Editing Kol Nidre (section)

==Analysis==
The vows and pledges being annulled by this ceremony are of a limited category. 'Kol Nidrei’ is a nullification of vows—whether past or future, gives people the right to break their word or to make insincere promises that will have no legal force. The ''Kol Nidrei'' declaration can invalidate only vows that one undertakes on his own volition. It has ''no'' effect on vows or oath imposed by someone else, or a court. Also, the invalidation of future vows takes effect only if someone makes the vow without having in mind his previous ''Kol Nidrei'' declaration. But if he makes the vow with ''Kol Nidrei'' in mind—thus being openly insincere in his vow—the vow is in full force."<ref>Scherman, Nosson, ''The Complete ArtScroll Machzor, Yom Kippur, Nusach Ashkenaz'' (1986, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) p. 53; italics as in original.</ref> Moreover, as Rabbi [[Yechiel of Paris]] explained in a [[Disputation]] that took place before the King and Queen of France in 1240, "Only the erroneously broken vows are annulled, that nobody might commit the sin of intentionally breaking vows."<ref>Jacobson, Bernhard S., ''Days of Awe'' (orig. 1936, Engl. trans. 1978, Tel Aviv, Sinai Publ'g) p. 118.</ref>

[[Philip Birnbaum]], in his edition of the Mahzor, comments on this passage: "It refers to vows assumed by an individual for himself alone, where no other persons or interests are involved. Though the context makes it perfectly obvious that no vows or obligations towards others are implied, there have been many who were misled into believing that by means of this formula all their vows and oaths are annulled. In the eleventh century Rabbi [[Meir ben Samuel]] ([[Rashi]]'s son-in-law) changed the original wording of ''Kol Nidré'' so as to make it apply to the future instead of the past, that is, to vows that one might not be able to fulfill during the next year."<ref>Birnbaum, Philip, ''High Holy Day Prayer Book'' (1951, New York, Hebrew Publishing Company) p. 490; italics as in original.</ref> This is the [[Nusach Ashkenaz]] version, the [[Nusach Sefard]] version still refers to the past year. However The Complete ArtScroll Machzor, Yom Kippur, Nusach Sefard has the future with the past included in brackets.

Kol Nidrei is not a prayer, it makes no requests and is not addressed to God, rather, it is a juristic declaration before the Yom Kippur prayers begin. It follows the juridical practice of requiring three men as a tribunal, the procedure beginning before sundown, and of the proclamation being announced three times.<ref>Nulman, Macy, ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayers'' (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) pp. 203–204; ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' (2nd ed. 2007) vol. 12, s.v. ''Kol Nidrei'' p. 276; Munk, Elie, ''The World of Prayer'' (1963, NY, Feldheim) vol. 2, pp. 230–236; Kieval, Herman, "The Curious Case of Kol Nidre", ''Commentary'' vol. 46, nr. 4, Oct. 1968 pp. 53–58, reprinted as "The Paradox of Kol Nidre" in Goodman, Phillip, ''The Yom Kippur Anthology'' (1971, Phil., Jewish Publ'n Soc.) p. 84 et seq.</ref>

===Explanation of terms and variants===
The many different terms for vows and pledges used in Kol Nidrei can be confusing, especially because the English language is poor in short equivalent terms that express the same nuances. These terms are almost exclusively religious pledges of various kinds: That something will be done (or not done) or given in exchange for a prayer being answered, that something will be done (or not done) for religious purposes or to show religious devotion, that a thing will be used only for religious purposes (e.g., as a tool used only for building or repairing the Temple) and never for mundane purposes, that a thing will be given to the Temple or treated as if it were already given to the Temple, and so forth. To make this declaration clearer, every possible synonym for such pledging and for nullification or cancellation of such pledges is used.

Such vows, it is obvious, are sometimes made impulsively or in moments of panic, desperation or some other strong emotion, and would be impossible, impractical, or ruinous to fulfill. This is shown by the following Biblical usage of the terms in Kol Nidrei:

* A vow (''neder'', נדר) was made by Jephthah ({{Bibleverse|Judges|11:30|HE}}), resulting in sacrificing his daughter in return for victory in battle; a "self-imposed obligation" (in the KJV "binding oneself")
* ''Osar'' (אסר) is used repeatedly in {{Bibleverse|Numbers|30|HE}} to describe commitments a wife might make that the husband could nullify. The same word is used elsewhere in Scripture for a restraint or tying up (as in Judges chap. 15). In Talmudic usage it can also mean to interdict or to declare a thing to be forbidden.<ref>Jastrow, Marcus, ''A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalami and the Midrashic Literature'' [i.e., of Aramaic] (1903, NY & London) page 98 left column, s.v. אסר.</ref>
* The regretted "oath" (''shava'', שׁבע)<ref>This word is the third in the ArtScroll edition; a comparison of just a few machzorim – ArtScroll, Birnbaum, Adler, and Rinat Yisroel – showed that different editions, presumably following various regional traditions, had very slight differences - in the order of the synonyms and a very few times an addition of a synonym for a sort of vow.</ref> was made at Mizpah to cause the tribe of Benjamin to dwindle nearly to extinction ({{Bibleverse|Judges|21:7|HE}}). A similar ''shava '' made by Saul, which would have resulted in his son's execution but for the acclamation of the entire army ({{Bibleverse|1 Samuel|14|HE}}).<ref>Rosenberg, Arnold S., ''Jewish Liturgy as a Spiritual System'' (1997, NJ, Jason Aronson Inc.) page 168.</ref>
* Consecration (''haromay'', חרמי) is used for things whose use is ''dedicated'' (usually to the Temple) as in {{Bibleverse|Leviticus|27:21,28|HE}}.
After this point Amram's Hebrew version ceases to list forms of vows and shifts to synonyms for the making of vows, the list in the present day Kol Nidre uses Aramaic non-Biblical synonyms for pledges, which do not have equivalents in Biblical Hebrew:
* ''Konamay'' (קונמי) is used in the Talmud for a vow by which a tool or furnishing is forbidden for mundane use because pledged to Temple usage,<ref>Jastrow, Marcus, ''A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalami and the Midrashic Literature'' [i.e., of Aramaic] (1903, NY & London) page 1335 right column, s.v. קונם.</ref>
* ''kinusay'' (קנוסי) is used in the Talmud as a synonym for ''konamay''.<ref>Jastrow, Marcus, ''A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalami and the Midrashic Literature'' [i.e., of Aramaic] (1903, NY & London) page 1393 left column, s.v. קנס.</ref>

Though these promises to God may have been ill-considered, the failure to keep them is a recurring offense – and acting as if promises made to God were so trifling that they could be thoughtlessly forgotten is a further offense;<ref>[[Yonah Gerondi|Rabbeinu Yonah]] (ca. 1200–1263), ''Shaarei Teshuva'': ''The Gates of Repentance'' (written c. 1260, first printed 1505) "Third Gate", paragraph 74; "[I]f the delay in the fulfillment of his vows proceeds from forgetfulness, he is punished for this too; for, knowing that forgetfulness is common in a man, he should have reminded himself of his vows and constantly brought them to heart, so as not to forget them, as it is said, 'It is a snare for a man rashly to say, "Holy", and after vows to make inquiry' (Proverbs 20:25)." (English translation published by Feldheim Publishers, NY, 1967, p. 193).</ref> the only remedy is, first, to admit that these promises will never be fulfilled, by formally cancelling them – which is one of the purposes of the Kol Nidrei, and then to repent for them – which is the purpose of the Day of Atonement.

It has even been suggested that Kol Nidrei includes vows that had been fulfilled, because the Torah forbids the making of vows, so that even those which were kept required atonement. There is also a kabbalistic or spiritual purpose to Kol Nidrei: God has vowed, in Scripture, to punish Jewry for its sins; therefore by demonstrating that we can and do cancel our own vows, we hope to induce God to cancel His own dire decrees.<ref>Scherman, Nosson, ''The Complete ArtScroll Machzor, Yom Kippur, Nusach Ashkenaz'' (1986, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) p. 52 (commentary to Kol Nidrei Service); Gold, Avi, in Scherman, Nosson, ''Yom Kippur—its significance, laws, and prayers'' (1989, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) p. 130; Munk, Elie, ''The World of Prayer'' (1963, NY, Feldheim) vol. 2, pp. 230–231; Davidson, Israel, "Kol Nidre", ''The American Jewish Year Book 5684''(1923, NY) pp. 185–186.</ref>

Kol Nidrei also admits our moral inconstancy. We made promises and pledges to God, often at a peak feeling of devotion or gratitude—or of desperation, but our good intentions are short-lived, and we allowed the promises to slip from our attention.<ref>Arzt, Maz, ''Justice and Mercy: Commentary on the Liturgy of the New Year and Day of Atonement'' (1963, NY, Holt, Rinehart and Winston) p. 202.</ref>

The text presented here is taken from the ArtScroll Mahzor for Yom Kippur (Ashkenaz ed.),<ref>Scherman, Nosson, ''The Complete ArtScroll Machzor, Yom Kippur, Nusach Ashkenaz'' (1986, Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns) p. 58.</ref> which uses the formula "from this Day of Atonement to the next" in its main text but allows the alternative ("from the last Day of Atonement to this Day") as a parenthetical option. The Hebrew version of Kol Nidrei set out in the Siddur of Rav Amram Gaon (ca. 870) uses the formula "from the last ... to this ...",<ref>reprinted in Birnbaum, Philip, ''High Holyday Prayer Book'' (1951, NY, Hebrew Publ'g Co.) p. 491.</ref> and similarly De Sola Pool.<ref>de Sola Pool, David, ''Prayers for the Day of Atonement, according to the custom of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews'' (2nd ed., 1943, NY, Union of Sephardic Congregations) p. 26.</ref> Wolf von Heidenheim's mahzor uses "from this Day ... to the next ...",<ref>von Heidenheim, Wolf, ''Mahzor [L'Arvit Yom Kippur]'' (German-Hebrew ed. 1905, vol. 6, Rodelheim) p. 28.|http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b2505777;view=1up;seq=34</ref> and similarly Adler,<ref>Adler, Herbert M., ''Service of the Synagogue: Day of Atonement'' (1923, London, Routledge) p. 15</ref> and Birnbaum.<ref>Birnbaum, Philip, ''High Holyday Prayer Book'' (1951, NY, Hebrew Publ'g Co.) p. 489.</ref> The Rinat Yisroel combines both, "from the last ... to this..., and from this....",<ref>Tal, Shlomo, ''Mahzor Rinat Yisroel, Yom Kippur, Ashkenaz''(1979, Jerusalem) p. 40.</ref> and similarly the Syrian and other Sefardic or Mizrahi traditions set forth in the Orot mahzor<ref name="ToledanoEliezer">Toledano, Eliezer, ''The Orot Sephardic Yom Kippur Mahazor'' (1997, Lakewood, NJ, Orot) Syrian version pp. 79–80 and the version for "many" Sefardic/Mizrahi congregations pp. 84–85, and some recite—in the course of the three repetitions—both alternatives, p. 78.</ref> and the Bagdadi version.<ref>Hotsin, Shlomo, ''Sefer Hayim Tovim, Mahzor Yom Kippur, minhag Bagdadi'', (1891, Baghdad) [p. 21].</ref>

The Sefardic and Mizrahi traditions add one or two more synonyms for pledges (such as ''harem'').<ref name="ToledanoEliezer" /><ref>Rabbi Toledano's ''Orot Sephardic Yom Kippur Mahazor'' has the following terms for vows not used in the ArtScroll Ashkenaz version: ''nidooyay'' &nbsp; נדוּיי (anathematize), and ''koonachay'' &nbsp; קוּנחי (vows of abstinence) and includes, after "that we have sworn", verses saying "that we have banned, that we have accepted as forbidden [for mundane purposes], that we have anathematized, or that we have prohibited ourselves".</ref> Some Ashkenaz and Sefardic editions omit "and any synonymous terms"—וכנויי—that appears here in the first sentence.<ref>Of the mahzorim already mentioned, the word appears in the Heidenheim, ArtScroll, Rinat Yisroel, and Adler editions, but is lacking in the Rav Amram, Birnbaum, Orot, Bagdadi, and De Sola Pool editions.</ref>