Editing Kol Nidre (section)

== Historical controversies ==
===Use by anti-semites===
The ''Kol Nidrei'' prayer has been used by non-Jews as a basis for asserting that an oath taken by a Jew may not be trusted.<ref>The Jewish encyclopedia cites the following references:
* Wagenseil, ''Tela Ignea, Disputatio R. Jechielis''. p. 23
* Eisenmenger, ''Entdecktes Judenthum'', vol. ii., ch. ix., pp. 489 et seq. Königsberg, 1711
* Bodenschatz, ''Kirchliche Verfassung der Heutigen Juden'', part ii., ch. v., § 10, Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1748
* Rohling, ''Der Talmudjude'', pp. 80 et seq., Münster, 1877</ref>
Historically, this accusation was leveled so often and so persistently that many non-Jewish legislators considered it necessary to have a special form of oath administered to Jews ("[[Oath More Judaico]]"), and many judges refused to allow them to take a supplementary oath, basing their objections chiefly on this prayer. As early as 1240 in the [[Disputation]] of Paris, [[Yechiel of Paris]] was obliged to defend ''Kol Nidrei'' against these charges.<ref name=JE/> The Russian government, in 1857, decreed that the prayerbooks must include, as an introduction to Kol Nidrei, a Hebrew explanation to the readers of the limited nature of the vows that could be released by this ceremony.<ref>''The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1942, NY) s.v. Kol Nidre, vol. 6, p. 441; Jacobson, Bernhard S., ''Days of Awe'' (orig. 1936, Engl. trans. 1978, Tel Aviv, Sinai Publ'g) p. 117.</ref>

As Prof. [[Ismar Elbogen]] said in his monumental study of Jewish Liturgy:<blockquote>It is well known how many baseless accusations the text of [''Kol Nidre''] has aroused against Jews in the course of centuries. But nowhere in the sources can any interpretation of a morally offensive nature be found, for the [rabbinic] authorities agree unanimously that the text has in view only obligations undertaken by an individual toward himself or ''obligations respecting cultic regulations of the community''.<ref>Elbogen, Ismar, ''Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History'' (1913, German edition, page 154; Engl.transl. 1993, Philadelphia, Jewish Publ'n Soc.) page 128, ''emphasis added''.</ref></blockquote>

===Jewish rebuttals===
[[Rabbi]]s have always pointed out that the dispensation from vows in ''Kol Nidrei'' refers only to those an individual voluntarily assumes for himself alone and in which no other persons or their interests are involved.{{fact|date=August 2024}} The first verse ends with a qualifier for all the forms of pledges and vows being annulled—ע&#1463;ל נ&#1463;פ&#1456;ש&#1473;&#1464;ת&#1464;&#1469;נ&#1464;א—"regarding ourselves"—by which this formula is limited to annulling only those vows that would affect only ourselves but not vows that would affect any other person.<ref>Jacobson, Bernhard S., Days of Awe (orig. 1936, Engl. trans. 1978, Tel Aviv, Sinai Publ'g) p. 111.</ref> The formula is restricted to those vows between man and God alone; they have no effect on vows made between one man and another. No vow, promise, or oath that concerns another person, a court of justice, or a community is implied in ''Kol Nidrei''. It does not matter if a vow was made to one or more non-Jews, such a vow cannot be annulled.<ref>Bloch, Joseph S. (1850–1923), ''Israel and the Nations'' (published in German 1922, English transl. 1927, Vienna) p. 282. "It makes no difference whatever whether the oath was sworn to a Jew or to an inferior idolater. The rabbis point out the sad end of King Zedekiah of Judea as a just punishment of God for his having broken the oath that he had sworn to the pagan king of Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar...."(referring to Zedekiah's presumed oath of fealty when Nebuchadnezzar had installed him on the throne, violated when Zedekiah mounted an insurrection, Second Kings 24:17–25:7). By the same token, the peace treaty made with the Gibeonites was adhered to notwithstanding that the Gibeonites had obtained it by fraud (Joshua, chap. 9).</ref> According to Jewish doctrine, the sole purpose of this prayer is to give protection from divine punishment in case of violation of the vow.<ref name=Jewish_enc>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=K&artid=340 |title=The Jewish Encyclopedia: Kol Nidre |last=Jacobs |first=Joseph |author2=Max Schloessinger |author3=Cyrus Adler |author4=Francis L. Cohen }}</ref>

With reference to the annulment of vows described in {{Bibleverse|Numbers|30|HE}}, as well as to Kol Nidre, the then Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, [[Joseph Hertz]] wrote:<ref>Hertz, J.H., ''Pentateuch and Haftorahs'' (1st ed. 1936, 2nd ed. 1960, London: Soncino Press) in "Additional Note to Numbers", 2nd ed p. 730, emphasis in original; and quoted in 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. 87.</ref>

<blockquote>... Not all vows or oaths could be absolved. A vow or oath that was made to another person, even be that person a child or a heathen, could not be annulled except in the presence of that person and with his consent; while ''an oath which a man had taken in a court of justice could not be absolved by any other authority in the world''. </blockquote>

As pointed out above, many rabbis state that the vows referred to are applicable only to the individual, and not interpersonally. Moreover, the Biblical verse quoted at the end clearly refers to vows that were unintentionally unkept, not premeditatedly broken. It refers only to vows between the person making them and God, such as "I swear that if I pass this test, I'll pray every day for the next 6 months!" or simply "I swear that I will stop smoking this year!"

Because this declaration has often been held up by anti-Semites as proof that Jews are untrustworthy, the Reform movement removed it from the liturgy - temporarily, but there was enough popular demand for its restoration. In fact, the reverse is true: Jews cherish this ritual because they take vows so seriously that they consider themselves bound even if they make the vows under duress or in times of stress when not thinking straight. This ritual gave comfort to those who were forcibly converted to Christianity, yet felt unable to break their vow to follow Christianity. In recognition of that history, the Reform movement restored this recitation to its liturgy.<ref>Petuchowski, Jakob J., ''Prayerbook Reform in Europe: The Liturgy of European Liberal and Reform Judaism'' (1968, NY, World Union for Progressive Judaism Ltd.) chapter 15; Friedland, Eric L., ''The Historical and Theological Development of the Non-Orthodox Prayerbooks in the United States'', doctoral dissertation, 1967, NY, Brandeis Univ.) chapter 11; Gershon, Stuart W., ''Kol Nidrei, Its Origin, Development, and Significance'' (1994, NJ, Jason Aronson) chapter 11; Hoffman, Lawrence A., ''Gates of Understanding 2: Appreciating the Days of Awe'' [companion volume to Stern, Chaim, ''Gates of Repentance'', a Reform prayerbook for the High Holydays](1984, NY, Central Conference of American Rabbis) pp. 114–119 and 201–202.</ref>

===Jewish opposition===

Five [[geonim]] (rabbinic leaders of medieval Babylonian Jewry) were against, while only one was in favor of reciting the formula. [[Saadia Gaon]] (early 10th century) wished to restrict it to those vows extorted from the congregation in the synagogue in times of persecution,<ref>[[Kol Bo]], 68</ref> and he declared explicitly that the "Kol Nidre" gave no absolution from oaths an individual took during the year.<ref name=Jewish_enc />

[[Judah ben Barzillai]] (Spain, 12th century), in his work on Jewish law "Sefer haIttim", declares that the custom of reciting the ''Kol Nidre'' was unjustifiable and misleading, since many ignorant persons believe that all their vows and oaths are annulled through this formula, and consequently they take such obligations on themselves carelessly.<ref name=Jewish_enc /> For the same reason [[Rabbenu Yerucham]] (Provence, 14th century) criticized those who, relying on ''Kol Nidrei'', made vows recklessly, and he declared them incapable of giving testimony.<ref>The Jewish encyclopedia cites the following references:
* ''Toledot Adam veHavah'', ed. 1808, section 14, part iii., p. 88
* Zunz, "G. V." p. 390</ref> Other prominent opponents of it in the Middle Ages include [[Yom Tov Asevilli]] ("Ritva", ca. 1330);<ref>In his "Ḥiddushim"</ref> [[Isaac ben Sheshet]] ("Rivash", d. 1406);<ref>Rivash, Responsa 394 (where is also a reference to the preceding)</ref> the author of the [[Kol Bo]] (15th century); and [[Leon of Modena]] (d. 1648).<ref>See [[N. S. Libowitz]], ''Leon Modena'', p.&nbsp;33, New York, 1901</ref> In addition, nearly all printed machzorim contain expositions and explanations of the "Kol Nidre" in the restricted sense mentioned above.