This manuscript contains the prayers for Yom Kippur Katan (the minor Day of Atonement), a day of fasting and repentance observed by many Jewish communities on the eve of each new month (Rosh Chodesh). This liturgical custom, which developed in the late Middle Ages, offered a monthly opportunity for introspection and renewal. 

Central to the liturgy of Yom Kippur Katan is the penitential prayer Ashamnu (“We have sinned”), a confession that lists transgressions in alphabetical order from the beginning to the end of the Hebrew alphabet. As each sin is named, worshippers beat their fists lightly against their chests, a gesture of contrition that embodies the prayer’s themes of remorse and accountability. The illustrations accompanying the text of the Ashamnu prayer displayed here feature two men with expressions of regret, bending over in penitential poses.