A Fresh Approach to Viduy

Imagine that you own a company. You have an employee who you like very much, but he keeps making mistakes. They are serious errors that are causing difficulty for your company. You have discussed with him several times about his mistakes, he says he will do better, but he keeps returning to the same behaviors. You are sitting in your office contemplating firing him, when he knocks on the door and comes in. Picture the following two scenarios:

Boss, I know that I have constantly messed up. I came late almost every day this past year, I am not good at following up with clients. I took some pens home from the office, and on a number of occasions ignored explicit directives from you. But, please don't fire me. 'Cause I feel really bad about all that and I promise these things won't happen again.

Boss, I know that I have constantly messed up. I came late almost every day this past year, I am not good at following up with clients. I took some pens home from the office, and on a number of occasions ignored explicit directives from you. But, please don't fire me. I really believe in this company's mission and I very much want to be a part of it. You are a wonderful boss and I love working for you. Please help me figure out how I can be the type of employee you really need working here.

In which scenario is the boss more likely to be ready to keep the employee? In the first case, the boss has no reason to believe that the employee will change. It is just more empty promises. In the second one, the employee is offering his boss something to work with. he may not be assured of retaining his position, but there is a much greater chance of his doing so.

In the same vein we need to approach Vidduy on Yom Kippur. Yes, we need to acknowledge where we have erred in the past, but there is no point to making empty promises that  we know we won't keep for the future. What Hashem really wants to know from us is that we want to get with the program. As long as we are with the program He will help us figure out where to go.