On the last day of the Jewish year, many traditional communities seat a tribunal (Bet Din) to enact a communal ritual of annulment and release from vows. Halakhic tradition includes the idea that the category of vows is greater than verbal commitments made in a specific manner. It can include also behaviors or attitudes that through repetition have gained a vow-like rigidity, whether consciously or unconsciously. This rigidity, or “stuck-ness” calls for release so that we may begin a new year.
As the tribunal is already seated, many traditional eastern communities have the same tribunal enact another ritual to annul and release the people from curses, hexes and the evil eye so that the new year can truly begin unbound by the past.
The following are edited versions of the longer traditional formulas.
התרת נדרים
הקהל:
שִׁמְעוּ נָא רַבּוֹתֵינוּ, הֲרֵי אֲנַחְנוּ שׁוֹאֲלִים וּמְבַקְשִׁים הַתָּרָה, מִן הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא וּמִן תּוֹרָתֵנוּ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה, וּמִבֵּית־דִּין שֶׁל מַעְלָה וּמִבֵּית־דִּין שֶׁל מַטָּה, וּמִמַּעֲלַתְכֶם, שֶׁתַּתִּירוּ לָֽנוּ וּלְנַפְשֵׁנוּ וּלְכָל־אַנְשֵׁי בֵיתֵנוּ וּלְכָל־הַנִּלְוִים אֵלֵינוּ, כָּל־מִינֵי נְדָרִים שֶׁנָּדַרְנוּ עַל עַצְמֵנוּ אוֹ עַל אֲחֵרִים בְּכָל־מִין לְשׁוֹן נֶדֶר, וּמִנְהָגִים שֶׁהִנְהַגְנוּ אֶת־עַצְמֵנוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת בְּכָל־צַד־וָאֹפֶן שֶׁיִּהְיֶה, וְנָהַגְנוּ הַדָּבָר הַהוּא שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים אוֹ יוֹתֵר, וְלֹא פֵּרַשְׁנוּ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה בְּלִי נֶדֶר.
וְאֵין אֲנַחְנוּ תּוֹהִים וּמִתְחָֽרְטִים, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, עַל הַמִּצְוֹת וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים שֶׁעָשִׂינוּ וְשֶׁקִּיַּמְנוּ, אוֹ שֶׁקִּבַּלְנוּ אוֹ שֶׁהִנְהַגְנוּ, אֶלָּא הֲרֵי אֲנַחְנוּ מִתְחָֽרְטִים עַל שֶׁקִּבַּלְנוּ הָעִנְיָנִים הָהֵם בְּחִיּוּב נֶדֶר אוֹ שְׁבוּעָה, וּמְקַבְּלִים עָלֵינוּ לָשׁוּב בּ֯תְשׁוּבָה שְׁלֵמָה.
וּמֵעַתָּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְבַקְּשִׁים מִ֯מַּעֲלַתְכֶם לְהַתִּיר לָֽנוּ עֲלֵיהֶם הַתָּרָה גְּמוּרָה:
בית הדין:
כֻּלָּם מֻתָּרִים לָכֶם, מֻתָּרִים לָכֶם, מֻתָּרִים לָכֶם.
מְחוּלִים לָכֶם, מְחוּלִים לָכֶם, מְחוּלִים לָכֶם.
שְׁרוּיִים לָכֶם, שְׁרוּיִים לָכֶם, שְׁרוּיִים לָכֶם.
אֵין כָּאן לֹא נְדָרִים, וְלֹא שְׁבוּעוֹת, וְלֹא קַבָּלוֹת, וְלֹא הַסְכָּמוֹת, וְלֹא מִנְהָגִים, וְלֹא נְזִירוּת, וְלֹא חֲרָמִים, וְלֹא אִסּוּרִים, וְלֹא קוּנָמוֹת. אֲבָל יֵשׁ כָּאן מְחִילָה וּסְלִיחָה וְכַפָּרָה. (הֻתְּרוּ מֵעִקָּרָן) כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהִסְכִּימוּ וְהִתִּירוּ לָכֶם בֵּית־דִּין שֶׁל מַטָּה, כָּךְ יַסְכִּימוּ וְיַתִּירוּ לָכֶם בֵּית דִּין שֶׁל מָעְלָה, וְסָר עֲוֹנְכֶם וְחַטָּאתְכֶם תְּכֻפָּר:
Release from Vows
The Community:
Hear us our masters; We stand before you asking the holy, blessed One, and the holy Torah, the Heavenly and earthly courts, and yourselves for release. We ask that you release us, our households and all those who journey with us, from all kinds of vows that we have made regarding ourselves and others, or behaviors that have become set in stone in all kinds of ways, or habits we have repeated three times or more without giving thought to the commitment. We do not, Heaven forbid, question or regret the good things that we have done and upheld. But we are sorry that they became rigid like vows, and we commit to doing Teshuvah for that. We therefore ask your honors for complete release.
The Bet-Din:
You are released from them all.
You are forgiven them all.
You are free from them all.
Here there are no more oaths, no vows, no givens, no habits, no bans, and no binds. Rather there is acceptance, forgiveness, and atonement. Just as this court has agreed to release you, so will you be released by the heavenly courts, your sins disappearing, and your mistakes forgiven.
התרת קללות
הקהל:
הֲרֵי אֲנַחְנוּ מְבַקְּשִׁים מִמַּעֲלַתְכֶם לְהַתִּיר לָֽנוּ כָּל־קְלָלוֹת וּנְזִיפוֹת וּדְבָרִים אֲסוּרִים, וּלְבַטֵּל עַיִן הָרָע הֵן וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָהֶן:
בית הדין:
בְּצֵרוּף וּבִרְשׁוּת קֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וּשְׁכִינְתֵּהּ, בִּרְשׁוּת בֵּית־דִּין שֶׁל מַעְלָה וּבִרְשׁוּת בֵּית־דִּין שֶׁל מַטָּה, וּבִרְשׁוּת תּוֹרָתֵנוּ הַקְּדוֹשָׁה,
מֻתָּרִים לָכֶם, מֻתָּרִים לָכֶם, מֻתָּרִים לָכֶם.
שְׁרוּיִים לָכֶם, שְׁרוּיִים לָכֶם, שְׁרוּיִים לָכֶם.
מְחוּלִים לָכֶם, מְחוּלִים לָכֶם, מְחוּלִים לָכֶם.
אֵין כָּאן קְלָלוֹת, אֵין כָּאן כִּשּׁוּפִים, אֵין כָּאן פִּתְחוֹן פֶּה לְרָעָה, אֵין כָּאן מַחֲשָׁבוֹת זָרוֹת וְהִרְהוּרִים רָעִים, אֵין כָּאן עַיִן הָרָע דַּאֲנָשִׁים ודְּנָשִׁים, אֵין כָּאן עַיִן הָרָע דְּשׂוֹנְאִים וּדְאוֹהֲבִים. כֻּלָּם יִהְיוּ בְּטֵלִים וּמְבֻטָּלִים וַחֲשׁוּבִים כִּכְלִי חֶרֶס הַנִּשְׁבָּר וּכְדָבָר שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ מַמָּשׁ. וְכָל־מִינֵי עַיִן הָרָע יוּסְרוּ מֵעֲלֵיכֶם וּמִבָּתֵּיכֶם וְיֻשְׁלְכוּ לִמְצוּלוֹת יָם, כַּכָּתוּב: וְלֹא יִדְבַּק בְּיָדְךָ מְאוּמָה מִן הַחֵרֶם, לְמַֽעַן יָשׁוּב יְהֹוָה מֵחֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ, וְנָתַן לְךָ רַחֲמִים וְרִחַמְךָ וְהִרְבֶּֽךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ:
אָנָּא יְהֹוָה הִתְמַלֵּא רַחֲמִים, וְיִכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ אֶת־כַּעֲסֶֽךָ, וְיִגֹּלּוּ רַחֲמֶֽיךָ עַל מִדּוֹתֶֽיךָ וְיִתְמַתְּקוּ הַדִּינִים .
וְכָל־הַקְּלָלוֹת וַחֲלוֹמוֹת רָעִים וּפִתְרוֹנוֹת רָעִים, וּפִתְחוֹן פֶּה לְרָעָה וְכָל־גְּזֵרוֹת רָעוֹת, כֻּלָּם יִתְהַפְּכוּ עֲלֵיכֶם וְעָלֵינוּ לְטוֹבָה וְלִבְרָכָה, כַּכָּתוּב: וְלֹא־אָבָה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ לִשְׁמֹעַ אֶל־בִּלְעָם וַיַּהֲפֹךְ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ לְּךָֽ אֶת־הַקְּלָלָה לִבְרָכָה, כִּי אֲהֵבְךָֽ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ. עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן שְׁמָךְ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן יְמִינָךְ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן תּוֹרָתָךְ, עֲשֵׂה לְמַֽעַן קְדֻשָּׁתָךְ.
יְהֹוָה עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן, יְהֹוָה יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם:
Release from Curses
The Community:
And we further ask your honors to release us from all curses, rejections, words that bind us, and to annul the evil eye or all similar things.
The Bet-Din:
In the presence and with approval of the holy, blessed One and the Shekhinah, with the approval of the heavenly and earthly courts, and with the approval of our holy Torah:
You are released from them all.
You are forgiven them all.
You are free from them all.
Here, there are no curses, there are no evil spells, no strange or evil intentions. Here there is no evil eye from men or from women, from friends or enemies. They are all annulled and cancelled, ground to dust and nothing like shattered earthenware. All forms of evil gaze will be removed from you and your families and thrown to the depths of the ocean, as it says: None of the banned will touch you, that YHVH’s anger may relent, that YHVH may have compassion on you, that you may grow and increase as God promised your ancestors.
Please YHVH, May You fill with compassion. May Your compassion subdue Your anger, May Your compassion overwhelm all Your other qualities, and may the judgments be sweetened.
All curses, and nightmares, and dreams interpreted for the bad, and mouths open to speak evil, and evil decrees – They will transform into good and blessing upon you and us, as it says: YHVH your God, refused to listen to Balaam, and YHVH your God transformed the curses into blessings, because YHVH your God loves you.
YHVH, act for the sake of Your name. Act for the sake of Your right hand. Act for the sake of Your Torah. Act for Your sanctity.
YHVH give the people strength.
YHVH bless the people with peace.
An interpretation of the ritual regarding the power of holding on and the power of letting go:
The broad category of vows addressed in this ritual recognizes that many of the difficulties we are mired in, many of the places we get stuck, are of our own making. Consciously and unconsciously, through actions, words, ideas, preconceived notions of identity and of what is possible and impossible, we create patterns of life that support certain dynamics and possibilities of development and totally block others. The ritual of release from vows calls on us, first to recognize that such patterns shape our lives, and then to let go of them.
Still, it would be extremely arrogant to think that I am the only force that shapes my life, for good or for bad… Because I do not live alone in the world some of the obstacles that I face do not originate in me, nor does all my ability to overcome them. Hexes, curses and the evil eye can function as stand-ins for forces that are not letting me grow, whose origin is in the world or in society around me, and not only in myself.
Overcoming either of those forms of obstacles (vows and curses) may be beyond my individual capacity at this moment. As noted, my patterns/vows may be unconscious at this moment, and I certainly cannot change the entire world… We therefore call upon communal ritual which opens gateways to our consciousness, our unconsciousness and our collective unconscious. We establish a Bet Din which is a symbol of our collective power to determine and transform reality. It is to this focal point of communal reality-defining power that we bring our request for release. And it is with the affirmation of freedom given by that power that we walk away from the ritual, ready to begin the work of asking – what exactly was it that the Bet Din freed me from, and how might my life look different in that light?