What is special about the Yom Kippur prayer Kol Nidre?
It’s the most famous prayer in Judaism. Before we go to the synagogue to say Kol Nidre (“all vows”) we put on white clothes to symbolize purity. The prayer asks us to annul our personal vows to God in the last year, and there’s a lot of debate about it and how it became central to this holy day. The prayer is the high point of the ritual season, and the cantor sings it three times. It became popular among the Marrano Jews of Spain, who converted during the Inquisition, but continued to practice Judaism secretly. Maybe it’s about annulling one’s vows to another religion. What happens when the Sabbath of Sabbaths actually falls on a Saturday? On Yom Kippur all the laws of the Sabbath apply. But if either Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur fall on the Sabbath you can’t blow the shofar, because to carry it to the synagogue violates the Sabbath. Are there other fasting holidays in Judaism? Yom Kippur is one of several fasting holidays. There are other, less observed holidays, which commemorate the
