What makes the High Holy Days at Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue unique? It’s not merely the prayerbook. Like other Reconstructionist congregations, we use Kol Haneshamah: Prayerbook for the Days of Awe. Nor is it simply the choir and musicians, although ours are pretty amazing.

It’s not just Rabbi Judith’s sermons or only Cantor Marcelo’s singing. Rather, what makes High Holy Days at MJC&S special is the way all these things come together. When we asked congregants for a one-word description of services, again and again the same few words came up: “Spiritual.” “Inspiring.” “Moving.”

As we move through the cycle of teshuvah, from S’lichot to Rosh Hashanah and Tashlich, through the Ten Days of Awe that culminate in the twenty-five hours from Kol Nidrei to Ne’ilah, we come together as a community in a way that can only be experienced, not described a community in a way that can only be experienced, not described.