(ז) כָּל נִדְרֵי וֶאֱסָרֵי וּשְׁבוּעֵי וַחֲרָמֵי וְקוֹנָמֵי וְכִנּוּיֵי. וְקִנוּסֵי דִּנְדַֽרְנָא. וּדְאִשְׁתַּבַּֽעְנָא. וּדְאַחֲרִימְנָא. וּדְאָסַֽרְנָא עַל נַפְשָׁתָֽנָא. מִיּוֹם כִּפּוּרִים זֶה עַד יוֹם כִּפּוּרִים הַבָּא עָלֵֽינוּ לְטוֹבָה. בְּכֻלְּהוֹן אִחֲרַֽטְנָא בְהוֹן. כֻּלְּהוֹן יְהוֹן שָׁרָן. שְׁבִיקִין, שְׁבִיתִין, בְּטֵלִין וּמְבֻטָּלִין, לָא שְׁרִירִין וְלָא קַיָּמִין: נִדְרָֽנָא לָא נִדְרֵי. וֶאֱסָרָֽנָא לָא אֱסָרֵי. וּשְׁבוּעָתָֽנָא לָא שְׁבוּעוֹת:
(7) All vows, and things we have made forbidden on ourselves, and oaths, and items we have consecrated to the Temple, and vows issued with the expression “konum,” and vows which are abbreviated, and vows issued with the expression “kanos,” that we have vowed, and sworn, and dedicated, and made forbidden upon ourselves; from this Yom Kippur until next Yom Kippur— may it come to us at a good time— We regret having made them; may they all be permitted, forgiven, eradicted and nullified, and may they not be valid or exist any longer. Our vows shall no longer be vows, and our prohibitions shall no longer be prohibited, and our oaths are no longer oaths.
- Kol Nidrei is not a prayer, it's a legal formula, no mention of God, no mention of verses from the Tanach (Bible)
- Because it's a spiritual business matter, it has to be done before Yom Kippur starts - we cannot transact business or perform legal functions on the holiday
- The prayer only releases us from vows made "made unwittingly, rashly, or unknowingly (and that, consequently, cannot be fulfilled)" and only vows between us and God. (Encyclopedia Judaica, Kol Nidrei
- And so, what's the reason this statement is such an important part of getting us into the spirit of Yom Kippur?
"It may even be asked whether the musical rendition of Kol Nidrei was shaped by the solemnity of the liturgical and ideological status of the prayer, or whether the latter did not come about in a great measure, at least during the last two centuries, through the extraordinary effect of the melody." (EJ)
- Sharing - What feelings or reactions or thoughts come to mind when we hear the leader chant Kol Nidrei?
"What we say can be just as consequential as what we do. If we’re truly seeking to change our behavior for the coming year, to become closer to God and to our community, we must begin with how we speak and relate to each other." - Cantor Matt Axelrod
- What does Kol Nidrei have to do with the power of words?
- All the 'ays' (Konamay, Kinusey...) are verbal statements, vows, that we make with spoken words
Vows as expressions of words symbolize all the words we speak and ask us to elevate the intentionality, the thought, the tone and the content of what we say not only on this holy day but every day, in every encounter as we relate to one another -- Kol Nidrei may only annul vows between us and God but through elevating the way we communicate with one another can improve our relationships and create world of respect, trust, and holiness.
זו כנראה נקודת מוצא הכרחית לתפילה ולתשובה שכוחה בהיותה על הסף בין ערבו של חג לעיצומו של יום, בין הבדידות האנושית לקהילה, בין היומרה לכישלון, בבגדים חגיגיים ונעליים לא תואמות, עם השובע שממתין לרעב...ולכן למרות שאין המילים האלה תפילה וגם לא הפרת נדר, כאשר יצטרף אלי הקהל בלחש בכָּל נִדְרֵי אני מקוה כי נכיר כולנו בכח של המילים לתקן, לרפא משהו בנפש ובקהילה
(ד״ר חנה פנחסי)
https://heb.hartman.org.il/kol-nidrei/
This [Kol Nidre recitation is], apparently, an essential starting moment for prayer and te'shuvah whose power lies in being on the threshold between the evening of the holiday and the day itself, between human loneliness and community, between pretension (aspiration, intention) and failure, in holiday clothes and unmatched shoes, with satiation that is waiting on hunger [to come]...
And therefore, despite the fact that these words are not a prayer and not a blanket annulment of vows, when the congregation joins me in silence during Kol Nidre, I hope we will all recognize the power words to repair, to heal our souls and in our community...
Other prayers of Yom Kippur emphasize the many ways we misuse our words -- the sins related to speech make up a large part of the sins in the Al Het prayer:
(מט) ועל חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָֽאנוּ לְפָנֶֽיךָ בְּבִטּוּי שְׂפָתָֽיִם:
(49) And for the sin we committed before You with an utterance of the lips.
(נב) על חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָֽאנוּ לְפָנֶֽיךָ בְּדִבּוּר פֶּה:
(52) For the sin we committed before You through [misuse of our power of] speech.
(נו) על חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָֽאנוּ לְפָנֶֽיךָ בְּוִדּוּי פֶּה:
(56) For the sin we committed before You with [mere] verbal confession.
A Yom Kippur experiment: For the full day of Yom Kippur, when we're not consumed (pun intended) by cooking, serving, and eating, when we'er giving ourselves a day with family and community, carefully consider and weigh everything we say, including our non-verbal communication - thinking about not only what we say but how we say it, sensing what types of conversations/moments set off emotional reactions in us, noticing them and giving ourselves time to breathe so we can respond more thoughtfully.
- During the day, think about if this is very difficult or easy?
- Are we learning something new about ourselves?
- What is the hardest part of doing this?
- What is the 'best' part or result of this experiment?