High Holiday Prayer Leadership

Learn Nusach & Nigun for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

Are you an aspiring prayer leader looking to skill-build, a seasoned shaliah tzibbur seeking like-minded community, or simply looking to immerse in the soundscape of the Yamim Noraim’s special liturgy? Start learning High Holiday nusach now, and stay tuned for live Zoom sessions in summer 2024!  

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Master Classes

Comprehensive course contains 100+ videos covering the all the prayers of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.

Live Webinars

Leading up to the holidays, gather on Zoom to explore the material in virtual community with incredible faculty.

Study Guides

Follow a week-by-week syllabus with guiding questions and supplementary resources to focus your learning.

 

How to Join

1. Subscribe for an ongoing all-access pass to Joey Weisenberg's Master Classes in Jewish Song.
($18/month)

2. Study at your own pace the 100+ High Holidays nusach videos.

3. Attend live sessions with Joey and other members of the Hadar staff throughout the summer!

Questions? Contact: [email protected]

Become a High Holiday prayer leader!

"Like providing a glimpse into the private marginalia on a composer’s score, Weisenberg opens up his own machzor to reveal to the student his personal musical markings. There are scribbles, sections bracketed off to denote where to start and stop, and 'notes to self' squeezed into the narrow white space between two lines of black text. It’s all in the service of offering hints to the arc and emotion of a melody. There are times when he loses himself in demonstrating a nigun—head raised up, eyes closed, ancient Jewish chanting pulled along into the present day. "

Robert Goldblum, Jewish News Syndicate
"Lifting voices for the High Holidays"

FAQ

Sessions are currently scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern on the following dates:
  • Sun, July 23 - Nusach Deep Dive with Joey Weisenberg

  • Wed, Aug 2 -  Prayer Leader Processing with R. Deborah Sacks Mintz

  • Tue, Aug 8 - Liturgy Learning with R. Aviva Richman

  • Sun, Aug 13 - Nusach Deep Dive with Joey

  • Wed, Aug 23 - Prayer Leader Processing with Deborah

  • Tue, Aug 29 - Liturgy Learning with Dena Weiss

  • Sun, Sept 10 - Nusach Deep Dive with Joey

  • Wed, Sept 13 - Prayer Leader Processing with Deborah

  • Mon, Sept 18 - Nusach Deep Dive with Joey 

 

  1. Nusach Roadmap (6 videos)
    1. Understand the arc of prayer from an aesthetic, spiritual and energetic point of view. Consider how to bring everyone into the prayer experience. 
  2. Pesukei D'Zimrah for Rosh HaShanah (3 videos)
    1. Warming up the atmosphere for a big day of davening. Learn to move swiftly through a lot of material. 
  3. Shacharit for Rosh HaShanah (17 videos)
    1. While it begins with a lot of familiar material, Rosh HaShanah Shacharit includes many special piyyutim and the iconic shofar calling. 
  4. Musaf for Rosh HaShanah (32 videos)
    1. Divided into four subsections, learn the choreography and liturgy of the epic Rosh HaShanah Musaf service, which includes shofar blasts.  
  5. Yizkor (2 videos)
    1. A memorial service where the leader's role is to stay out of the way, allowing those who have lost loved ones to deeply remember. 
  6. Kol Nidre (29 videos)
    1. Slichot, Avinu Malkeinu, Vidui and other elements that reappear throughout the day are included here, the opening service of Yom Kippur. 
  7. Yom Kippur Morning (3 videos)
    1. Review the Pesukei D'Zimrah and Shacharit services for Yom Kippur, which is very similar to  Rosh HaShanah but includes additional piyyutim. 
  8. Musaf for Yom Kippur (12 videos)
    1. Master the Musaf service for Yom Kippur, which is very similar to Rosh HaShanah but includes the unique and extensive Avodah service. 
  9. Mincha for Yom Kippur (1 video)
    1. If you have led the other High Holiday services, this one is easy. The trick is moving through it quickly. Learn how to get it done. 
  10. Neilah! (11 videos)
    1. The closing of the gates, the final service of Yom Kippur is urgent and powerful. Clock is ticking. Maintain the ruach of this epic day. 
  11. Modes & Scales of Nusach Asheknaz in America (6 videos)
    1. Learning the scales and modes associated with the predominant nusach in America. Fundamentals of music theory as it relates to Jewish prayer.

Yes! Whether you are a davening expert or a newbie to prayer leadership, this program is for anyone who is interested in becoming (more) familiar with the High Holiday liturgy and leading Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur services in any setting.  Included are videos for advanced practitioners (“Davening Artistry”)  as well as for relative beginners (“Ba’al Tfila Basics”). In order to get the most out of these trainings, folks should at least feel comfortable reading the text of the siddur.

In our experience, we've found that our resources are helpful for people from all levels.

If you're a beginner at prayer leading and need to quickly learn the essentials, we've developed a High Holiday Highlights course just for you!

If you're already an experienced prayer leader and you're looking for new ideas to round out your repertoire, then you're ready to jump into the master classes where you'll find detailed studies of every piece of liturgy accompanied by explanations and some additional resources. 

Through learning the nusach in these videos—and, crucially, by trying them in real life!—you can become a High Holiday prayer leader in your community or in the privacy of your home. 

You will learn all of the major liturgy for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and be able to lead any of these services at a synagogue or prayer gathering of any size. Through Joey's teachings in this series, you will develop the aesthetic and spiritual sensitivity to both lead and step out of the way, empowering diverse groups of people to lift and transform their prayers into powerful, collective song.

It's $18 per month to become a subscriber to Joey Weisenberg's Master Classes in Jewish Song and Prayer, which includes access to Hadar's High Holiday Leaders Habura. Your subscription of $18 per month will continue after the High Holiday program ends, as many people are excited to stay in our learning community on an ongoing basis. You are welcome to cancel at any time.

"I agreed to be shaliach tsibbur for Erev Yom Kippur this year for a small, lay-led minyan that wanted to observe the High Holidays outdoors and in-person. I have some experience leading Shabbat and weekday services, but High Holiday services were not in my wheelhouse and I was initially overwhelmed by what I had agreed to do. It was an enormous relief when I found your site. It's beautifully organized, the nusach is lovely, and it helped me learn a ton of new stuff. Leading that service was a very meaningful experience for me. I'm truly grateful."

—2020 Training Participant

Why should we learn nusach?

 

"When we hear nusach, if our ear is sensitized to it, we're able to really feel where we are in time. And then the nigun comes along and transcends time."

—Joey Weisenberg

Check out a sample from the videos for Yom Kippur...

 
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