Yom Kippur Starts Tonight - Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot Sings Kol Nidrei

Every year when Yom Kippur comes around, we search the internet for something appropriate to post. Jokes just aren't right for the most serious and spiritual day of the Jewish year, and the music videos that appear in the weeks before the other holidays either don't appear for Yom Kippur or seem inappropriate for the awesomeness of the day.

So we're left with Kol Nidrei, which has been sung and recorded by almost every cantor and singer in the world, including the great Jewish cantors and popular singers such as Neil Diamond, Johnny Mathis, and Perry Como.


Most of our readers will hear Kol Nidre chanted three times tonight when they attend their local house of worship, and the melody will be the same, regardless of whether it's Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. Today we're posting a version of this traditional start to Yom Kippur because some of our readers can't get to their shul, synagogue, or temple because of illness or physical limitations.

This year we're sharing a version by Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, Chief Cantor of New York's Park East Synagogue. 

Admired for his incredible range, Chief Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot is beloved and revered as one of the greatest and most important cantorial voices of the 21st century. He enthralls audiences all over the world with his passion and unbounded joy in bringing sacred Jewish music and opera classics to life.

Cantor Helfgot was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. From the tender age of five, after hearing Moshe Koussevitzky’s recording of “Akavia Ben Mahalalel,” Yitzchak Meir knew what his life’s calling would be. At just eight years old, Cantor Helfgot recorded his first works, and then spent much of his childhood and teenage years studying voice and nussach (the art of prayer).

We hope this melody puts you in the proper mood to experience a meaningful day of prayer and reflection. G'mar Chatimah Tovah!