Kal Nidrei

History
Kal Nidrei is a tefil done on the eve of Yom Kippur, starting the religious
service. Through the Kol Nidrei, it is declared that all the promises we have
made and have not kept are annulled. This tefil is based on the biblical
mandate that says that a Jew should not break any promises. It is about the
annullment of promises made voluntarily to the Almighty but not kept or
left unfulfilled due to the limited capacity of man.
However, in regards to promises made amongst men, Kol Nidrei is not
applicable. A person cannot be released from an obligation to another
withouth the consent of the person in question.
Its been suggested that the Kal Nidrei prayer was written by the Jews of
Spain in the times of King Recaredo I (586-601), After the prosecution of
his Jewish subjects. Recaredo ordered the conversion of Jews to
Catholicism. They must have felt the need to resist these provisions that
were against their conscience and will. With the coming of Yom Kipur,
when they gathered clandestinely to offer their pledges to the L-RD, the
majority stood to delcare that all vows and promises were null and void
since they had been made under coercion. That is how the prayer formula
used to this day was introduced. It is also probable that under those
circumstances the emotional acordes(melody?) of Kol Nidrei was
composed.
Later, this custom extended to neighboring countries through the migration
of marranos, and was retained during times of religious freedom.
Often when the marranos visited their brothers in the Yamim Noraim in
the Portuguese synagoges of Amsterdam and Hamburg, the latter were
opposed to admitting them into their congregations. They argued that the
marranos should have fled and abandoned all their possessions in Spain
rather than submit to conversion. Thus, the sages of that generation
ordered the recitaiton of the following phrase:
''''
Invoking Divine sanction and with the approval of this sacred
congregation declare: we are lawful to pray with transgressors
(transgressors meaning the Avarianim, the marranos)

Avarianim could be a reference to the Spanish peninsula, since in Europe

its inhabitants were referred to as Iberians.
Kol Nidrei truly resonates with the millenial clamor and generates a very
particular atmosphere in the Beit Hakneset, the melody produces a strong
emotion creating a spiritual force that evokes the trascendencia del da que
comienza.

Melody
Max Bruch y Kol Nidrei
For some the source of the Kol Nidrei dates back to the period of the
Western Goths, when entire communities were forced to baptize only to
congegrate in secret Yom Kipur and repeat this prayer to avoid falling into
perjury. Others affirm that the melody was created during the Babylonic
exile and that it dates to Talmudic times during the Middle Ages between
600 and 11000.
No other traditional Jewish melody has attracted so much attention from
composers y in the last few centuriess like Kol Nidrei. The voice, piano,
organ, violin and cello arrangements are innumerable.
In the first measures of the Beethovens quartet for strings Op. 131 the
beginning of Kol Nidrei is recognizable, Arnold Schoenberg composed a
piece based on this prayer, but perhaps the best known and most moving
arrangenment is the one by Max Bruch, Opus 47 Adagio on 2 Hebrew
Melodies for Cellor and Orchestra with Harp. This work, which every
cellist must interpret at some point in his career, was composed in 1881.
Bruch, both German and Protestant, became familiar with the melody when
his teacher, Ferdinand Hiller, introduced him to the Liechtenstein family in

Berlin. Bruch said that despite being Protestant, he was captivated by the
beauty of the melody. He felt proud of the orchestral arrangement he had
done and that he had incorporated Jewish songs not only in his
compositions but also to the musical repertoire of the concert halls.

Relatos
Legend on the origins of Kol Nidrei
In times of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Jewish Manuel de Texeiro belonged
to the Spanish court. Great was the affection that the royal couple had for
the Jewish courtier, and when they gave the edict of expulsion of Jews from
Spain in 1492, Manuel de Texeiro was forced to stay by their side. Don
Manuel, however, continued to be true to the faith of his elders. There
weren't many religious practices that he and the other marranos could
observe in secret, but Yom Kippur was devoutly observed by all,
eventhough they were jeopardizing their lives. The marranos met in a
hidden cave, away from prying eyes, to raise their prayers to G-d. However,
on a fateful day of Yom Kippur, the agents of the Inquisition came upon
them, and all were sentenced to death at the stake. Only Manuel de Texeiro,
by special monarch decree was spared his life, but on one condition: that he
publicly denounce his terrible sin".
Don Manuel flatly refused to accept. He wanted to follow the fate of his
brothers and die with them, sanctifying the Divine Name ("Al Kiddush
Hashem"). But the King, who truly cared for him, personally visited him in
prison and begged and implored him so much, that Don Manuel, his soul
torn, finally agreed. The day of the Act of Faith arrived. One after another
the convicted of sanctifying the name of G-d were atoned. When it was Don
Manuel's turn . He approached the Grand Inquisitor and was invited to
publicly express repentance for sins. The square was full of peasants, of
nobles, of senior members of the Court. Don Manuel ascended the steps
leading to the burning pyre. All eyes turned to the upright figure of the Jew,
whose back was to the tongues of fire that danced like a wordless cry. All
the murmurs, suddenly ceased. And in the silence rose the powerful voice
of Don Manuel de Texeiro "For 3000 years, the people of Israel have kept
faithful to the Torah, the law of Moses, that was given on Mount Sinai amid
a pillar of fire. We must also return with her to the bosom of the people."

Thus saying, he threw himself on the burning pyre and gave his soul by
proclaiming the "Shema Israel". An inspired composer, who was among the
thousands of spectators, went home with his soul deeply shaken by the
macabre spectacle he had just witnessed. In a fit of inspiration, he narrated
the immortal tones of the martyrdom of the Marranos.
Thus, according to legend, this profound, touching, melancholy thrilling
and eloquent melody was born, the most beautiful and of most musical
value in the whole of Jewish ritual. (Excerpt from "Days of Awe" series
"Lamoadim" Irgun "Bnei Akiva", 1974)
On the annulment of the promises
It is known that the prayer of Kol Nidrei was often the cause of accusations
against the Jews throughout history. Jewry 's enemies used this prayer to
prove to their ignorant followers that a Jew could override his promises and
was therefore not to be trusted .
Thus, on June 24, 1240 , Rabbi Yechiel of Paris refuted the assertions made
by Bishop Nicholas Dunin in the presence of King Louis IX and Queen
Mother Blanche of Castile, by citing evidence demonstrated in the Talmud that Kol Nidrei does not absolve a Jew of promises made to others.
In 1656 , Manasseh Ben Israel had a similar experience in his negotiations
with Cromwell for the readmission of Jews to England. Still later, after
repeated presentations to the Russian authorities by unfriendly citizens ,
they issued an order in 1857, prescribing a special introduction to the
prayer of Kol Nidrei . It is explicitly stated that is only applicable to those
promises that involve the person making them and not to any other.
(Excerpt from : The Cycle of the Jewish Year , Yaacov Vainstein
Kol Nidrei at Auschwitz , 1943 .
In Block 27 in Auschwitz there were 600 women. One wing was for Jewish
women and the other for Christian, Ukrainian and Polish women. To
contain the large number of prisoners that increased with the constant
arrival of the "transports ", it was decided to divide the Block with medians.
The distance between them was two meters. Each cabin contained three
benches for five women each. There was great overcrowding. The "menu"
consisted of bitter coffee in the morning, soup at noon and 200 grams of
bread in the evening.
One afternoon I came home from work and I stood in line next to the door
to receive my daily ration. That afternoon I was surprised to find some
candles next to my bread. I was amazed and asked around to clarify the
matter. "This evening is Yom Kippur," came the response. I was again
surprised when I saw Jewish women who were preparing to fast, despite

the famine conditions in which we lived every day. That Kol Nidrei, women
of Israel were in front of the lit candles . The light is spread throughout the
Block, while they cried and prayed. The Catholic women in the adjoining
wing watched and grew silent.
A profound silence housed the entire Block; on one side, Jewish women
faced the lit candles, on the other, Polish and Ukrainian women were
surprised to observe the environment. Suddenly a Polish women came over
to our side of the Block and said, "Jewish companions, today, on the day of
your Holy Day, we wish you to be deserving of celebrating the next Yom
Kippur in liberty, and when you return to your homes, to find your families
there ... "
I do not remember the rest of her speech, I just remember the
overwhelming emotion that arose between us. It was a moment of
brotherhood among human beings, in a place where man was treated worse
than an animal. And the most surprising thing happened the next day.
Since the Jewish women fasted, food rations were left untouched
throughout the day. Despite the hunger and excruciating conditions, each
ration remained there until the first star appeared, until the fast ended.
Excerpt from the diary of Naomi Yudkovsky, Kibutz Lojamei Haghetahot