Now that Tish'ah BeAb is behind us we are getting closer to Yamim Nora-im
(High Holy Days).
One custom associated with that is Hatarat Nedarim ouQlalot, The Annulment
of Vows and Curses.
This custom, even though based upon the law of annulment of personal vows
doesn't seem to have been done as a communal institution prior to the 14th
century. Among the important reasons the public hatarah was so established & caught
on is undoubtedly related to the reasons for the Kal Nidre ceremony,
addressing those who under pressure lived publicly as non-Jews & who desired
exoneration for their false statements.
Historically, those who converted falsely to Catholicism in order to escape
the Spanish Inquisition lived under pressure and publicly as non-Jews. These
conversos needed an annulment of public statements made in order to save their
families' lives. Hatarah, like the Kal Nidre ceremony itself, was established and caught on
as exoneration for their false statements
The custom is based upon the Zohar , Perashat Peqoude, page 249, which says:
When there is a blemish on the neshamah and it gets rectified, it takes
40 days until that blemish is completely wiped out. Or if someone has unkept
vows then prayers cannot be heard in shamayim for 40 days. Therefore, the
first hatarah is 40 days before Rosh Hashanah.
There are communities who enact this Hatarah anywhere from once to up to
four times. The 4 times are:
1) 20th of Ab which is 40 days prior to Rosh Hashanah (some say 19th of
Ab,but I do not know why. Does anyone know the reason for this?)
2) Ereb Rosh Hodesh Eloul, which is 40 days prior to Yom Kipour.
3) Ereb Rosh Hashanah.
4) Ereb Yom Kipour.
The Turkish Jews seem to only do Ereb Rosh Hashanah, The North Africans and
Iraqis do all 4, The Egyptians and Aleppo-Syrians do all except for that of
Ereb Rosh Hodesh Eloul, The original Damascus-Syrian custom was only twice
but nowadays they follow the Aleppo custom.
This custom of Hatarah was always enacted in the morning after Shahrit in
front of a "Bet Din" of 10 Hakhamim, when 10 were unavailable only 3 would
sit.
One person would then read the formula on behalf of the congregants to the
religious tribunal and all listened attentively. It's a shame that now we
see everyone reading the Hatarah. This is evidence of their misconception
of the entire process. Don't they understand that the Bet Din can only
listen to one person, as in an actual court? The representative reads for all
assembled and the Bet Din will respond to him for the entire congregation!
An interesting phenomenon has developed among the Syrian Jewish communities
of Brooklyn,NY and Deal,NJ (and now among the Lebanese and Egyptian
congregations who live among them) that the Hatarah is no longer done in the
morning and it is no longer done on these prescribed days. It is now
preformed on the Saturday night prior to each one of the originally
prescribed dates.
What we see is that the Rabbi and committee members of each synagogue
announce on Shabbat morning that Hatarah will be held on Saturday night.
They remind the people, don't forget to tell everyone you know. Then lo and
behold what we see Saturday night is mystifying. Hoards and throngs of men,
women , and children arrive at the synagogue on Saturday night prior to
these dates for Hatarah. Many people that would normally not go to kenis
show up just because they can not miss Hatarah.
Some arrive late and hear only a portion of it erroneously thinking they are
fully exonerated. Ask them what Hatarah is and sadly, few have any true
idea. Many will say I came to get rid of my sins!!
As a side point it is interesting to note that in Aleppo, the women did not
go to kenis for Hatarah. Rather 4 Rabbis would go to each Hosh (courtyard of a multidwelling complex)
and there the women would gather. Three Rabbis sat as a BetDin and one Rabbi
read on behalf of the women. These Rabbis would make their rounds from Hosh
to Hosh until all the ladies in the community had Hatarah done for them.
Why is Hatarah happening on Saturday night? Is it because it's easier to get
the people together? Has this custom changed strictly for convenience sake?
Some have also asked must everyone really attend Hatarah? Must they attend
all of them? Maybe just once is enough? If so, which one?
Perhaps we can say the following: As the public Hatarah does not fit well
with the true halakhah, law, of how one must make a personal annulment of a vow
and since in our days the entire ceremony has been misunderstood as a type
of Bet Din dispensation, thereby supporting a misconception of Judaism's most
essential principles, maybe it is not advisable to engage in all four of
these hatarot. Maybe just one or two times can accomplish whatever legitimately must be
accomplished.
Some have even suggested that since the law prescribes that a Bet Din can
not convene at night , the law must apply to Hatarah as well and we can not do
it at night. Can or should our makeshift BetDin be subject to the actual laws of a real BetDin?
Regardless, when Hatarah is done it surely must be done seriously, not to
add to the frivolity of the occasion that has set in in recent decades. And the
public should know what is going on.
Always keep in mind that minhag is important but when it is
counterproductive, the principles and laws of the Torah must take
precedence. It doesn't matter if unenlightened masses may criticize a
change.
The truth is people should not make nedarim but if the done, does this
hatarah annul the vow? Yes or no? Is it right to give the impression that nedarim
can simply be wiped away by the Bet Din when everybody participates in a
mystical procedure?
Whoever has a real neder they want annulled MUST SPEAK TO
THEIR RABBI to arrange a Bet Din to analyze the case and make Hatarah- if
warranted
It would be interesting to find out more about the origins of this custom.
How it was established in each community and how it evolved into what we see
today?
By the way, the above means that the 1st Hatarah, will be held this
Saturday night August 12, 2006.
Your thoughts and comments are most welcome,
Joseph Mosseri |
