The Mystery and Power of Kol Nidrei

On the eve of Yom Kippur, as darkness settles and the congregation gathers, the haunting melody of Kol Nidrei fills the synagogue. Few prayers in our tradition carry such emotional weight. And yet, when we look at its actual content, it seems puzzling: a legal formula for the annulment of vows. Why should this be the emotional centerpiece of Yom Kippur, the holiest night of the year? Rabbi Paul Bloom offers an impactful explanation.

If the formula we sing on Kol Nidrei seems strange, even stranger is the ritual that accompanies it. We open the Aron HaKodesh, remove the Torah scrolls, walk around with them—and then return them without reading a single word. Nowhere else in the year do we take out the Torah without fulfilling the mitzvah of Keriyat HaTorah. Clearly, something deeper is happening here.

Re-enacting the Forgiveness of Sinai

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, in his sefer אוזניים לתורה, offers a profound perspective. He reminds us that Yom Kippur is the anniversary of the day Moshe Rabbeinu descended from Mount Sinai with the second set of Luchot, carrying with them Hashem’s forgiveness for the sin of the Golden Calf.

The Torah describes this as follows (שמות ל״ד:כ״ט):

וַיְהִי בְּרֶדֶת מֹשֶׁה מֵהַר סִינַי וּשְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה בְּרִדְתּוֹ מִן־הָהָר וּמֹשֶׁה לֹא־יָדַע כִּי קָרַן עוֹר פָּנָיו בְּדַבְּרוֹ אִתּו  

Moshe’s face shone with a radiant light so intense that the people could not look at him directly:  וַיִּירְאוּ מִגֶּשֶׁת אֵלָיו  (שמות ל״ד:ל). This is the meaning of the verse in Tehillim  (תהילים צ״ז:י״א): אוֹר זָרוּעַ לַצַּדִּיק וּלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵב שִׂמְחָה.

When we open the Aron HaKodesh on Kol Nidrei night, we symbolically open the Sha’arei Shamayim, the gates of Heaven. When we remove the Torah and walk with it, we reenact Moshe descending from Sinai with the Luchot, shining with Divine light. The procession with the Torah is not a formality—it is a renewal of our covenant, a reenactment of the moment when Hashem forgave our nation and gave us His Torah anew.

Kol Nidrei and the Power of Annulment

But why, at this moment, do we annul vows? Here Rav Sorotzkin points to a remarkable Midrash on parashat Ki Tisa. When Hashem threatened to destroy Israel for the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe pleaded (שמות ל״ב:י״א): לָמָה יְהוָה יֶחֱרֶה אַפְּךָ בְּעַמֶּך. 

The Midrash (שמות רבה מ״ג) explains that Hashem responded: “But I already swore that idolaters will be destroyed”—a reference to the verse (שמות כ״ב:י״ט):  זֹבֵחַ לָאֱלֹהִים יָחֳרָם בִּלְתִּי לַיהוָה לְבַדּוֹ.  Moshe replied that Hashem Himself had given the Torah’s laws of הַתָּרַת נְדָרִים. If a vow can be annulled by a sage, then surely Hashem’s oath can be released as well. 

The Midrash uses the verse from the laws of vows (במדבר ל׳:ג): לֹא יַחֵל דְּבָרוֹ כְּכָל־הַיֹּצֵא מִפִּיו יַעֲשֶׂה. The word יַחֵל is understood by Chazal not only as “he shall not profane his word,” but also as “he shall release” (יַתִּיר) his word. Thus, Moshe declared: “I will serve as the חכם who annuls Your vow.” And in that moment, Hashem forgave Israel.

The Heart of Yom Kippur

Kol Nidrei, then, is not about the dry legalities of vows. It is about memory, covenant, and forgiveness. It is about reopening the gates of Sinai, carrying the Torah anew into our lives, and recognizing that even when we fall, Hashem has given us a path back.

Each Yom Kippur, as we hear the trembling notes of Kol Nidrei, we relive Moshe’s role as מליץ יושר—the great defender of Israel. We feel anew the light of Torah descending into the world. And we remind ourselves that the gates of forgiveness, like the Aron HaKodesh itself, are never truly closed.

May this Kol Nidrei open for us a year of אוֹר, of blessing, of גאולה, and of שפע טוב.