Ki Teitzei: Don't Drag God Into This!

One of the most famous pieces of liturgy in the Jewish tradition is the Kol Nidrei. Even as I write those two words, you may immediately hear the haunting, echoing sound of a cantor chanting this prayer in your head; it's just SO evocative! And the reason it stirs such reactions in many of us has a lot less to do with the words
themselves, and a whole lot more to do with the spiritual, emotional, powerful, holy, pin-drop silent mood that often settles on a sanctuary as the evening of Yom Kippur begins. Even when we can't necessarily express WHY, we just know that Kol Nidrei means so much, and it touches our souls on some deeper level. However, it isn't the Day of Atonement just yet! Right now, Rosh Hashanah is still weeks away, so Yom Kippur is ten days further away than that. But two verses in this week's Torah portion made me think about the Kol Nidrei prayer, and about an intention we may want to focus on, in these weeks of preparation before the High Holidays begin.

As awe-some as the Kol Nidrei mood may feel, the words of the ACTUAL prayer are surprisingly... well, dull. In essence, it is an introductory paragraph - written in Aramaic (in this case, like Jewish legalese...) - that declares publicly that we are annulling all vows and oaths that anyone here may swear from this Yom Kippur
until the next one. Riveting, isn't it? No, clearly not. It does, however, allude to an interesting theology, that was not just held by the ancient rabbis who composed the Kol Nidrei prayer, but was also articulated in Biblical texts like our parashah this week. In Deuteronomy, 23:22-23, the Torah warns us: "When you make a vow to Adonai, your God, do not put off fulfilling it, for Adonai, your God, will require it of you, and you will have incurred guilt; whereas you incur no guilt if you refrain from vowing." My question is, why? Why does God care about each individual's vows and oaths, and whether we fulfill them or not?

Perhaps because our ancestors firmly believed that words mattered. You may have heard me state this before, but I posit that our Jewish tradition resoundingly rejects
the sentiment behind "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Words, you see, can do incredible damage. They can harm well beyond any physical injury. Our forbearers believed it SO strongly, that they contended that your oath - the words coming out of your mouth at any moment - have the power to force the very Creator of the Entire Universe to be your guarantor!! If you don't fulfill your vow, you are making a liar out of God. And this was considered a particularly grievous and blasphemous sin. Like, first-thing-you-want-to-resolve-on-the-Holiest-Day-of-the-Year level of sin!

So maybe that's not your theology. (Spoiler alert: It isn't mine either...) But what if we treated our words with that kind of reverence? What if we acknowledged how powerful they COULD be, and how much damage, pain, and suffering they can

cause? If you've ever truly offended someone, and/or caused terrible destruction with your words, you do discover - excruciatingly swiftly - how dangerous words can be. There is, however, no option to just NOT speak. It is important to remember that the Kol Nidrei prayer doesn't say, "DON'T make vows; don't harm anyone with your words." It's admitting that it happens... a lot. Mistakes are made, and injury is caused. The question isn't whether we should speak or not, but when we DO hurt someone else, how can we try to repair and heal? In this month of Elul, the Season of Repentance, sit for a moment with the incredible power of your very own speech. Reflect on how you've used it in the past, and how it can become a tool for good in the year ahead. You don't need to memorize the "fine print" of the Kol Nidrei prayer, but please don't forget that the core message - there and throughout the Torah - is about how we wield this incredible ability that is our words. Kind of leaves you speechless, doesn't it?


CC images in this blog post, courtesy of:
1. Center for Jewish History on Flickr
2. Richard Masoner on Flickr
3. Dede30 on DeviantArt
4. geralt on Pixabay