Day of Atonement E-Mail Prayer
by Mark Frydenberg


On Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, we need to search our
hearts and recognize our wrongs (the hardest part!), then do all we
can to make amends to those we have wronged, and ask their forgivness.
We then go to services and communally pray, asking the Higher Power
for insight, strength, and forgiveness.



For the sin which we have committed
by responding too often,
And for the sin which we have committed
by not posting at all when we have something valuable to say;

For the sin which we have committed
by responding angrily in haste,
And for the sin which we have committed
by posting private email in a public forum;

For the sin which we have committed
by misinterpreting others' words,
And for the sin which we have committed
by not expressing ourselves clearly;

For the sin which we have committed
by being sarcastic to other list members,
And for the sin which we have committed
by not being tolerant of their positions;

For the sin which we have committed
by not explaining technical terms,
And for the sin which we have committed
by assuming others know as much as we do;

For the sin which we have committed
by posting announcements directly,
And for the sin which we have committed
by posting subscription commands to the list;

For the sin which we have committed
by forwarding messages without introduction
And for the sin which we have committed
by cross-posting our own messages to many other lists;

For the sin which we have committed
by not using an appropriate subject line,
And for the sin which we have committed
by having a long .signature file;

For the sin which we have committed
by quoting others' posts in their entirety,
And for the sin which we have committed
by not providing context to our replies;

For all of these, Forgiving One,
Forgive Us, Pardon Us, and Grant Us Atonement.