Confession on Yom Kippur Eve and Yom Kippur

The sages taught: [The main] mitzvah of confession [is on] Yom Kippur eve when darkness [falls]. But the sages said: [One should also] confess [on Yom Kippur eve] before he eats and drinks [at his last meal before the fast] lest he become confused at the meal [due to the abundance of food and drink, and be unable to confess afterward]. And although one confessed before he ate and drank, he confesses [again] after he eats and drinks, [as] perhaps he committed some sin during the meal [itself]. And although one confessed [during] the evening prayer [on the night of Yom Kippur], he [should] confess [again during] the morning prayer. [Likewise, although one confessed during the] morning prayer, he [should still] confess during [the] additional prayer. [Similarly, although one confessed] during [the] additional prayer, he [should also] confess during [the] afternoon prayer; [and although one confessed] during [the] afternoon prayer, he [should] confess [again] during [the] closing prayer [Ne‘ilah].

And where [in the Yom Kippur prayers] does one say [the confession]? An individual [says it] after his [Amidah] prayer, and the prayer leader says it in the middle [of the Amidah prayer]. What does one say [what is the liturgy of the confession]? Rav said: [One says the prayer that begins:] You know the mysteries of the universe [in accordance with the standard liturgy]. And Samuel said [that the prayer begins with]: From the depths of the heart. And Levi said [that it begins]: And in your Torah it is written, saying [and one then recites the forgiveness achieved by Yom Kippur as stated in the Torah]. R. Yoḥanan said [that it begins]: Master of the universe.

R. Judah said [that one says]: For our iniquities are too many to count and our sins are too great to number. R. Hamnuna said [this is the liturgy of the confession]: My God, before I was formed I was unworthy. Now that I have been formed, it is as if I had not been formed. I am dust while alive, how much more so when I am dead. See, I am before You like a vessel filled with shame and disgrace. May it be Your will that I may sin no more, and as for [the sins] I have committed before You, erase [them] in Your compassion, but not by suffering. This is the confession that Rava [used] all year [long]; and [it was the confession] that R. Hamnuna Zuta [used] on Yom Kippur.

Mar Zutra said: We said only [that one must follow all these versions] when he did not say [the words] “But we have sinned.” However, [if] he said [the words] “But we have sinned,” he need not [say] anything further [because that is the essential part of the confession]. As bar Hamdudei said, “I was standing before Samuel and he was sitting; and when the prayer leader reached [the words] ‘But we have sinned,’ [Samuel] stood.” [Bar Hamdudei] said, “Learn from here that this is the main [part of] the confession.” [ . . . ]

Ulla bar Rav went down [to lead the Ne‘ilah prayer] before Rava [who was in the synagogue]. He opened [the prayer] with “You have chosen us,” and he concluded with “What are we, what are our lives?” And [Rava] praised him. R. Huna, son of R. Nathan, said: And an individual says it after his [Amidah] prayer.