Lawrence A. Hoffman

Let me start out by saying that Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman is an excellent speaker. The spoken presentation of the subject of this book is superior to the book. I was, however, not at all disappointed in the book. Rethinking Synagogues is crammed full of interesting discussion and great ideas in the struggle to reinvent Jewish worship, to retain its relevance.

The correct premise of the book is that ethnic nostalgia, memories of the Holocaust and "pediatric Judaism" or focus on pre-Bar show more Mitzvah schooling cannot sustain synagogues and by extension the Jewish religion. Something more is needed; and the author struggles with this. So much so that reading the book was a bit of a challenge. Ultimately Rethinking Synagogues is worthwhile reading.

But it is definitely a commitment. show less

Remarkably, very few people understand the content, purpose, and history of what many consider Judaism’s most important prayer, a recitation embroiled in controversy, a legal document that the rabbis tried to expunge from the high holiday Day of Atonement service, Kol Nidre. This book discusses and explains Kol Nidre.

What is Kol Nidre?
Kol Nidre means “All these vows.” It is not a prayer and is not addressed to God. It is a legal document, like one that lawyers today might draw up to show more protect a client from damages. It is composed very carefully in legal language, designed to annul vows by using the powers of a human court. Covering all bases, the recitation of Kol Nidre is effectuated by using the magical numbers seven and three. Kol Nidre, this book points out, “arose in the premodern world where superstition was still rampant.” The earliest mention of Kol Nidre is in the mid-eighth century in Babylon where the rabbis were expressing their dislike of it. (Kol Nidre was not developed in the fourteenth century to allow Spanish Jews who were forced to promise to give up Judaism to nullify this vow, as many presume.)

Since Judaism does not allow courts to adjudicate cases at night, Kol Nidre has to be recited before sundown. To highlight that it is still day, men put on the tallit before the service, for the tallit is worn during the day and not at night.

Can Vows be annulled?
The Bible offers no method to annul vows. Once a person makes a promise, the person must keep it, despite the consequences. This is seen in the story of Jephthah in Judges 11, where Jephthah foolishly promises to give to God “whatsoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace” from war. He thought that an animal would greet him, but it was his daughter, his only child, that came to him and he had to give her to God. The only exception is that the Torah allowed a father or husband to cancel a woman’s vow on the day he became aware of it because the Bible considered the woman’s vow only effective if her father or husband agreed with it.

However, in post-biblical times, the rabbis allowed the nullification of vows, under certain conditions, by a Jewish court of three. This court of three could be composed of three laymen. Thus, Kol Nidre is recited before a minimum of three men standing on the bema, the podium. Most synagogues have at least two of the men hold scrolls of the Torah – the cantor, being busy singing, is unable to also hold the Torah – to enhance the solemnity of the Kol Nidre recitation.

The use of three and seven
The ancients, non-Jews and Jews, thought that there is a mystical or magical quality to the numbers three and seven. Doing something three times makes the possibility of the request being effectuated more likely. Thus many Jews wash their hands three times in the morning to rid their bodies of demons that may have affected them during the night. Thus, too, Kol Nidre, its introductory few lines, and two prayers following Kol Nidre are recited three times. Seven is also seen to have powers, as when Joshua marched seven times around the city of Jericho to make it fall. Thus, the number seven is used in Kol Nidre.

The use of three and seven also end the service of Yom Kippur when “Blessed is the name (meaning, existence) of His glorious kingdom for ever” is recited three times, and “The Lord is God” seven times.

What does Kol Nidre say?
Legal documents attempt to cover every contingency. Therefore, Kol Nidre not only requests the three-man court to nullify vows, but any kind of promise made in any form. These include “prohibitions and oaths.” In fact, Kol Nidre mention seven synonyms for vows, the last being a catchall “or any equivalent term,” to end with seven. The recitation says that these should be “cancelled, nullified, powerless,” using again a total of seven synonyms for annulment, including the catchall “we regret them all.”

Kol Nidre ends with a three-fold declaration, which may be seen as the petitioner’s request or the courts decision: “The vows are not vows, the prohibitions not prohibitions, the oaths not oaths.”

Which oaths are we talking about, past or future ones?
The middle of the recitation is different in different synagogues and the original version was one of several reasons why the rabbis disliked Kol Nidre. Some people insist that it should states that we are talking about past vows, and this was the original version; others future vows, the language that was substituted in the twelfth century; and others both, a kind of compromise. There are legal, moral, social, philosophical and other problems with each version.

Kol Nidre Music
Perhaps the main reason for the continued recitation of Kol Nidre today despite the rabbinical opposition and the reason why so many Jews enjoy the service is the stirring and beautiful music of Kol Nidre that haunts the congregant long after its chanting. It creates a deep religious feeling that moves the Jewish heart. The first written evidence of the melody is in 1765, although scholars think that it was probably composed in sixteenth-century Germany.

Summary
Kol Nidre raises many problems. How can people rid themselves of promises? What happens to the person to whom the promise is made, who relied on the promise? Doesn’t this nullification create a feeling of not caring what one promises because the oath can be cancelled? What did non-Jews think about this practice? These matters are discussed, along with many other subjects, in this book.

Yet, despite its true meaning, problems, and opposition, Kol Nidre’s generally obscure words and its moving music create a spiritual mystique and a ceremony with many messages. It is the only service that inspires virtually every Jew to arrive in the synagogue on time to hear it. It highlights the optimistic understanding that we can and should change past errors. It reminds congregants to do so. The absence of God in the recitation and the use of a human court emphasizes that people should work with each other to improve themselves and society. It emphasizes the importance of words and relationships. It teaches people not to make oaths. It stresses that we can pray with sinners. Furthermore, the request to annul future vows can be seen as a determination to refrain from repeating mistakes in the future. show less

All very interesting, particularly when it is revealed that the ritual of MGM became a part of Jewish history during and after the Babylonian Captivity (597-538 BCE ... and only after the Persians allowed Jewish Priests to return to Palestine, where they imposed the ritual on their people. It was also during the Captivity that the entire story about the (putative) life of Abram ... becoming Abraham ... was inserted into the Biblical narrative. These facts make it possible to question the show more validity of every Biblical story ... and ... the entire historical basis for Judaism, as it now appears.

Hoffman begins his book by telling us: "If the physical act of circumcision is the cultural sign of Jewish existence, the cultural construction that it signifies is a covenant between the men being circumcised and God." However, as everyone knows, the cultural "sign" of Jewish existence is not the circumcision of men, but of infant boys .... non-consenting boys, who are forced to endure the rite.

Hoffman should have written: ... The cultural sign of Jewish existence is the ritual mutilation by men of the genitals of ... someone else ... someone almost always too young to object in any way except by screaming in pain, going into shock, throwing up, and sometimes being killed by infections transmitted by the sucking of blood from the boy's penis ....or by simply bleeding to death.

We can discuss and document the history of the ritual all we want, but the fact is ... grown men FORCE the ritual on non-consenting individuals, then claim their action was mandated by some God, when everyone now knows it was only the deliberate work of a few Jewish Priests and Scribes living in Babylon.

When are these people going to face facts? show less

A good resource, but I wish it was more accessible to people who aren't fluent in Hebrew. The biggest part of the book is a collection of blessings to say at various places in Israel, and most of them don't have full transliterations (saying them in English wouldn't necessarily feel the same). Also, I wish there was at least one map with English names instead of just Hebrew without vowels and in a very small font. Still, this would be a good supplement for those who already have a regular show more travel guide but want to add a spiritual dimension to their trip. show less