(Written 11/30/03)

The Kol Nidre is the holiest Jewish prayer and is recited several times on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It means "all vows" and is a flat statement that no promise of any kind will be kept for the coming year. It is also sung by the cantor in synagogue, accompanied on the violin and goes like this:

"All vows, obligations, oaths or anathemas, pledges of all names, which we have vowed, sworn, devoted, or bound ourselves to, from this day of atonement, until the next day of atonement (whose arrival we hope for in happiness) we repent, aforehand, of them all, they shall all be deemed absolved, forgiven, annulled, void and made of no effect; they shall not be binding, nor have any power; the vows shall not be reckoned as vows, the obligations shall not be obligatory, nor the oaths considered as oaths."

"The Jazz Singer," the first talkie with Al Jolsen, describes the great devotion that Jews have for this "prayer." Jolsen plays a cantor's son who tries to break away from Jewish tradition but who in the end is drawn back to it, finally agreeing to sing the Kol Nidre on the great day. It is ironic that Hollywood's first motion picture with sound should have dealt with this explosive subject, even if the words were sung in Hebrew.

Can any person or people with this mentality be trusted? The Kol Nidre mentality is the underlying cause for all the anti-Jewish reaction by normal people down through the ages. Have we ever heard a renunciation of this "prayer" by any Jew - orthodox, reform or otherwise? In fact, how many of us are even aware of this subversive practice, this license to lie, which is glorified in a holy ritual every year?

Every Jew in a position of power, from Paul Wolfowitz to your judge, doctor or teacher, should be questioned on this subject. Jewish judges should be asked to recuse themselves on this grounds automatically. Only in this positive but defensive manner can we at this late date begin to take charge of our lives by denouncing the lie of "anti-Semitism" and confronting those whose practices are based on deception.

Remember the motto of Israel's elite organization, the Mossad: "By way of deception thou shalt make war."

Comment

From Name Withheld

12-1-03

In fairness, there is an obscure version of the Kol Nidre (there are a number of variants on the text) which also seeks forgiveness and nullification of coerced obligations for the coming year. This is no longer commonly used, though it is quoted in the 100 year old version of the "Jewish Encyclopedia" as part of a lengthy scholarly discussion of the Kol Nidre.

Actually, many Reform congregations do not recite the Kol Nidre because it is considered anachronistic and because it MIGHT be misconstrued.

However, the Kol Nidre is specifically about contracts of a religious nature and NOT about business or other contracts with other men. If it were what Campbell and others commenting on your site say, would it not also negate obligations between Jews?

Obligations between Jews may be settled by a rabbinnic court, or Bet Din; obligations between Jews and Gentiles must be handled by civil courts. The Talmud states: "The law of the land is The Law." In other words, in all civil and crimnal matters (matters of a non-religious nature) the ruling of a civil court is final and as binding as if it were the Torah itself.

The Kol Nidre has NO EFFECT upon temporal obligations nor upon the rulings of a court of law.

Comment

From Sam Lock

12-1-3

The last comment by "name withheld" counter-commenting to Barbara Cohen, is a flat-out lie and therefore "name withheld" is a liar until he proves otherwise.

He states, "...The Kol Nidre does NOT do what Mr. Campbell libelously claims. Rather, it is a sort of contract between man the individual and God asking God's forgiveness for obligations made UNKNOWINGLY or UNDER COERCION during the PREVIOUS (not forthcoming) year."

Jeff, I must copy a part out of the quoted Kol Nidre by Barbara Cohen, acually, the entire thing, so I may not be labeled a liar.

"All vows, obligations, oaths, anathemas, whether called 'konam,' 'konas,' or by any other name, which we may vow, or swear, or pledge, or whereby we may be bound, from this Day of Atonement unto the next, (whose happy coming we await), we do repent. May they be deemed absolved, forgiven, annulled, and void and made of no effect; they shall not bind us nor have power over us. The vows shall not be reckoned vows; the obligations shall not be obligatory; nor the oaths be oaths."

"...from this day of Atonement UNTO THE NEXT..." does not refer to the PRIOR year, now does it class?

Is this guy just baiting us or lying to us? Jeff, this is a great lesson in 'sources of information and how can you really rely on it.'

"Name withheld"...for obvious reasons.

www.rense.com/general45/kol.htm