Rabbi Larry Hoffman joins us as our Scholar-in-Residence September 16-17 and will teach on the theme “The High Holy Days, Then and Now — A New Kind of Jewish Piety.”
To join us online, please access the Zoom links in the Friday, September 16 Shabbat email or contact the office at info@templemicah.org.
6:30 p.m. | Rabbi Hoffman joins us for Welcoming Shabbat @ Temple Micah + On Zoom
Topic: The High Holy Days as Mirror
The High Holy Days are not just one thing: they are mirror images of ourselves, so that as our identity changes, so too does the way we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Tonight’s presentation is a short summary of changes in Jewish identity and parallel changes in our attitudes toward the High Holy Days. What is Jewish identity today and what should the High Holy Days be for us?
Morning Talk, immediately following the 10:15 a.m. Shabbat Morning Service @ Temple Micah + On Zoom
Topic: How Jews Discovered Sin: and What We Did With It
Yom Kippur has not always been so sin-centered. Rabbinic Judaism actually played down the ubiquity of human sinfulness. We’ll look at the surprising history of Avinu Malkenu and Kol Nidre, mirrors to Jewish self-esteem (or lack thereof), as Jews struggled with the idea of sin and what to do with it.
Join us for Kiddush after the morning talk, catered by Micah Cooks
4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Afternoon Talk, followed by light snack and shmooze @ Temple Micah + On Zoom
Topic: “Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die:” Really?
This well-known High Holy Day prayer is the end product of the medieval piety of penitence. Its history reads like a detective novel, and when the mystery is solved, there is profound message to be had, and not necessarily the message that you think. Come for the mystery; come for the message; come to appreciate a new kind of piety for our time: the Piety of Nobility.
6:00 – 6:45 p.m. Havdalah and Selichot service (in-person only)
About Rabbi Hoffman
Dr. Lawrence A. Hoffman was ordained as a rabbi in 1969 and received his Ph.D. in 1973. He has written or edited over forty books. In 1994, he co-founded “Synagogue 2000,” a trans-denominational project to envision the ideal synagogue “as moral and spiritual center” for the 21st century. He founded and is Academic Coordinator of the Tisch Fellowship Program.