Concerning vows: A pre-Yom-Kippur post

SEE MY SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019 CORRECTION HERE--I DON'T HAVE THE HEART TO DELETE THIS POST.

Orthodox Jew to Orthodox Jew:  "I haven't been able to get to synagogue lately, so I'd better get there early on Yom Kippur so I can do Hatarat N'darim."

I'm 66 years old, but, until I heard this conversation a few days ago, I'd never heard of Hatarat N'darim.

Naturally, I looked it up on the Internet, learning that it meant The Formal Annulment of Vows, and even found an English translation.

So let me get this straight:  Not only have I been sinning all my life without knowing it, I've never had my sins "annulled" in any way other than listening to the Kol Nidrei (All Vows) prayer on Erev Yom Kippur (Eve of the Day of Atonement).

I don't get it.

When it came to the biblical law regarding the rebellious son (no mention of a daughter) who was to be put to death, the rabbis of the Talmud interpreted it out of existence.

Yet, on the subject of vows, even though the Torah ShehBichtav (Written Torah) itself clearly states  that it's better to avoid making a vow than to break one (I forget where in the Torah I read this--please lend a hand), the rabbis went in exactly the opposite direction with their interpretation, making it almost impossible for any Jew not to make a vow.

I honestly don't understand why the rabbis of old seem to have gone out of their way, even contradicting the p'shat (literal meaning) of the Torah, to make sinners of us all.


SEE MY SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2019 CORRECTION--I DON'T HAVE THE HEART TO DELETE THIS POST.