High Holidays 5782: ”From Selicha to Avodah: An Introduction to the Liturgical Poetry of Elul & the Yamim Noraim” (1/3) with Yitz Landes

What do we pray for when we pray that God forgives us? What does repentance look like? What does it mean to be atoned? In this three-part series, we will attempt to answer these questions by looking closely at the liturgical poetry recited over the course of Elul and the Yamim Noraim, namely the selichot and the piyyutim specific to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In each class, we will first address the history of each of these poetic genres before reading from the poems together, focusing on those still in use in contemporary liturgy.