The Rabbi Sacks Machzor Club

The prayers we say on Rosh Hashanah span more than thirty centuries and some need decoding if they are to speak to us today. – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ztz’l, Introduction to the Rosh Hashanah Machzor

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur celebrate the creation of the world, the coronation of its Creator and our moment to return to G-d and our true selves. The Machzor – the festival prayer book – of each is meant to aid us in this quest. Yet, we are daunted by the concept, the often-opaque language, and the sheer number of pages of the book before us. How do we connect to the shul service or to the prayers themselves?

In response, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ztz’l created a translation where he expressed the poetry and power of these ancient Hebrew prayers, while in his introductions and commentaries, provided a whole new meaning of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Join the Academy and Gardens Shul as we delve into Rabbi Sacks’ words as he expresses the power behind prayer, weaves together text and philosophy, and unpacks the themes of self-change, faith, love, hope, spirituality, forgiveness, and love of G-d and humanity.