The Kol Nidre is the holiest Jewish prayer and is recited
several times on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It means "all vows" and is a
flat statement that no promise of any kind will be kept for the coming year. It
is also sung by the cantor in synagogue, accompanied on the violin and goes like
this:
"All vows, obligations, oaths or anathemas, pledges of all
names, which we have vowed, sworn, devoted, or bound ourselves to, from this day
of atonement, until the next day of atonement (whose arrival we hope for in
happiness) we repent, aforehand, of them all, they shall all be deemed absolved,
forgiven, annulled, void and made of no effect; they shall not be binding, nor
have any power; the vows shall not be reckoned as vows, the obligations shall
not be obligatory, nor the oaths considered as oaths."
"The Jazz
Singer," the first talkie with Al Jolsen, describes the great devotion that Jews
have for this "prayer." Jolsen plays a cantor's son who tries to break away from
Jewish tradition but who in the end is drawn back to it, finally agreeing to
sing the Kol Nidre on the great day. It is ironic that Hollywood's first motion
picture with sound should have dealt with this explosive subject, even if the
words were sung in Hebrew. Can any person or people with this
mentality be trusted? The Kol Nidre mentality is the underlying cause for all
the anti-Jewish reaction by normal people down through the ages. Have we ever
heard a renunciation of this "prayer" by any Jew - orthodox, reform or
otherwise? In fact, how many of us are even aware of this subversive practice,
this license to lie, which is glorified in a holy ritual every year?
Every Jew in a position of power, from Paul Wolfowitz to your judge,
doctor or teacher, should be questioned on this subject. Jewish judges should be
asked to recuse themselves on this grounds automatically. Only in this positive
but defensive manner can we at this late date begin to take charge of our lives
by denouncing the lie of "anti-Semitism" and confronting those whose practices
are based on deception. Remember the motto of Israel's elite
organization, the Mossad: "By way of deception thou shalt make war."
