ליום כיפור - כל נדרי kol or kal?

Is it “Kol Nidrei” or “Kal Nidrei”? 

Probably, most of the Ashkenazim will be surprised to hear this question. Most of us have never heard “Kal Nidrei”. 

However, if you listen to a Chazanim Sefardim, you will hear “Kal Nidrei”.  Not all the Sephardim. The Jews of Iraq will say “Kal Nidrei”.

Moroccan Jews, Tunisian Jews, they pronounce “Kol Nidrei”. 

Try to convince an Iraqi to say “Kol” Nidrei”, or try to convince Marocan to say “Kal Nidrei”. Good luck…

Yemenites, they don’t have Kamatz Katan or Rachav. In their tradition all the Kamatzim are the same, and it is pronounced closed to O.

Those that pronounce “Kal” explain that there is no Kamatz Katan in Aramaic. Therefore, any Kamatz in Aramaic word is pronounced “A”, as a Kamatz Rachav.

They will also say  “Kal Chamira” (before Pesach) and “Kal Dichpin” in  Pesach.

Others say that this is not correct, and in Aramaic there is a Kamatz Katan, same as in Hebrew, therefore we should say “Kol Nidrei”.

Most of us will be surprised to hear that there is a “Machloket” about the pronunciation of the word  כָּל.

The word כָּל is with a Kamatz Katan, and therefore it is pronounced “Kol”.  It appears in the Mikra also as כֹּל, and it is pronounced the same way (“Israeli” pronunciation).

Why sometimes כָּל and sometimes  כֹּל?

Whenever the word כל is hyphened, it sill be spelled כָּל. When two words are hyphened they are considered as one word. The word כָּל will come without a trop.

See the following verse:

כׇּל־הַֽחַיָּ֗ה כׇּל־הָרֶ֨מֶשׂ֙ וְכׇל־הָעֹ֔וף כֹּ֖ל רֹומֵ֣שׂ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ לְמִשְׁפְּחֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם יָצְא֖וּ מִן־הַתֵּבָֽה׃ 

You may see here the two cases of the word כל.

Why when it is hyphened it is spelled in one way, and when the word is separated it is spelled in a different way?

This can be explained by the Nikud system. In Hebrew we have Tenuot Gdolot (“long vowels”) and Tnuout Ktzarot.

Usually, each of them has a different sigh. Tzeire is Tnua Gdola (or Tnua Rechava), and Segol is Tnua Ktana.

Patach is Tnua Ktana.

The problem is with the Kamatz. Kamatz Rachav is Tnua Gdola, like the word הָאָרֶץ

But is the same sign for Kamatz Katan, which is a Tnua Ktana, like in the word כָּל.

When we have a “stand alone” word, like the word את

See the following Psukim:

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹקים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹקים אֶת־הָאֹ֖ור כִּי־טֹ֑וב

In the first pasuk אֵת, and in the second אֶת

(The Ashkenazim will pronounce “Eis” and “Es”, but Israelis and Sephardim will pronounce the same way)

The same happens will כל:

כׇּל־הַֽחַיָּ֗ה כׇּל־הָרֶ֨מֶשׂ֙ וְכׇל־הָעֹ֔וף כֹּ֖ל רֹומֵ֣שׂ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ

What happens if the word כל is not hyphened, but it is spelled with a Kamatz? is it a Kamatz Katan or Kamatz Gadol?

It appears in the Mikra in three places:

מִֽי־מָדַ֨ד בְּשׇׁעֳלֹ֜ו מַ֗יִם וְשָׁמַ֨יִם֙ בַּזֶּ֣רֶת תִּכֵּ֔ן וְכָ֥ל בַּשָּׁלִ֖שׁ עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֑רֶץ - ישעיהו מ:יב

כׇּ֥ל עַצְמֹותַ֨י ׀ תֹּאמַרְנָה֮ - תהילים לה:י

כָּ֥ל אֲחֵי־רָ֨שׁ ׀ שְֽׂנֵאֻ֗הוּ - משלי יט:יז

As for the first pasuk, from Yeshayahu, there is no kashia there.  The word כל here is not “all” but “measured”.  So, no question that here it is Kamatz Rachav, and should be pronounced “Kal”

The “machloket” is about the two other psukim.

“Ba’alei Lashon” will say that they should be pronounced “Kal”, the Kamatz is Kamatz Rachav, because the work כל is not hyphened, and it has a trop.   Other will have explanation that in nuts shell I would say that although they are not hyphened, we need to consider them as hyphen, and the explanation of why, is in the understanding Dikduk Ta’amei Hamikra (trops).

In reality, it goes by Masoret. Some, their masoret is to pronounce “Kal”, and some “Kol”.

The phrase כל עצמותי תאמרנה appears also in Tefilat “Nishmat Kol Chai” that we say on Shabbat and Yom Tov including the “High Holidays” -Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.

The phrase וכל בשליש עפר appears also in the Piyut “Imru Le’Lokim” that we say on Yom Kippur.

I used to pronounce “Kol”. But after I read the RADAK, Minchat Shai, and others, I started to pronounce “Kal”.

But then, I learned little more, and now I pronounce these the word כל in this psukim is ״Kol”.

Question: In the Tefila, do you say “Kol Atzmotai” or “Kal Atzmotai”? Do you say “Chonenu” or "Chanenu”?

Chatima Tovah,

Kol Tuv,

Aharon