Kol Nidrei: Its Origin, Development & Significance
by Stuart Weinberg Gershon
Category: Religion

Rabbi Gershon demonstrates that kol nidrei functions as a remedy for this grave problem of unfulfilled vows. The spoken word takes on a reality independent of human control, and no vow already in force can be revoked. Only by means of a legal fiction, whereby the retroactively annulled vow is treated as if it had never taken shape, can the vower be spared the grave consequences of an unfulfilled vow. Kol nidrei is the formula for one such legal fiction.