Kol Nidrei - 15/09/21

so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] my [Music] [Music] um [Music] so um so be received may remain seated we have a couple minutes eternal god we come here tonight to answer your call for repentance a task which demands much of us for no there have been many times when we sought to mend our ways but simply did not succeed even the admission that we have done wrong does not come easily as our pride towers above mountains are excuses more numerous than the stars but on this night of atonement a voice cries out from the depths of our souls yearning for your guidance so we may become the people we know we can be arunai eloheinu open our hearts on this most sacred of nights so the words of our prayers may penetrate deep into the souls and be the answer to that voice from within and so that we may all stand here together tomorrow night having heard your divine assurance salah we are forgiven our rabbis teach that within each of us there is a tiny spark of the divine our goal over the next 25 hours is to rip away all the spiritual detritus that has been keeping us from seeing that spark we aid this endeavor by turning away from physical pleasures food bathing luxury goods and intimacy so that the ephemeral the spiritual can rise to the forefront of our awareness to realize the divine spark within we begin our service by lighting the flame of the holiday candles reciting the blessing the hadlik nair shall yom haki purim followed by shahianu but before we rise please note that we will be standing for quite a while this evening ideally we would all remain standing throughout the entire service but recognizing our limitations and being compassionate with ourselves we realize that for many of us standing for so long simply isn't an option so please know that you are free to sit whenever you need to with that in mind i invite you to rise now as we bless over the candlestick [Music] [Music] and the mitzvah of wearing a talit only applies during the day when there's enough light to see the strings of the tseek seat konnedre is the one exception to this rule so before we can proceed with our service we must first put on our teletoke now we begin by inspecting the seat seat the fringes looking to identify anything that might require our attention something may be broken and if you don't have a talit or even if you do this is a good opportunity to take a look inwards and see if there's anything within you that might require some attention we then wrap ourselves in the talit and we say the blessing the heat tatef we acknowledge god having made us holy through the mitzvot and commanding us regarding the environment within baruch elohim finally we are ready to say the words of konniger and so often throughout the year we make promises to ourselves and to god which we intend to keep but inevitably don't follow through on imagine if there were no out clause and we were actually held to these oaths thankfully judaism provides an out through cole nidre these ancient aramaic words are nullification of the vows or oaths we have made without realizing how difficult it would be to follow through on them these beautiful holy words tell us that we don't need to be held to any past spiritual promises or even to who we have been in the past it's through the formula of connie dre that we wipe the slate clean we now turn to page four as we begin the recitation of kol nidrei first in hebrew and then in arabic here [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] call [Music] no [Music] oh [Music] [Music] r [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] video [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] salaam [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] kids [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Laughter] uh [Music] remain standing as we return the seafrey torah to the ark and we close the ark we'll turn to page 10 for the call to worship um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] i foreign [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] i [Music] hello [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] trust me i will let you know when you need to stand give yourself as much time to sit as you need so one of my favorite stories from the talmud it tells of a man who traveled to a far off land to visit one of the most expensive prostitutes in the world when he when he finally arrived he paid 400 gold coins at the brothels entrance and then proceeded to enter the woman's bed chamber he was greeted by the most incredible sight there were seven sets of silver ladders connecting six beds of silver and one bed of gold atop the golden bed was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen he rushed to climb up over the silver beds and he began ascending the final ladder and just as he reached the top in his excitement his seat seat flapped up and smacked him in the face he then turned around descended the ladders and sat there on the floor the woman asked what was wrong what did he see within her that made him lose his desire he proceeded to explain to her the mitzvah of tsitsit and how they are there to remind us of all the other meets folks which in turn should help us always turn our focus to the divine the woman was so moved by what she heard that she gave up her profession donated one third of her fortune to the needy and followed this man back to the bait midrash the study hall of revivia where she spent the rest of her life engaged in the study of torah what i love about this story is it speaks to the power of chuva that no one is so far gone that they are a lost cause and what's more they could even achieve greatness once they return to a spiritual life most importantly the story teaches how something as simple as the strings of our seat seat can help us come to realize our true path which is why it's so powerful that tonight of all nights it is customary to wear a talit so that each of us can look upon our teeth seats and realize the best path towards achieving the future we desire yom kippur is also the only day on which we recite the words of out loud so we now gather artsy those of us who are wearing a talit and if you're sitting next to somebody who has one maybe they'll be kind enough to share at least one corner with you we're on the middle of page 10 as we recite shema please rise is [Music] [Applause] [Music] god [Music] [Music] um [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] like [Music] [Music] see [Applause] [Music] him [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] hello [Music] here [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] kids [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] me [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] in just a moment we'll recite the silent amidah for yom kippur it's on this day that we ask three things of god to remember us to forgive us and to inscribe us in the book of life these words frame our life like a story so we ask god to remember all the good we have done this past year and to delete all that makes us look bad so that whatever the future may hold we will be remembered positively and that the story of our lives will live on even when we have left this world these words are also a reminder to us that the more we delete the bad from our lives from our behavior and from our thoughts the easier this job will be next year the sonotamida begins on page 18 but first we rise for khati kadesh on page 16. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] begins on page 18. it goes all the way to the bottom of page 30. so interesting so so you um so so so oh [Music] page 32. [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] i [Music] oh [Music] i me [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] please [Music] hmm [Music] she [Music] please [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] you might recall the story of kiddo genevieve's kitty genovese who was murdered outside her new york city apartment in 1964. at the time it was reported in the new york times that 38 people witnessed her murder but failed to speak up or take action as a result an entire school of thought within the world of social psychology was born the bystander effect the primary theory of the bystander effect is that people are less likely to speak up against an injustice when there are other people present the underlying assumption being that there is an inherent risk to speaking up and since there are other people present we will avoid taking any risk and let others take action according to the researchers who first posited the theory darley and latane we are also less likely to speak up when the consequences of doing so are greater the bystander effect is one of the reasons people often don't speak up when they observe toxic or inappropriate behavior in the workplace this might be best exemplified by the stories we've read and learned about harvey weinstein when paltrow was 22 years old when weinstein hired her to star in the film emma and subsequently made inappropriate sexual advances on her when weinstein found out that she had told others about this he threatened to fire her from the production and ruin her career of course she did not speak up again and in fact she continued to star in his films and speak kindly of him in public because if she didn't she feared she would lose her career and everything she had worked for as we have learned palcho's story was just one of many seemingly the entire industry knew about weinstein's behavior but no one felt safe enough to say or do something and with his behavior being public knowledge in the industry everyone assumed that someone else would take action thankfully eventually people did start to come start coming forward but sadly many lives were ruined before that could happen this worry over calling people out especially in front of others is actually a very jewish concern for starters it says in the shohana roof that one must be careful not to enter into a dangerous place we are prohibited from putting our lives and our livelihoods at risk so it is perfectly understandable why someone might hesitate to speak up when doing so would put them at risk but what if there isn't great risk involved what if the offense is only minor and maybe you're just being a bit overly sensitive what if calling someone out would result in nothing more than simply shaming the offender and the talmud the rabbis teach that we must avoid shaming someone in public at all costs this is based on the teaching most often translated as don't embarrass someone in public but it's more accurately translated as don't whiten the face of your fellow in public the rabbis explain that shame and death are the two times when the color leaves our faces and so they equate public embarrassment to murder both of which are to be avoided at all costs but should we really bite our tongues because we're afraid of hurting the feelings of someone who's hurting others isn't there a point at which we must speak up of course we're also taught in the torah lota mode don't stand idly by the blood of your fellow we can't just stand there and allow an injustice to take place and in fact elsewhere in the talmud the rabbis teach that one who can protest against the actions of another but fails to do so is found complicit and equally guilty this is based on a verse in leviticus which says and they shall stumble over one another the rabbis explain that this means that a person falls into the realm of guilt on account of not speaking up against the sins of their fellow but it's the words that conclude this discussion that are held as one of the central teachings in judaism all of israel is mixed up one with another our fates are intertwined we must therefore speak up when we see someone doing wrong otherwise we are equally guilty of their transgression when we find ourselves facing grave injustices or even minor though harmful offenses we are called to consider and weigh these torah values can we call someone out without shaming them can we allow ourselves to be complicit when someone is being harmed can we afford to risk harming ourselves be it physically professionally or socially by speaking up it turns out while the bystander effect has real implications in the moments when intervention is most crucial people do indeed speak up soon after the new york times reported on the death of kitty genovese it was discovered that neighbors did indeed call the police and more recently dana's research danish researcher marie rosenkrantz lingard studied security footage of more than 200 altercations from around the world including here in england to observe the bystander effect in real life what she found was that in virtually every encounter someone interviewed in fact she observed the inverse of the bystander effect as the number of witnesses increased so too increased the likelihood that someone would speak up and take action if you went on social media this past weekend you might have come across posts that were sharing a transcript of an emergency call made from one of the planes that was hijacked on 9 11. todd beamer was traveling on united flight 93 from new jersey to san francisco when the plane was hijacked by al-qaeda operatives intent on crashing into either the white house or the u.s capitol building instead of cowering with the other passengers he risked his life by grabbing an air phone and hiding in a cupboard to report the unfolding events to the authorities by the end of the call it became clear that beemer along with several other passengers intended to ambush the hijackers and foil the terrorists plans miraculously they succeeded in preventing the attack but unfortunately all 40 passengers died in the process of course this is an extreme example but if todd beamer could risk his life to prevent a terror attack then certainly we can take a chance to speak up in the face of a wrongdoing during the al-qaeda prayer we confess our collective guilt for numerous transgressions but the one that stands out to me the most right now is this for the sin we have committed before you through speech that is we have the power to use our words for good and to cause good but we fall short of expectations when we fail to use the power of our words to protest against an injustice in truth many of us already speak out against grave injustices we take to the streets in social media in the face of war systemic racism and more while there is still risk in doing so it's definitely easier to speak out against such large-scale injustices as there are far more people to share the risk with us which is precisely what lingard with her research observed the question is though will we speak out against those smaller offenses well we call out a co-worker for being biased against women when we tell a friend it's not okay to tell jokes that employ racially insensitive language well we speak up when we see someone being harassed on a tube or walking down the street the problem is when we fail to speak up we show others that they too can hide behind their silence and over time that silence builds and builds as simon and garfunkel said silence like a cancer grows eventually the silence becomes deafening and even more people are bound to get hurt so this yom kippur let us vow not to allow ourselves to become guilty of a truly harmful and insidious transgression the sin of silence we rise on page 32 as the ark is open and we recite it [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] r [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] may be seated as the ark is closed continue on page 34 with shomeya tequila [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] i [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] where am [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] you rise on page 38 for salah and the ark is open [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] it [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] we remain standing as the ark is closed continue on the top of page 40. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] m [Music] my [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] on [Music] [Music] [Music] me oh [Music] oh [Music] ah [Music] um oh [Music] be [Music] [Music] [Music] here [Music] [Music] [Music] o [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] no [Music] when [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] hello [Music] oh [Music] uh [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] ah [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] some of my most vivid childhood memories in the fall involve ashamu the confessional i recall me and my brother as small boys standing on either side of our father underneath his talit while he and all the adults of the synagogue would gently strike their chests as they sang the words of ashamdu being so young i had no idea what they were saying but i could tell that their words were filled with sorrow and pleading however what i did not realize until much later in life was that the words of ashamu are written in the collective a we are guilty but god knew we have betrayed gazanu we have stolen dibanu dhofi we have spoken ill but what if i didn't steal this year what if you didn't betray someone this prayer is written in the collective to teach us that we all slip up and sometimes aware of our misdeeds but oftentimes not so to be safe we assume that we aired oh it's even more powerful is that by being written in the collective ashamu teaches us that we are all responsible for one another as i talked before yes it is my job to help keep you from failing and you too are there to keep me in check it is easy to fall victim to the belief that we are each of us are in it for ourselves especially these days when we are so disconnected from one another in our social spheres through social distancing but in fact we are all children of god it is as if we are all standing at the side of our one true parent under the protection and comfort of one enormous talit covering the entire world saying we are there for one another willing to help each other to become better people in the year to come we're going to first say eloheinu and then i invite you to rise on page 44. good [Music] ah [Music] [Music] [Music] uh [Music] uh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] no [Music] [Music] [Music] i [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] [Music] still standing on page 46. is [Music] i [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for the sin that we have sinned [Music] in english on page 47 for the sin that we have sinned before you under duress or willingly without knowledge openly or secretly by subtle talk by the schemes of the heart by in sincere confession by disregard for our parents and teachers by profaning your name for all these god forgiveness forgive us pardon us grant us atonement [Music] [Music] [Music] the sin we have sinned before you by foolish talk against the knowing and unknowing by denial and false promises by being scornful by misuse of food and drink and by haughtiness for all these god of forgiveness forgive us pardon us grant us atonement um [Music] [Music] [Music] by causeless hatred by brazenness by disloyalty to you by a begrudging eye by untimely and frivolity by gossip mongering by taking vain oaths by indulging in despair for all these god forgiveness forgive us pardon us grant us atonement [Music] [Music] we remain standing as the ark is open for avinu malcano [Music] m [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] ah [Music] now [Music] oh standing as the ark is closed on page 52 with hadith [Music] is [Music] from [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] i [Music] lord [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] on page 56 mourner's kaddish [Music] [Music] [Music] one who makes peace in the heavens above make peace for us for all of israel for all of humanity and let us say amen you may be seated a few very brief announcements uh saving all of my acknowledgments and thank yous until tomorrow evening at the end of neila we're going to be doing so many services in the next 24 hours don't have to keep repeating myself but for those who have been involved this service please know that i am incredibly grateful for everything that you've done tomorrow morning services at 9 30. so if you are with us on bellsize live now we appreciate you joining us and if you are here tonight we appreciate you joining us tomorrow morning for our belt size and belt size live i assume we don't have much overlap between tonight and tomorrow of course we then have minha in the afternoon tomorrow morning by the way we're also introducing a mosque here a yes curse service because you realize that it might be difficult for people to have to miss out on not being here for service so we have it tomorrow morning after tourist service before musaf and then we're going to do a mask here again tomorrow evening right before nila the start of neila so we'll have two opportunities to say to say mascara you can choose either whichever you prefer um so i just really appreciate everybody sitting through all the services i know it's difficult sitting for a couple hours or standing for a couple hours and having to have masks on and just it's but it is really fantastic to be together in person again and it's wonderful to see so many of your top halves on your faces [Music] so we're two hours down we only have 23 hours to go that's all so i know that these high holy days are not at all what we were expecting but i'm glad that you've decided to observe this sacred time with us before we close with yigdal on page 56 i do want to offer a closing prayer eloheinu velohe boteno vimotenu our god and god of all those who came before us we thank you for this opportunity to reflect on the past year this gift of introspection and hope we can make the most of it it can be challenging even terrifying to open up with ourselves so we are grateful for the guidance of our liturgy providing points of contemplation helping us to begin the internal dialogue which our souls so desperately require while this year has already demanded so much of us we gladly accept the burden of this additional spiritual endeavor as we yearn to reveal that divine spark within each of us shining its lights onto the darkness of this time for you are the source of life and in your light we see light and let us say amen concluded with [Music] [Music] yes [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] is [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] these [Music] [Music] [Music] man [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] i hope you have a easy and meaningful fast bye

Channel: Belsize Square Synagogue

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Length: 120min 6sec (7206 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 15 2021