How did the Yom Kippur Machzor come to be? What’s the real story of Kol Nidre and U’Netaneh Tokef?

David Stern is the Harry Starr Professor of Classical and Modern Jewish and Hebrew Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature and the Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. His fields of specialization are ancient and medieval Jewish literature and culture and the history of Biblical interpretation. Most of his current research and writing deals with the history of the Jewish book. Additionally, he is the author or editor (or co-editor) of fourteen books and many articles including “The Picture of Prayer, Kol Nidre 1320 and 2010,” “Kol Nidre with Dragons,” and “The Gospel of Rabbi Amnon of Mainz.”

Special thanks to our executive producer, Adina Karp

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"Midnight Tale" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)