The niggun “V’nislach” was sung by the chassid Reb Yechiel Halperin, the chazzan in Lubavitch during the time of the Rebbe Rashab, on the verse “V’nislach” that appears in the Yom Kippur evening prayer.
At the beginning of the holy day, immediately after the Kol Nidrei prayer, the chazzan and the congregation recite three times the verse:
“And forgiveness shall be granted to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel, and to the stranger who dwells among them, for it happened to the entire people by mistake.”
— Chumash Bamidbar, Chapter 15, verse 26
This verse in the Torah describes how Hashem accepts the repentance of the Jewish people. Even when the Jewish people erred and sinned in the severe transgression of idolatry—which is considered equivalent to all the mitzvos, and constitutes a casting off of the yoke of Heaven and a breach of the covenant between the Jewish people and Hashem—nevertheless, Hashem forgives them, and accepts their offering with love and favor.
The Ramban writes that the meaning of the entire congregation declaring aloud “V’nislach l’chol adat bnei Yisroel” is like a proclamation: We have done our part and returned to You, Hashem, and You, in turn, will fulfill Your promise to forgive our sins on this day.
The niggun has three parts, corresponding to the three times that the chazzan and congregation repeat the verse.
The niggun was recorded from the chassid Reb Shneur Zalman Bronstein. It is Niggun #242 in Sefer HaNiggunim, and it also appears on the sixth record released by Nichoach.
This is a new rendition of that sacred Niggun, performed by Rabbi Moshe Weinfeld and child soloist Zushe Gansburg of Toronto, Canada.
