Unlocking the Mahzor: A Look at Key High Holiday Prayers
Learning With Your Own Havruta
Course Details
Prepare for the High Holidays by exploring the textual roots of this special liturgy. We will delve into the biblical and rabbinic sources of key High Holiday prayers, with an eye toward unlocking meaning and connection to the larger themes of the holidays.
Whether you are new to High Holiday liturgy and are looking for a way in or you are looking to deepen your experience with all too familiar prayers, you will come away from these sessions with a more nuanced understanding of our liturgy and new ways of standing to pray.
Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is President and CEO of the Hadar Institute. Elie has previously worked as a journalist, banker, and corporate fraud investigator. A graduate of Harvard College, he completed his doctorate in liturgy at the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he was also ordained. A Wexner Graduate Fellow and Dorot Fellow, Elie is a co-founder of the independent minyan Kehilat Hadar and has been named multiple times to Newsweek’s list of the top 50 rabbis in America. He was selected as an inaugural AVI CHAI Fellow, and is the author of Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us About Building Vibrant Jewish Communities (Jewish Lights, 2010). He also received semikha from his long-time teacher, Rav Daniel Landes. Elie serves on the board of Natan and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and on the advisory board of Upstart.
