praiseworthy.²Yoma, 84b. And so sinners and the guilty at the time that they bring sacrifices for their sins and for their errors are not forgiven until they do penance and make a verbal confession, as it is written, “And he shall confess that wherein he hath sinned” (Lev. 5:5). And so all those under sentence of death by the court and those subject to lashes, their death and flagellation does not obtain forgiveness for them unless they do penance and confess.³Sanhedrin 43b. And so he who wounds his neighbor or does damage to his neighbor even though he has paid him that which was due him is not atoned for until he confesses and returns from ever doing this again, as it is written, “Any sin that men commit” (Num. 5:6).⁴Yalkut Shimoni, ed. Horeb, Numbers, par. 701, p. 444. The goat that is to be sent away⁵Lit “The goat to be sent away.” The scapegoat used for the Yom Kippur ritual sent into the wilderness carrying the sins of the people. (See Leviticus 16:8.) atones for all transgressions in the Torah, light ones and more serious ones, both if the person transgressed in error and if he transgressed deliberately, both if it was made known to him or not made known to him, all is expiated for by the goat that is sent away and this all applies only when he does penance. But if he has not done penance the goat does not atone except for the light ones.⁶J. T. Shebuoth 1:6. And which are the light ones and which are the more serious ones? The more serious ones are those for which one is guilty of the death penalty or of excision (from Israel). A needless oath and a false oath, even though excision is not applicable, are considered among the more serious ones. And all other positive commandments and negative commandments which do not involve excision are regarded as light ones. And in our day when the Holy Temple no longer exists and we have no atonement through the altar there is nothing left but penance. Penance atones for all transgressions. Even if a man has been wicked all his days and has done penance at the end, his wickedness is not counted, as it is written, “And as for the wickedness of the wicked he shall not stumble thereby in the day thereby he turneth from his wickedness” (Ezek. 33:12).⁷Kiddushin 40b. And the gravity of the Day of Atonement atones for penitents, as it is written, “For on this day shall atonement be made for you” (Lev. 16:30).⁸Yoma 85b. Even though repentance atones and the gravity of the Day of Atonement atones, there are transgressions which obtain forgiveness only after a time.⁹Ibid., 86a. How so? A man has transgressed a positive commandment not involving excision and has done penance he does not go away from there until he is forgiven. Concerning these (such transgressors) it is said, “Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings” (Jer. 3:22). If a man has transgressed a negative commandment which does not involve excision and capital punishment and has repented, the repentance suspends judgement and the Day of Atonement atones. Concerning this it is said, “For on this day shall atonement be made” (Lev. 16:30). If he has transgressed in a matter involving excision and capital punishment and has done penance, penance and the Day of Atonement suspend judgement and the tribulations that visit him conclude the expiation, and he never does obtain full forgiveness until tribulation comes upon him. Concerning them (such transgressors) Scripture says, “Then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with strokes” (Ps. 89:33). When does this apply? Only when he did not profane the Name when he transgressed, for example, he committed the transgression in secret (is expiation possible), but profaning the Name publicly, even though he has done penance and the Day of Atonement has arrived and he stands yet within his penance and tribulation has visited him, not even all of these are able to cleanse his wrong so as to obtain (for him) full forgiveness, except that he die. Repentance, the Day of Atonement and tribulations, these three only suspend judgement but death cleanses and atones, as it is said, “And the Lord of hosts revealed Himself in mine ears” (Isa. 22:14).
What is complete penance? (It is illustrated by) one to whom a transgression has presented itself which he has already transgressed and he has the opportunity to do it again but has withdrawn and has not done it because of the penance and not because of fear or weakness. How so? Behold one who has cohabited illicitly with a woman and later has been left alone again with her and has had the opportunity to do it again, and he has been still steadfast in his love for her and has been able to do it, but has subdued his passion and has not transgressed, he is a complete penitent. Concerning this one Solomon said, “Remember then thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Eccl. 12:1).¹⁰Abodah Zarah 19a. And if he has not returned except in his old age and at the time when it is no longer possible because of his failing strength, to do that which he was able to do in his youth, even though this is not the best penance it avails, and he is regarded as a penitent. And even though he has transgressed all his life and at the end, at the time of his death, he has repented and he has died penitent, all of his transgressions are forgiven him,¹¹Kiddushin 40b. as it is said, “Before the sun and the light … are darkened” (Eccl. 12:2), which is the day of death, from which we can deduce that if he remembers his Creator before death he is forgiven. And what is this repentance? That the sinner forsake his sin and remove evil thoughts from his heart, and resolve in his heart to do it (the evil) no more, as it is said, “Let the wicked forsake his way” (Isa. 55:7). Let him repent and regret his previous sins, as it is written, “Surely after that I was turned I repented” (Jer. 31:18); and let him say, “I give testimony concerning myself before Him Who knows all hidden things, that I will not return to this sin ever; as it is written, “Neither will we call anymore the work of our hands our gods” (Hos. 14:4).¹²The Zohar, ed. Soncino, V, 334, 335. And in keeping with the paths of repentance it would have been proper for him to cry continuously before God with weeping and supplications, do charity according to his ability, further himself greatly from the things wherein he sinned, change his name, that is to imply, that “I am another and not that man who did those evil things,” and he changes his actions for the good to rear himself in the upright path. He imposes exile upon himself because exile atones for transgression, it subdues him and causes him to become humble and meek. And it is most praiseworthy for the penitent to confess publicly and let his sin be known and reveal his sin that is between him and his neighbor to others, saying to them, “I have sinned against so and so and such and such have I done to him and this day I return and do penance.” And the proud who do not make known but conceal their sins, their repentance is not complete, as it is written, “He that covereth his transgression shall not prosper; but who so confesseth and forsaketh shall obtain mercy” (Prov. 28:13). In what case (who so confesseth … shall obtain mercy)? Only (in cases) concerning transgressions between man and man, but involving those between man and his Master, he does not need to publicize them. It is insolence on his part if he has revealed it to another; instead he returns to his Creator, blessed be He, and enumerates his sins before Him but confesses them before the congregation inexplicitly, (saying) “I have sinned.” It is best that he not reveal his transgressions, “Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned” (Ps. 32:1).¹³Rashi, Yoma 21a.

There is no need to itemize (to detail) (the description of) the sin, but if one wants to detail it^44aThe following comment is found in Magen Avraham, (see footnote 33): 607:2 - "And if one wants to detail (one's sins)…": This means that we speak (that he may confess his sins) even outloud, and it seems to me that this is so only if the sin is commonly known but a sin which is not common knowledge, in everyone's opinion it is forbidden to say it outloud, as it is written, "Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven…" (Psalms 32:1), (and this is what is written in a Hagah, note). Certainly the Amoraim did not oppose the Tannaim as it is written in Sotah 32, that they ordained the prayer to a wisper so as not to embarrass the transgressors who are confessing about their sins, but rather R. Judah b. Baba decided that before God there was no need to detail (one's sins), and in this there is no difference whether the sin is publically known or not because all is revealed before Him (God), see in the Gemara and in Bayit Ḥadash, ב״ח, (see footnote 20b.) that it is not according to the Beit Yosef, ב״י, (see footnote 20.) There is a problem in what Rashi wrote in (the Talmud Tractate) Ḥulin at the end of chapter two, that if one sins unintentionally, it is well known, because if someone commits a sin unintentionally, he does not cover it up in order to be embarrassed (about it) and atone for himself, end quotes. It is written in scripture "Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered," (Psalms 32:1), and the sin was an unintentional one. he has the permission to do so, but if one confesses silently (i.e., just moving one’s lips but not speaking audibly), it is appropriate to detail the sin.
Hagah: But when one prays outloud or the reader, when he repeats the prayer, they do not detail the sin. But saying the prayer “על חטא⁴⁵Al Ḥet, על חטא, is the second part of the Ashamnu. The Al Ḥet is also known as the Viddui Gadol, the "Great Confession". It is an alphabetical listing of all possible sins which one may have committed during the year. Each sin is preceded by the statement Al Ḥet, "For the sin which we have committed before Thee" and then the sin is enumerated. The sins are all confessed in the first person plural "we" so that every person can confess all possible sins, even those he may have forgotten, or those he surely did not commit, together with the whole congregation so as not to overlook a sin which requires specific confession to achieve atonement. The Al Ḥet is found along with the Viddui Katan, the Small Confession, which is also an alphabetical listing of sins and precedes the Al Ḥet in the Ashamnu. The Ashamnu is recited by the reader in his repetition of the Amidah (see footnote 43) during the Minḥah, Afternoon Service, on the Eve of Yom Kippur and in every repetition of the Amidah on the Day itself, except that of the Ne'ilah, Concluding Service, (see footnote 191). It is included in the fourth, the central, benediction; (see also footnote 39).
In the alphabetical listing of the sins in the Al Ḥet, two sins are included under each letter. Each line begins the same: "For the sin we have sinned before Thee…" There are a total of forty-four sins (two for each of the twenty-two Hebrew letters) in alphabetical order. Another nine lines are included to enumerate sins according to their prescribed punishments. The recitation is divided into four parts. After each part the following formula is recited: "And for all these, O God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement." This is chanted during the reader's repetition of the Amidah. In the list of sins, there are specific as well as general sins stated to cover any unknown transgressions. Sins of a ritual nature are not included. The "we" represents collective responsibility that every member of a community should feel. The author of the Al Ḥet is unknown.
The Sephardi ritual has only one sin per letter and in some communities the order of the letters is reversed. The Yemenites use a shortened version. The prayer is usually said standing with the head bowed while beating one's breast at the mention of each sin.
Editorial Staff, E. J., v. 2, pp. 629-30.” in alphabetical order, is not called itemizing (detailing) since everyone says it equally, therefore it is only like a text of a prayer, (ד״ע).⁴⁶Da'at Aẓmo, ד״ע, Isserles' own opinion; see footnote 38.