Past and Presence: Encountering the High Holidays
Past and Presence: Encountering the High Holidays
2026 High Holiday Webinar Series
August 17, 24, and 31, 2026
Online
1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
What does it mean to prepare and show up for the High Holidays in our own time? This three-part series explores how Jewish tradition has preserved, interpreted, and renewed the themes of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur through sacred objects, timeless texts, and personal prayer. Together, we’ll explore the objects that have carried Jewish tradition across centuries, engage with ancient texts with compassion and honesty, and reflect on how our own voices become part of the ongoing story of Jewish prayer and renewal.
JTS faculty members, Rabbi Marcus Mordecai Schwartz, Rabbi Naomi Kalish, and Cantor Rabbi Shoshi Levin Goldberg will offer insight into how our pasts shape our presence as we enter the Days of Awe.
Session Topics and Faculty
August 17, 2026
Objects of Awe: The Meaning of the High Holidays Through Treasures from the JTS Library
With Rabbi Marcus Mordecai Schwartz, Ripps Schnitzer Librarian for Special Collections; Assistant Professor, JTS
August 24, 2026
Fear, Trauma, and the High Holidays: Reading Ancient Texts with Compassion
With Rabbi Naomi Kalish, Harold and Carole Wolfe Director of the Center for Pastoral Education; Assistant Professor of Pastoral Education, JTS
August 31, 2026
From Nothing to Nothing: Finding Your Own Voice in Prayer
With Cantor Rabbi Shoshi Levin Goldberg, Director, H.L. Miller Cantorial School, JTS
If you have previously registered for another session in this series, your registration admits you to all sessions in the series, and you may attend as many as you’d like.
