Elul Learning Series 2022: The High Holy Days Themselves - Why and What

"They are the days observed and attended by the highest percentage of Jews. Synagogues are full. Prayer books are in people’s hands and opened. And yet, numbers do not necessarily reflect knowledge. This is not a critique. Certainly not of you. If anything, it may be a critique on us, the clergy/teachers, who do an insufficient job while officiating at the High Holiday services of really explaining the truest origins and deepest meaning of these holidays. Clearly, in a single session, we will not get comprehensive. But I aim to go back in time, roll back the layers to uncover how the holidays came to be what they are. From Biblical texts to rabbinic/Talmudic texts to more modern observance. I hope for you to leave the class with a little more understanding of why our tradition presents us with these days, and what we should try to gain from them". -- Rabbi Adam Kligfeld. This class was conducted at Temple Beth Am and via the internet on September 18, 2022.