The most memorable prayer of the Jewish New Year-what it means, why we sing it and the secret of its magical appeal. Lively commentaries explore why Kol Nidre remains a liturgical highlight, regularly attended even by those who disbelieve the content.
Catherine Madsen is the author of The Bones Reassemble: Reconstituting Liturgical Speech; In Medias Res: Liturgy for the Estranged; and a novel, A Portable Egypt. She is librettist for Robert Stern's oratorio "Shofar" (on the CD Awakenings, Navona Records NV5878), and bibliographer at the Yiddish Book Center. She contributed to May God Remember: Memory and Memorializing in Judaism―Yizkor, Who by Fire, Who by Water―Un'taneh Tokef, All These Vows―Kol Nidre, and We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism―Ashamnu and Al Chet (all Jewish Lights).
Dr. Annette M. Boeckler is lecturer for liturgy at Leo Baeck College in London and manager of its library. She studied theology, Jewish studies, and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Germany and Switzerland and chazzanut both privately (with cantor Marcel Lang, z"l, and cantor Jeremy Burko) and at the Levisson Instituut in Amsterdam. She contributed to All These Vows―Kol Nidre, May God Remember: Memory and Memorializing in Judaism―Yizkor and We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism―Ashamnu and Al Chet (all Jewish Lights).
Dr. Eliezer Diamond is the Rabbi Judah Nadich Associate Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at The Jewish Theological Seminary and the author of Holy Men and Hunger Artists: Fasting and Asceticism in Rabbinic Culture. He is currently editing a commentary on Yerushalmi Pesahim written by the late Professor Louis Ginzberg, as well as a book on prayer.
Dr. Ellen M. Umansky is the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She is currently working on a book focusing on Judaism, liberalism, feminism, and God. She contributed to Who by Fire, Who by Water―Un'taneh Tokef, We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism―Ashamnu and Al Chet and All These Vows―Kol Nidre (both Jewish Lights).
Dr. Erica Brown, an inspiring writer and educator, is scholar-in-residence for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She consults for the Jewish Agency and other Jewish non-profits, and is a faculty member of the Wexner Foundation. She is an Avi Chai Fellow, winner of the Ted Farber Professional Excellence Award, and the recipient of a Covenant Award for her work in education. She is author of Confronting Scandal: How Jews Can Respond When Jews Do Bad Things; Inspired Jewish Leadership: Practical Approaches to Building Strong Communities, a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, and Spiritual Boredom: Rediscovering the Wonder of Judaism; and co-author of The Case for Jewish Peoplehood: Can We Be One? (all Jewish Lights). She contributed to We Have Sinned: Sin and Confession in Judaism―Ashamnu and Al Chet, Who by Fire, Who by Water―Un'taneh Tokef and All These Vows―Kol Nidre (both Jewish Lights). She lectures widely on subjects of Jewish interest and leadership. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and four children, and can be reached at www.EricaBrown.com.
