Why is the Yom Kippur confession written in the plural?
On Yom Kippur we confess: “We have sinned, we have betrayed, we have robbed...” Not “I.” We.
Even a person who did not commit every item on the list says the confession as part of the community.
The Talmud teaches: “All Israel are responsible for one another.” A person is not an island.
Families, communities and societies create climates. There are behaviors we may not commit ourselves, yet we laugh at them, reward them, remain silent in front of them, or build an environment where they become normal.
“We” does not erase personal responsibility. It adds another layer.
Sometimes my repentance is not only to stop doing something wrong. It is to stop being part of the environment that allows it to flourish.
On Yom Kippur we face not only the question, “What kind of person was I this year?” but also: “What kind of world became a little more possible because of the way I lived in it?”