KOL NIDRE: A PERSONAL JOURNEY 

Cantor Samuel B. Radwine

Congregation Etz Chaim of Northwest Arkansas

Bentonville, AR

“This is perhaps the most difficult thing that you will sing all year.”  These were the words of a cantorial mentor of mine as we began to study the singing of Kol Nidre.  His argument continued:

1.)     It is the first thing that you will sing in the service; there is NO warm-up. 

2.)    In the traditional service, it is sung 3 times.  How do you deal with the repetition and still make it engaging to the worshipper?

3.)    There is probably no other piece in the yearly cycle of liturgy that holds such high expectations by the congregation.  In other words, a cantor’s career might be “made or broken” by his/her recitation of Kol Nidre.

Even today, I carry that caveat with me whenever I prepare to sing Kol Nidre.  Vocal warm-ups are somewhat akin to going to the gym.  “Use it or lose it!”  The years have taught me that there is a balance in preparation, not only for singing, but also for enduring the fast.

Reciting Kol Nidre three times is a tradition that is often misinterpreted.  Simply, the custom was adapted in order to make sure that “late-comers” didn’t miss it.  But the challenge remains for the Hazzan.  Instructive here is the Machzor Vitry (early 12th century) which gives the following directions: "The first time he (the Hazzan) must utter it very softly like one who hesitates to enter the palace of the king to ask a gift of him whom he fears to approach; the second time he may speak somewhat louder; and the third time more loudly still, as one who is accustomed to dwell at court and to approach his sovereign as a friend." 

Somehow, we all refer to Kol Nidre as “a prayer.”  In reality, it is a legal formula; its recitation traditionally precedes the actual Maariv service.  Throughout the ages, there has been controversy as to its inclusion.  Particularly during times of persecution, there was a concern that the words might be used by anti-Semites to somehow construe that the word of the Jew could not be trusted.  There was also the view that “vows” were problematic in their nature.  The early Reformers of 19th Century Germany removed the text altogether, replacing it with hymns or Psalm 130.  It was not restored to the Reform Prayer Book until 1961.

With all of this information about the “most difficult” piece to sing, my studies hit a wall.  I asked myself, “how can I possibly find meaning in a text that presents such issues.”  At the time, I was working with a vocal coach who was of Native American ancestry.  I took my dilemma to him and his response is one that I carry to the bimah each Kol Nidre. He offered the following visualization, drawing from Native American practice.

“Stand at the “amud” and look upon all who have gathered.  And now, realize that there is someone who is standing behind you.  It is the one who you first remembered hearing the “Kol Nidre.”  Behind him stands another one, from whom he first heard Kol Nidre.  And behind him, another, and so on and so on.  The line behind you disappears in the distance.  But now, it is your turn.  The infinite recitations of Kol Nidre through the ages, now come through you as you join all of those who came before you.”

              And so again this year, for the 43rd time, my childhood rabbi, Meyer M. Abramowitz, of blessed memory, will stand behind me along with those behind him.  I share this because you do not need to be a Cantor or a Rabbi to do this.  On this Yom Kippur, I invite you to invite all of those who came before you to be with you, to sit in their midst, and to draw strength, wisdom, knowledge, and humility from all of them.  And then, may you be ready to embark on the teshuvah, the journey of personal repentance required of us.

G’mar Hatimah Tovah—May you be sealed for good in the Book of Life.

 Cantor Sam Radwine

Cantor Sam Radwine is the Religious Leader of Congregation Etz Chaim of Northwest Arkansas, in Bentonville.  He was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music in New York in 1981.  He is also the Cantor Emeritus of Congregation Ner Tamid of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA.  Cantor Radwine serves on the faculty of the Academy for Jewish Religion/California in Los Angeles, and will receive his rabbinical ordination from that seminary next May.