Kol Nedarai is a Hebrew prayer about vows. We sing it on Yom Kippur, at the beginning of the evening, as we enter the holiest day of the Jewish year.

The prayer is about the promises we make, the words we give, and the vows we wish we could undo. There is something powerful about beginning Yom Kippur this way, acknowledging that sometimes we say things we cannot keep, and that we carry those words with us.

My favourite version of Kol Nedarai is actually sung by Haim Moshe. He turns it into a love song, about the promises we make when we love someone, the ones we carry with us, and the ones we fail to keep.

There is something heartbreaking and beautiful about that. Because we can mean a promise with our whole heart and still, somehow, break it.

Maybe that is what makes this song feel like a prayer to me. Prayer is not always about certainty or having the right answers. Sometimes it is simply a place to bring the things we regret, the things we could not keep, and the things we wish we could do differently.

I wanted to make Ose Shalom very simply: with my voice and my trombone, leaving space for the words to breathe. It’s part of my upcoming album, The Courage to Pray, a collection of minimalist Jewish prayers for uncertain times.

I’m making this album independently, and I’d love for you to be part of making it happen. If these prayers mean something to you, you can make a contribution or pre-order a copy, and help me make this album a reality.

♥️ Support the album: NaniMusic.com/PrayerAlbum