Kol Nidre (also known as Kol Nidrei or Kol Nidrey;This last transliteration seems to be used almost exclusively for two musical arrangements, one by Max Bruch and the other by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Aramaic: kāl niḏrē) is an Aramaic declaration which begins Yom Kippur services in the synagogue. Strictly speaking, it is not a prayer, even though it is commonly spoken of as if it were a prayer. This declaration and its ceremonial accompaniment have been charged with emotional undertones since the medieval period, creating a dramatic introduction to Yom Kippur on what is often dubbed "Kol Nidrei night","Kol Nidre". The New Encyclopedia of Judaism (1st ed. 2002). with the entire Yom Kippur evening service popularly called Kol Nidrei.e.g., Scherman, Nosson, The Complete ArtScroll Machzor, Yom Kippur, Nusach Ashkenaz (1986, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) pp. 52, 57.
The common text for Kol Nidrei is written mostly in Aramaic, with one Hebrew phrase. However, the earliest known text of Kol Nidrei ("Kol Nedarim"), as it appears in the Siddur of Rav Amram Gaon, is in Hebrew; this text is used with minor changes by Italian rite and Romaniote Jews. Its name is taken from its opening words, which mean "all vows". The formula, depending on rite, either proactively annuls any personal or religious oaths or prohibitions which are made between oneself and God in the course of the next year, so as to preemptively avoid the sin of breaking vows which are made to God but are not or cannot be upheld, or annuls any vows taken in the preceding year.
Kol Nidrei has had an eventful history, both in itself and in its influence on the legal status of the Jews. Introduced into the liturgy despite the opposition of rabbinic authorities, repeatedly attacked in the course of time by many halakhists, and in the nineteenth century expunged from the prayer-book by many communities of western Europe, it has often been employed by Christians to support their assertion that the oath of a Jew cannot be trusted.
Form of the ritual
Before sunset on Yom Kippur eve, worshipers gather in the synagogue. The Ark is opened and in many communities some of the Sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls) are removed. A person stands on each side of the Hazzan (in some communities holding the Torah Scrolls), and the three (forming a beth din or rabbinical court) recite:
This invitation to outcasts is not specifically for Kol Nidre but for the whole of Yom Kippur, it being obvious that when even sinners join in repenting, the occasion is worthy of Divine clemency.
The cantor then chants the passage beginning with the words Kol Nidre with its touching melodic phrases, and, in varying intensities from pianissimo (quiet) to fortissimo (loud), repeats twice (for a total of three iterations) lest a latecomer not hear them. In the Italian and Romaniote rites, it is recited in Hebrew (Kol Nedarim, Hebrew: כל נדרים) instead of Aramaic. The following provides the traditional Aramaic text, which (except for the Hebrew insert connecting one Day of Atonement to another) is quite similar in the various rites, although there are minor differences between the Ashkenazic, Eastern Ashkenaz and Sephardic liturgies. The following text is the Eastern Ashkenazic text, reflecting the two customs of which year it is referring to (and those who combine the texts).
Aramaic Text English translationAll vows, and prohibitions, and oaths, and consecrations, and konamei and kinusei and synonymous terms,The text lists a set of terms for oaths and legal declarations. Each term is a technical term for a distinct type of formal legal declaration with a distinctive legal meaning in Jewish law as described in the Talmud. For a discussion of these terms and an explanation of the meaning of each, see "General Introduction", The Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, Tractate Nedarim, Volume 1. Mesorah Publications Limited that we may vow, or swear, or consecrate, or prohibit upon ourselves, •from the previous Day of Atonement until this Day of Atonement and ...• ♦from this Day of Atonement until the [next] Day of Atonement that will come for our benefit.♦ Regarding all of them, we repudiate them. All of them are undone, abandoned, cancelled, null and void, not in force, and not in effect. Our vows are no longer vows, and our prohibitions are no longer prohibitions, and our oaths are no longer oaths.
The leader and the congregation recite the verse "May all the people of Israel be forgiven, including all the strangers who live in their midst, for all the people are in fault" () three times.Hyams, Ario S., "Kol Nidre: The Word in Absolute Music", Journal of Synagogue Music, vol. 5, nr. 2 (June 1974) pages 22-23. Different regional traditions have woven it into the recitation in various ways.Nulman, Macy, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) page 355, s.v. venislah.
In the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, the leader then adds: "O pardon the iniquities of this people, according to Thy abundant mercy, just as Thou forgavest this people ever since they left Egypt." And then the leader and congregation say together three times, "The Lord said, 'I pardon them according to your words. (quoting ). The Torah scrolls are then put back in the Ark. In some communities there is a brief sermon at this point, and the Yom Kippur evening service begins.
According to some Kol Nidre must be recited before sunset, as it is a form of hatarat nedarim (annulment of vows), which, according to halakha, should not be performed on major holidays (of which Yom Kippur is one). However, according to the customs that recite Kol Nidrei for the following year ("from this Day of Atonement until the [next] Day of Atonement that will come for our benefit"), this would not constitute a hatarat nedarim, and it should be permitted on Yom Kippur itself.
Origin and history The date of the composition of the declaration and its author are alike unknown, but it was in existence at the Geonic period (589–1038 CE).Spector, Johanna, The Kol Nidre - At Least 1200 Years Old, Journal of Synagogue Music, vol. 38 (Fall 2008), page 156, citing a Cairo Geniza letter by Palto Gaon (fl. 857) "that Kol Nidre was recited by popular demand in the Geonic Academy at the Babylonian city of Pumbadita long before the practice was introduced to the larger and better-known Academy at Sura." There was a common theory that it commenced during and because of a period of extreme persecution, in which Jews were forced at sword's point to convert (either to Christianity or Islam) and that Kol Nidre would restore the person's Jewish identity by nullifying the conversion in the eyes of the Jewish community.Idelsohn, Abraham Z., Jewish Liturgy and its Development (1932, NY, Henry Holt) pages 227-228; Davidson, Israel, "Kol Nidre", The American Jewish Year Book: 5684, vol. 25 (1923, Philadelphia, Jewish Public'n Soc.) pages 186-187.
The tendency to make vows to God was strong in ancient Israel; the Torah found it necessary to caution against the promiscuous making of vows (). As one commentary puts it, "it is considered a fearsome sin for one to violate his vows and oaths and the Sages regard it as an extremely serious matter for one to approach the Days of Judgment [meaning the High Holy Days] with such violation in hand."Scherman, Nosson, et al., The Complete ArtScroll Machzor: Rosh Hashanah (Ashkenazic) (1985, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'g) p. 2 (commentary to the Rosh Hashanah ritual for annulment of vows). Rash vows to God that for whatever reason were not fulfilled created painful religious and ethical difficulties for those who had made them; this led to an earnest desire for dispensation from them. Therefore, halakha allowed for the absolution from a vow ('hattarat nedarim'), which might be performed only by a scholar, or an expert on the one hand, or by a board of three Jewish laymen on the other.Scherman, Nosson, The Complete ArtScroll Machzor, Yom Kippur, Nusach Ashkenaz (1986, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) p. 54; Nulman, Macy, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) p. 204.
This rite declared that the petitioners, who were seeking reconciliation with God, solemnly retracted their vows and oaths they had made to God during the period intervening between the previous Yom Kippur and the present one; this rite made them null and void from the beginning, entreating in their stead pardon and forgiveness from God. This is in accordance with the older text of the formula as it is preserved in the Siddur of Amram Gaon.(orig. ca. 870; printed 1865, Warsaw, Coronel ed., p. 47; text with pointing published in Birnbaum's High Holyday Prayerbook, p. 491.
Adoption into the prayer services The readiness with which vows were made and the facility with which they were annulled by the scribes gave the Karaites an opportunity to attack rabbinic Jews. This may have encouraged the geonim (leaders of early medieval Babylonian Jewry) to minimize the power of dispensation. Yehudai Gaon of Sura (760 CE), author of the Halakot Pesukot, forbade the study of the Nedarim, the Talmudic treatise on oaths. Thus the Kol Nidre was discredited in both of the Babylonian academies and was not accepted by them.The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia (1942, NY) s.v. Kol Nidre, vol. 6, p. 440; Jewish Encyclopedia (1904, NY) s.v. Kol Nidre, vol. 7 p. 540.
Amram Gaon in his edition of the Siddur calls the custom of reciting the Kol Nidre a foolish one ("minhag shetut"). According to others however, it was customary to recite the formula in various lands of the Jewish dispersion, and it is clear likewise from Amram's Siddur that the usage was widespread as early as his time (9th century) in Spain. But the geonic practice of not reciting the Kol Nidre was long prevalent; it has never been adopted in the Catalan or in the Algerian ritual, nor in the French regions of Carpentras or Avignon.Jewish Encyclopedia (1904, NY) s.v. Kol Nidre, vol. 7 p. 540; Idelsohn, Abraham Z., Jewish Liturgy and its Development (1932, NY, Henry Holt) p. 228.
At one time it was widely believed that the Kol Nidre was composed by Spanish "Marranos", Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity, yet who secretly maintained their original faith. This idea has been shown to be incorrect, as the prayer pre-dates this era (circa 15th century) by many centuries. However, this prayer was indeed used by the Marranos and it is possible that its great significance and wide usage derives from this persecution.Idelsohn, Abraham Z., Jewish Liturgy and its Development (1932, NY, Henry Holt) pp. 227–228; Markman, Sidney D. Jewish Remnants in Spain: Wanderings in a lost world (2003, Mesa, Ariz., Scribe Publ'rs) p. 136. But it has been pointed out that Marrano attachment or usage of Kol Nidrei has long been assumed rather than documented; Saperstein, Marc, "The 'Marrano' connection to Kol Nidre" in Hoffman, Lawrence A., All These Vows: Kol Nidre (2011, Woodstock, Vt., Jewish Lights Publ'g) p. 31 et seq. As Kol Nidre clearly predated the Spanish Inquisition, it was supposed that it may have commenced during the Visigothic period in Spain (7th century),Hertz, Joseph H., Authorised Daily Prayer Book (rev. ed. 1948, NY, Bloch Publ'g Co.) page 893. but this theory has serious weaknesses, such as its adoption by Jewish communities around the world, even in liturgical communities that did not experience such persecution.Davidson, Israel, "Kol Nidre", The American Jewish Year Book: 5684, vol. 25 (1923, Philadelphia, Jewish Public'n Soc.) pages 186-187. It may be that it was simply inspired by the Talmudic instructions about avoiding oaths.
A very different reason for Kol Nidre was suggested by the Zohar; God has already threatened and vowed terrible punishments upon the Jewish people for their sins, but by our own demonstration that we can unbind ourselves from vows using Kol Nidre we hope to persuade God to similarly annul His own vows of calamity. As stated in the Orot Sephardic mahzor: