Ashamnu

September 2019

As we enter the Days of Awe, we start to think about the different themes of the holidays, especially repentance.  The gates of heaven are opening, and we have until the end of Yom Kippur to examine ourselves and our deeds. The Ashamnu is the part of the service in which we name our sins and symbolically beat our chests.  The following Ashamnu focuses on what not to do -- a positive version of the prayer. Rather than speaking to God, this prayer sounds more like we are pledging to ourselves and each other.

A Group Ashamnu
By the children of the Tehillah Hebrew School

We won’t Attack people physical or with our words
We won’t Betray one another
We won’t Call people names
We won’t Disrespect people
We won’t Exclude people
We won’t say no to new Foods, we will try them
We won’t Give out secrets
We will be good Hosts
We won’t Insult people
We won’t Judge people
We will be Kind
We won’t forget to Listen to each other
We won’t make Messes
Never say Never
We will keep an Open mind
We won’t lose Patience with people, especially family
We will stay Quiet when we need to
We won’t Rebel against good things
We won’t forget to say Sorry
We will try new Things
We won’t be Unkind
We will respect each others’ Visions
We won’t Watch television late at night
We won’t eXterminate
Be Yourself
We won’t be Zealous and run to do bad things