Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Happy's avatar

"For one thing, until the Shela (1558-1630), there’s no record of any such minhag. So it’s obviously not something that the Torah or Chazal felt was important."

I don't see why this is a compelling argument for anything. Do you have that problem with any minhag not mentioned in Chazal? Do you not do anything not mentioned in Chazal or the Torah? Do you refrain from Slichos during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva? Or any of the other hundreds of minhagim in Klal Yisrael? What about...Kol Nidrei?

"The Gemara (Nedarim 23:) does mention the possibility of annulling your vows in advance at the start of a new year but says nothing about seeking the removal of previous vows...But I’m aware of no halachic reason for this pro forma attempt to annul previous vows. In fact, the text of hataras nedarim itself acknowledges that it can’t work:"

The same questions apply to Kol Nidrei (also not mentioned in Chazal, yet it predates the Kabbalists and I'm sure you say it!) and says the Bais Yosef:

ומ"ש בשם הרא"ש ומיהו נראה כמנהג קדמונים דלשון כל נדרי מוכח שנתקן על הנדרים שעברו עליהם וכו' עד כי לכל העם בשגגה הכל בפסקיו בסוף יומא ומבואר בדבריו יישוב על מה שהוקשה לר"ת דמה שהקשה דבעינן חרטה אנן סהדי דכל מי שעבר על נדרו הוא מתחרט מעיקרו כדי להנצל מן העונש. ומה שהקשה דבעינן שלשה הדיוטות הרי כל הקהל אומרים אותו איש איש בלחש וגם לחזן הקהל מתירין והא דצריך לפרט הנדר דהיינו כשהנודר בא לפני החכם להתיר לו נדרו אולי נדר על דבר מצוה ולא יתיר החכם נדרו

Expand full comment
Todd Shandelman's avatar

Rabbi Clinton -

The standard German machzor (including the latest edition [Basel, 2020], which I own) features Hattaras Nedarim prominently at the beginning of (interestingly) the Yom Kippur (not Rosh Hashanah) volume. As you know, I grew up in the K'hal Adath Jeshurun (Frankfurt am Main, aka Hirschian) community in Washington Heights, upper Manhatttan. And as I recall, Hattaras Nedarim was regularly and dutifully recited in Rabbi Breuer's kehillah every year. I never heard of anyone there hesitating to do so because of the reason(s) you cited. Which of course does not even in the least diminish from the truth or accuracy of anything you wrote. It is just very unlikely that the general community was aware of any of the connections or considerations you mentioned. Nor did their rabbis (to the best of my knowledge) bring it to their attention.

Expand full comment
11 more comments...

No posts