The most memorable prayer of the Jewish New Year—what it means, why we sing it, and the secret of its magical appeal.
Through a series of lively commentaries, over thirty contributors—men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, spanning three continents and all major Jewish denominations—examine Kol Nidre's theology, usage, and deeply personal impact. They trace the actual history of the prayer and attempts through the ages to emend it, downplay it and even do away with it—all in vain. They explore why Kol Nidre remains an annual liturgical highlight that is regularly attended even by Jews who disbelieve everything the prayer says.
Prayers of Awe An exciting new series that examines the High Holy Day liturgy to enrich the praying experience of everyone—whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.
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All These Vows
The most memorable prayer of the Jewish New Year—what it means, why we sing it, and the secret of its magical appeal.
Through a series of lively commentaries, over thirty contributors—men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, spanning three continents and all major Jewish denominations—examine Kol Nidre's theology, usage, and deeply personal impact. They trace the actual history of the prayer and attempts through the ages to emend it, downplay it and even do away with it—all in vain. They explore why Kol Nidre remains an annual liturgical highlight that is regularly attended even by Jews who disbelieve everything the prayer says.
Prayers of Awe An exciting new series that examines the High Holy Day liturgy to enrich the praying experience of everyone—whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.
The most memorable prayer of the Jewish New Year—what it means, why we sing it, and the secret of its magical appeal.
Through a series of lively commentaries, over thirty contributors—men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, spanning three continents and all major Jewish denominations—examine Kol Nidre's theology, usage, and deeply personal impact. They trace the actual history of the prayer and attempts through the ages to emend it, downplay it and even do away with it—all in vain. They explore why Kol Nidre remains an annual liturgical highlight that is regularly attended even by Jews who disbelieve everything the prayer says.
Prayers of Awe An exciting new series that examines the High Holy Day liturgy to enrich the praying experience of everyone—whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.
Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman,PhD, has served for more than three decades as professor of liturgy at Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. He is a world-renowned liturgist and holder of the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair in Liturgy, Worship and Ritual. His work combines research in Jewish ritual, worship and spirituality with a passion for the spiritual renewal of contemporary Judaism.
His many books, written and edited, include seven volumes in the Prayers of Awe series: Who by Fire, Who by Water—Un'taneh Tokef; All These Vows—Kol Nidre; We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism—Ashamnu and Al Chet; May God Remember: Memory and Memorializing in Judaism—Yizkor; All the World: Universalism, Particularism and the High Holy Days; Naming God: Avinu Malkeinu—Our Father, Our King; and Encountering God: El Rachum V'chanun—God Merciful and Gracious. Hoffman also edited the ten-volume series My People's Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; and coedited My People’s Passover Haggadah: Traditional Texts, Modern Commentaries, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award (all Jewish Lights).
Rabbi Hoffman cofounded and developed Synagogue 2/3000, a transdenominational project to envision and implement the ideal synagogue of the spirit for the twenty-first century. In that capacity, he wrote Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life (Jewish Lights).
PART I KOL NIDRE AND HISTORY Morality, Meaning, and the Ritual Search for the Sacred 3 Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD The Heavenly Assembly 22 Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler What's in a Bowl? Babylonian Magic Spells and the Origins of Kol Nidre 26 Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD Sermons and History: The "Marrano" Connection to Kol Nidre 31 Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD The Magic of the Moment: Kol Nidre in Progressive Judaism 39 Dr. Annette M. Boeckler The Music of Kol Nidre 67 Dr. Mark Kligman
PART II KOL NIDRE AND JEWISH LAW Kol Nidre: A Halakhic History and Analysis 73 Dr. Eliezer Diamond Choice, Commitment, Cancellation: Vows and Oaths in Jewish Law 80 Rabbi Daniel Landes
PART III KOL NIDRE: TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY 87 Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD
PART IV KOL NIDRE AND THE TESTIMONY OF PRAYERBOOK EDITORS Kol Nidre from Union Prayer Book to Gates of Repentance 99 Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD Memories of the Past, Guidelines for the Future 109 Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD What If Cleverness Is Foolishness and Righteousness an Illusion? 114 Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD Words of Wisdom or Legalese? 119 Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD Two Torah Scrolls and Kol Nidre: The Earthly Court Below 123 Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD
PART V KOL NIDRE AND INTERPRETATIONS FOR TODAY At Least Credit Me with Being Compassionate 129 Rabbi Tony Bayfield, CBE, DD Filling the Void 133 Dr. Erica Brown Words Mean Everything, Words Mean Nothing —Both Are True 137 Rabbi Ruth Durchslag, PsyD "Woe Is Me That I Have Sworn": The Power to Annul God's Vows 142 Rachel Farbiarz and Ruth Messinger The Tyranny of Perfection 146 Rabbi Edward Feinstein Disruption, Disorientation, and Restarting: The Kol Nidre Road to Return 150 Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand Lifting the Curtain: The Theatrical Kol Nidre 155 Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur “It’s Rather Hard to Understand”: Approaching God through Sound, Not Translation 159 Rabbi Elie Kaunfer The Sound and Pageantry: Willingness, Aspiration, and Discernment 163 Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar Is Kol Nidre Typical? 168 Dr. Reuven Kimelman All Bets Are Off 174 Rabbi Lawrence Kushner The Room with No Back, Only Forward 178 Rabbi Noa Kushner Imagining Nothing 182 Liz Lerman A Vote of No Confidence 187 Catherine Madsen Over-Promise, Under-Deliver … and Then Forgive 191 Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum Courting Inversion: Kol Nidre as Legal Drama 194 Rabbi Aaron Panken, PhD The Kol Nidre Mirror to Our Soul 200 Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Release beyond Words: Kol Nidre Even on a Violin 205 Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin Night Vision: A Gift of Sacred Uncertainty 209 Rabbi David Stern Ritualizing Kol Nidre: The Power of Three 214 Dr. Ellen M. Umansky All Vows? No! Then, Which Vows? 218 Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD How Is Kol Nidre Like a Dodgers Game? 224 Dr. Ron Wolfson We Are the Image of God That God Leaves Behind for History to Know 228 Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel The Oath, or My Family Story 232 Dr. Wendy Zierler