E
very year during the
High Holidays, Jews
recite a litany of ways
we have fallen short in a
confessional
prayer. Known
as a viddui,
the prayer is a
centerpiece of
our Yom Kippur
liturgy.
This year,
we again will
reflect on our
shortcomings.
But one
takeaway from
the past year is
that even when
we do our best,
it may not be
enough.
So many of us joyously
awaited the return to
in-person High Holiday
services, only to have our
plans undermined by the
threat posed by the Delta
variant of COVID-19.
Against this backdrop,
we recognized that our
community would benefit
from a communal expression
of encouragement, comfort
and balance.
So, together we crafted
a positive viddui for our
congregation that we are
sharing here.
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak
HaCohen Kook, the first
Ashkenazi chief rabbi of
what would become Israel,
once said that Jews should
celebrate our good deeds as
much as lament our sins.
We hope you find this
meaningful.
We’ve acted authentically
We’ve blessed
We’ve cultivated compassion
We’ve delighted
We’ve engaged empathically
We’ve favored fairness
We’ve galvanized
We’ve harmonized
We’ve inspired
We’ve joined
We’ve kindled kindness
We’ve laughed
We’ve matured
We’ve nurtured
We’ve offered optimism
We’ve persevered
We’ve questioned
We’ve released
We’ve sympathized
We’ve tried
We’ve uplifted
We’ve vivified
We’ve welcomed
We’ve x’d out excess
We’ve yearned
We’ve zoomed and zoomed in
For all these, Source of Life
inspire us, encourage us,
sustain our hope.
Rabbi Jillian Cameron and Cantor
Juval Porat are clergy at Beth
Chayim Chadashim, a Reform
synagogue in Los Angeles.
SEPTEMBER 16 • 2021 | 9
a better, stronger agreement
than the JCPOA. In order
to achieve this, however,
Washington should have
continued increasing sanctions,
as the Obama administration
had done.
Instead, it appointed
Robert Malley, an architect
of the JCPOA, as U.S. special
representative to Iran and lifted
additional sanctions. This has
served only to embolden and
further radicalize the regime in
Tehran.
AN EMBOLDENED IRAN
Indeed, Iran responded to the
above U.S. actions by “electing”
mass murderer in Ebrahim
Raisi, Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei’s candidate, as
president. Once instated in
the role, Raisi appointed such
figures as former IRGC chief
Mohsen Rezaee — wanted
by Interpol for the 1994 mass
murder of 85 Argentinians at
the Jewish community center
(AMIA) in Buenos Aires — as
vice president for economic
affairs, and Gen. Ahmad
Vahidi, also involved in the
attack, as interior minister.
Meanwhile, the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
confirmed that Iran, for the first
time, has produced uranium
metal-enriched up to 20% and
has significantly increased its
production capacity of enriched
uranium to 60%, both of which
are prohibited as part of the
JCPOA.
Germany, France and
Britain — parties to the JCPOA
— called the above moves
“serious violations” of Iran’s
commitment under the deal.
They said that “both are key
steps in the development of a
nuclear weapon, and Iran has
no credible civilian need for
either measure.
”
The “concerns are deepened
by the fact that Iran has
significantly limited IAEA
access through withdrawing
from JCPOA-agreed
monitoring arrangements,
”
they added in a joint statement.
What they did not do, however,
is reinstate sanctions.
Describing the current
situation to the foreign press,
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair
Lapid said, “Right now it seems
like the agreement is not going
anywhere and the talks are not
going anywhere. The world
needs a plan B, and Iran needs
to know there is a credible
threat on it if they will keep
on advancing their nuclear
program as they do now.
”
In an interview with
Bloomberg TV on Sept. 3,
Malley said that the United
States is prepared to be patient
with Iran about a return to
the JCPOA, but “can’t wait
forever.
” Isn’t it already obvious,
as Lapid pointed out, that that
“the agreement is not going
anywhere, and a plan B is
needed?”
Former Israeli Ambassador
to the United States Ron
Dermer has been more direct,
stating that Iran will obtain
nuclear weapons “if Israel
doesn’t stop it.
”
At this point, it may be too
late for sanctions to be effective,
and that the only remaining
option is a military one —
for which Israel has been
preparing. But not imposing
sanctions immediately will
guarantee that the military
option is the only one left.
Biden announced that he
would not withdraw troops
from Afghanistan until all
Americans were evacuated.
He didn’t keep his promise.
His assurances to Israel
about Iran, then, cannot be
counted on. Judging by the
Afghanistan debacle, there are
two possibilities: a nuclear Iran
or a major Israeli strike on the
Islamic Republic’s facilities.
Farley Weiss, former president of the
National Council of Young Israel, is an
intellectual property attorney for the
law firm of Weiss & Moy. The views
expressed are the author’s and not
necessarily representative of NCYI.
opinion
A Positive ‘Viddui’
Rabbi
Jillian
Cameron
JTA
Cantor
Juval Porat
JTA