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All These Vows: Kol Nidre
The most memorable prayer of the Jewish New Year what it means, why we sing it, and the secret of its magical appeal.
Through a series of lively commentaries, over thirty contributors men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, spanning three continents and all major Jewish denominations examine Kol Nidre's theology, usage, and deeply personal impact. They trace the actual history of the prayer and attempts through the ages to emend it, downplay it and even do away with it all in vain. They explore why Kol Nidre remains an annual liturgical highlight that is regularly attended even by Jews who disbelieve everything the prayer says.
Prayers of AweAn exciting new series that examines the High Holy Day liturgy to enrich the praying experience of everyone whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.
Contributors:
Rabbi Tony Bayfield, CBE, DD Dr. Annette M. Boeckler Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler Dr. Erica Brown Dr. Eliezer Diamond Rabbi Ruth Durchslag, PsyD Rachel Farbiarz Rabbi Edward Feinstein Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur Rabbi Elie Kaunfer Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar Dr. Reuven Kimelman Dr. Mark Kligman Rabbi Lawrence Kushner Rabbi Noa Kushner Rabbi Daniel Landes Liz Lerman Catherine Madsen Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD Ruth Messinger Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum Rabbi Aaron Panken, PhD Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin Rabbi David Stern Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD Dr. Ellen M. Umansky Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD Dr. Ron Wolfson Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel Dr. Wendy Zierler"
Through a series of lively commentaries, over thirty contributors men and women, scholars and rabbis, artists and poets, spanning three continents and all major Jewish denominations examine Kol Nidre's theology, usage, and deeply personal impact. They trace the actual history of the prayer and attempts through the ages to emend it, downplay it and even do away with it all in vain. They explore why Kol Nidre remains an annual liturgical highlight that is regularly attended even by Jews who disbelieve everything the prayer says.
Prayers of AweAn exciting new series that examines the High Holy Day liturgy to enrich the praying experience of everyone whether experienced worshipers or guests who encounter Jewish prayer for the very first time.
Contributors:
Rabbi Tony Bayfield, CBE, DD Dr. Annette M. Boeckler Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler Dr. Erica Brown Dr. Eliezer Diamond Rabbi Ruth Durchslag, PsyD Rachel Farbiarz Rabbi Edward Feinstein Rabbi Shoshana Boyd Gelfand Rabbi Andrew Goldstein, PhD Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, PhD Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur Rabbi Elie Kaunfer Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar Dr. Reuven Kimelman Dr. Mark Kligman Rabbi Lawrence Kushner Rabbi Noa Kushner Rabbi Daniel Landes Liz Lerman Catherine Madsen Rabbi Jonathan Magonet, PhD Rabbi Dalia Marx, PhD Ruth Messinger Rabbi Charles H. Middleburgh, PhD Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum Rabbi Aaron Panken, PhD Rabbi Marc Saperstein, PhD Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Rabbi Jonathan P. Slater, DMin Rabbi David Stern Rabbi David A. Teutsch, PhD Dr. Ellen M. Umansky Rabbi Margaret Moers Wenig, DD Dr. Ron Wolfson Rabbi Daniel G. Zemel Dr. Wendy Zierler"
288 pages, Paperback
First published August 12, 2011
About the author
Lawrence A. Hoffman
72 books16 followersDr. Lawrence A. Hoffman was ordained as a rabbi in 1969, received his Ph.D. in 1973, and has taught since then at the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, in New York. From 1984 to 1987, he directed its School of Sacred Music as well. In 2003, he was named the first Barbara and Stephen Friedman Professor of Liturgy, Worship and Ritual. He teaches classes in liturgy, ritual, spirituality, theology and synagogue leadership. For almost forty years, he has combined research, teaching, and a passion for the spiritual renewal of North American Judaism.
Rabbi Hoffman has written or edited over forty books, including My People's Prayer Book (Jewish Lights Publishing), a ten-volume edition of the Siddur with modern commentaries, which was named a National Jewish Book Award winner for 2007. His Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life (Jewish Lights Publishing) and his Art of Public Prayer (Skylight Paths) are widely used by churches and synagogues as guides to organizational visioning and liturgical renewal. In 2011, he received a second National Jewish Book Award for co-authoring Sacred Strategies: Transforming Synagogues from Functional to Visionary (Alban Institute).
His articles, both popular and scholarly, have appeared in eight languages and four continents, and include contributions to such encyclopedias as The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion, The Oxford Dictionary of Religion, The Encyclopedia of Judaism and The Encyclopedia of Religion in America. He syndicates a regular column which appears, among other places, in The Jewish Week and The Jewish Times; and writes a blog entitled "Life and a Little Liturgy."
For many years, Rabbi Hoffman served as visiting professor of the University of Notre Dame, and has lectured at such places as the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the University of Southern California, and the Yale Divinity School.
In 1990, Dr. Hoffman was selected by the United States Navy as a member of a three-person design team, charged with developing a continuing education course on worship for chaplains. He is a past-president of the North American Academy of Liturgy, the professional and academic organization for liturgists, and in January 2004, received that organization's annual Berakhah Award, for outstanding lifetime contributions to his field.
In 1994, he co-founded "Synagogue 2000," a trans-denominational project to envision the ideal synagogue "as moral and spiritual center" for the 21st century. As Synagogue 3000, it has launched Next Dor, a national initiative to engage the next generation through a relational approach featuring strong communities with transformed synagogues at their center.
He founded and is Academic Coordinator of the Tisch Fellowship Program.
Rabbi Hoffman has written or edited over forty books, including My People's Prayer Book (Jewish Lights Publishing), a ten-volume edition of the Siddur with modern commentaries, which was named a National Jewish Book Award winner for 2007. His Rethinking Synagogues: A New Vocabulary for Congregational Life (Jewish Lights Publishing) and his Art of Public Prayer (Skylight Paths) are widely used by churches and synagogues as guides to organizational visioning and liturgical renewal. In 2011, he received a second National Jewish Book Award for co-authoring Sacred Strategies: Transforming Synagogues from Functional to Visionary (Alban Institute).
His articles, both popular and scholarly, have appeared in eight languages and four continents, and include contributions to such encyclopedias as The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion, The Oxford Dictionary of Religion, The Encyclopedia of Judaism and The Encyclopedia of Religion in America. He syndicates a regular column which appears, among other places, in The Jewish Week and The Jewish Times; and writes a blog entitled "Life and a Little Liturgy."
For many years, Rabbi Hoffman served as visiting professor of the University of Notre Dame, and has lectured at such places as the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the University of Southern California, and the Yale Divinity School.
In 1990, Dr. Hoffman was selected by the United States Navy as a member of a three-person design team, charged with developing a continuing education course on worship for chaplains. He is a past-president of the North American Academy of Liturgy, the professional and academic organization for liturgists, and in January 2004, received that organization's annual Berakhah Award, for outstanding lifetime contributions to his field.
In 1994, he co-founded "Synagogue 2000," a trans-denominational project to envision the ideal synagogue "as moral and spiritual center" for the 21st century. As Synagogue 3000, it has launched Next Dor, a national initiative to engage the next generation through a relational approach featuring strong communities with transformed synagogues at their center.
He founded and is Academic Coordinator of the Tisch Fellowship Program.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 15, 2019
Excellent and accessible. Some of the essays are better than others.
April 19, 2026
Kol no-way!
September 23, 2013
This book was very helpful in preparing a program for Selichot about Kol Nidre. I loved how I could read short essays and then gain another perspective from the next one. Some of the essays were too short! I wanted more. However, the overall book is a rich edition to my library. It gives you historical roots, musical understanding, linguistic perspective, modern interpretations and personal vignettes. Could be a good adult study choice.
October 19, 2015
Wonderful exploration of one of the most powerfully moving and yet inexplicable services of the Jewish High Holidays. In a series of essays, this book explores the history and meaning of Yom Kippur's Kol Nidre service and explains why the Rabbis tried to eliminate it from the service book. Each essay contains a tidbit of knowledge about the history of Kol Nidre as well as a interpretations of what it might mean for us in the modern world. Great book.
September 16, 2015
There were a couple of essays I really liked, but most of them I found repetitive.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews