High Holy Prep
August 14th – September 22nd
High Holy prep
In NYC & Online
Wednesday, August 14 –Tuesday, September 22nd
Join Lab/Shul online for our annual PREPENT series, a month-long journey of daily digital insights leading into the new Jewish year.
inspired by the Kabbalistic idea of the Exile of the Word, Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie curates a collective online journey, with daily posts from voices in our community on some of our most cherished and bruised concepts, to reimagine their use and purpose, towards more tolerance, respect, peace and truth, featuring photos one of our artists/activists in residence, Gili Getz.
Join us to co-create a collective shift together, heart to heart, word by word, day by holy day.
Thursday, August 27
7pm EST
Join Lab/Shul’s ritual team and the Senseis of the New York Zen Center for an intimate sacred eve of reflection and meditation, shared traditions, live music and spiritual preparation for the new year. Inspired by the traditional forgiveness ritual of Selichot, the Jewish ritual gathering that kicks off the Days of Awe 5787 season by focusing on the art of forgiveness, Sit + Sorry weaves together Zen Buddhist contemplative practices, ancient Judaic poetry and stirring music.
Thursday, September 17th
12pm EST
How do we prepare for the Yizkor/Memorial Yom Kippur ritual? Whether it is your first time or you have participated for years, we invite you into spiritual preparation as we anticipate Yom Kippur.
ReCollect/Yizkor is a seasonal gathering to remember our loved ones, share stories, lift memory, and say Kaddish, the ancient memorial prayer, together. ReCollect meets near or on the times of memory (Yizkor) on the Jewish calendar (Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot).
Rosh Hashanah
Two communities. Two sacred thresholds. A new year of Holy Shift.
Lab/Shul and Temple of the Stranger are joining together for two shared rituals to open and release the new Jewish year together: “Back to the Womb”, an interactive Erev Rosh Hashanah ceremony in Tribeca and online, and an outdoor Tashlich in Brooklyn on Rosh Hashanah Day 2. In a year shaped by personal, communal, political, and spiritual change, these two shared gatherings offer a way to move through the shift together, beginning with intention, releasing with courage, and entering the New Year renewed.
Please note, all times below are EST.
Rosh Hashanah Eve – Friday, September 11
In person at Tribeca Performing Arts Center & Livestreamed
5:00 – 6:00pm
Come early, be greeted, enjoy the vibe and enter into this exquisite ceremony for the new year, together with a sip and a nosh.
Schedule:
5pm – In Person Reception at Tribeca Performing Arts Center
5:30pm – Virtual Meet & Greet for Online Participants
6:00 – 7:30pm
It’s time for a Holy Shift.
Join Lab/Shul and Temple of the Stranger for an utterly unique Rosh Hashanah Eve experience. Using guided meditation, Kabbalah, spiritual theater, and live music we’ll enter the cosmic womb to gather the resources we need to shift into a year of abundance, pleasure, justice, and joy. Led by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Rav Jericho Vincent, Shira Kline, together with the Lab/Shul ritual team and guest musical artists.
No spectators. We journey together. Come as you are. Become who you were always meant to be.
This experience is geared towards adults. Children who are comfortable in adult theater spaces are welcome.
Dress Code: RED Sparkles, feathers, tie-dye, or cozy—-whatever clothing helps to inspire a Holy Shift.
7:30pm
Sip, nosh, greet, hug, pick up the conversations and make a new friend.
Rosh Hashanah Day 1 – Saturday, September 12
In person at Tribeca Performing Arts Center & Livestreamed
9:00am – 12:30pm
Join us, all ages, on the first day of the new year with your best intentions, to be part of the rebirth of the world. Our everybody-friendly God-optional liturgy, musical meditation, Persian poetry, Storahtelling theater and interactive learning welcome all of us and all our senses. We will sound the shofar and listen to the whispered passwords from the cosmic womb.
Main Ritual:
9am – Ritual Begins
11am – Storahtelling: Torah Ritual Theatre for Rosh Hashanah
12pm – Shofar!
Kids Programming:
9am – All Ages vibrant heart and soul filled morningsong brings music to its feet, story to life, and prayer into presence. Start the day with our youngest and young at heart with Spiritual Leader, Shira Kline and Martin Shamoonpour (Tent 1)
9:45am – Dedicated Lab/Jr. programming begins with the Lab/Jr. Education Team (In Person Only)
Children ages 0-14 are invited to participate in Lab/Jr! Filled with imaginative play, movement and music, our creative kids’ laboratory is inspired by this year’s theme, Holy Shift.
Registration required.
1:00pm
Sip, nosh, greet, hug, pick up the conversations and make a new friend.
1:30pm
Ready to let go of last year—and step into something new? This year’s Tashlich is specially designed for current participants, alumni and new folks curious about year-round, lay-led, small groups rooted in Jewish wisdom and meaningful connection, including:
- Local Shabbat Gatherings
- Jewish Arts & Creativity
- Hospitality & Ritual Volunteerism
- Raising the Bar — B-Mitzvah teens and families
- Pass/Age — coming-of-age for adults in their 20s–50s
- GENerate — wise eldering aging for adults 60+
A DIY Tashlich is also an option!
All are welcome to join us at Rockefeller Park to release last year’s attachments with intention, music, and joy—and explore new ways to gather in the year ahead. Grab-and-go bags with a light nosh + “DIY Tashlich” info will be available at TPAC.
Rosh Hashanah Day 2 – Sunday, September 13
Brooklyn, NYC
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Join Temple of the Stranger and Lab/Shul for an embodied mystical Tashlich Ceremony in Brooklyn. Open to people of all backgrounds and ages!
Bring your own picnic and meet us at 1:00pm for light ritual, tashlich crafts, and parade prep as we enjoy our holiday meals. Tashlich begins at 2pm. Led by Rabbi Amichai of Lab/Shul and Rabbi Jericho of Temple of the Stranger. Live music by Shira Averbuch, Shira Kline, Carla Friend, Naomi Less.
No prior knowledge of tashlich required! Separate registration required for exact location and updates!
Yom Kippur
Sunday, September 20 – Monday, September 21
KOl Nidrei / Yom Kippur Eve – Sunday, September 20
In person at Tribeca Performing Arts Center & Livestreamed
6:30pm – 6:55pm
Come early, be greeted, set an intention and enter into Holy Shift, together.
7:00pm – 8:45pm
Join us on this biggest night of the Jewish year, to release vows, prepare to repair, sing sacred intentions, learn with Rabbi Amichai, contemplate change and commit to the holy shift we want to be in the world.
9:00pm – 10:30pm
On this sacred Yom Kippur night of reflection and repair, ahead of critical elections for Americans, Israelis and Palestinians – join us for a conversation led by three Israeli-American leaders and activists exploring the political shifts, emerging realities and surprising stories of this dramatic season of democracy in action.
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Alana Zeitchik, and Gili Getz will share their reflections, from Amichai’s active groundwork in the West Bank alongside Rabbis for Human Rights, Gili’s joint Israeli-Palestinian organizing with Combatants for Peace , and Alana’s work as an advocate and leader in the Jewish community working to bridge polarizing divides, we will share insights from the frontlines of resistance, depolarization, and reconciliation.
We will share insights from the frontlines of resistance, depolarization, and reconciliation. Together, we will examine how the shifts happening on the ground reflect in our own lives, impact the Jewish community—and how we can each commit to meaningful action towards change and collective liberation. Featuring audience Q&A and reflective discussion.
Bring your curiosity, concern, questions, and your willingness to hold complexity as we anchor our spiritual atonement in the commitment to human rights, Jewish morality, grounded action, and holy shift for justice, hope and peace.
Yom Kippur Day – Monday, September 21
In person at Tribeca Performing Arts Center & Livestreamed
9:00am – 1:00pm
Join us, all ages, on Yom Kippur day, continue to ask the big questions and illuminate what’s needed for living life awake. Our everybody-friendly God-optional poetic liturgy, musical meditation, Storahtelling theater and interactive learning welcome all of us and all our senses.
Schedule:
9am – Morning Ritual Options
- Contemplative sunrise meditation on thanks, wow, oops, please with Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie, Ben Freeman and our ritual musicians (Theatre)
- A Toratah morning ritual practice of regendered repentance with Naomi Less and Artist in Residence, Yael Kanarek (Tent 3)
- All Ages vibrant heart and soul filled morningsong brings music to its feet, story to life, and prayer into presence. Start the day with our youngest and young at heart with Spiritual Leader, Shira Kline and Martin Shamoonpour (Tent 1)
9:45am – Join together in the theatre to continue Yom Kippur ritual
11am – Storahtelling
12pm – Yizkor
Kids Programming:
9am – All Ages are invited to start the day with our youngest and young at heart for Rise and Shine with Spiritual Leader, Shira Kline and Martin Shamoonpour in Tent 1
9:45am – Dedicated Lab/Jr. programming begins with the Lab/Jr. Education Team (In Person Only)
Children ages 0-14 are invited to participate in Lab/Jr! Filled with imaginative play, movement and music, our creative kids’ laboratory is inspired by this year’s theme, Holy Shift.
Registration required.
2:15pm – 3:30pm
Afternoon Offerings:
- Shifting from Suffering to Freedom: A Meditation with Senseis Koshin Paley Ellison and Robert Chodo Campbell of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care (In Person & Online)
- A Jewish Exorcism: An Immersive Ritual for Loosening the Grip with Alexandra Neuman: The four-thousand year old Jewish tradition is experiencing a profound spiritual crisis. This participatory ritual draws upon histories of Jewish exorcism practices to help us loosen the grip of our personal and ancestral demons. Through kabbalistic prayer, dialogue, and creative practice, we will use the sacred energy of Yom Kippur to dream of a Judaism that prioritizes safety and dignity for all people. (In Person Only)
4:00pm – 4:30pm
More details coming soon
4:30pm – 5:30pm
As the gates of Yom Kippur begin to close and our 40-day WordWatch Prepent journey wraps up, join Rabbi Amichai, our ritual team, with faith leaders, artists, and activists for a collective ceremony of closure and commitment to continue this holy shift, towards more love, justice and peace.
When weaponized words wound, silence, and shatter solidarity, we come together to reclaim our shared sacred vocabulary of values. Together, we will weave a final tapestry of words that heal as we seal the day of atonement and step into a new year of hope, healing, and holy shifts.
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Last call for Holy Shift: the Gates are closing. An ecstatic musical and prayerful ceremony to close this year’s High Holy journey. Rabbi Amichai’s special sermon will be delivered as the sun sets, the shofar blasts, and as we sing our way into a hopeful new year, together.
7:30pm
Sip, nosh, greet, hug, pick up the conversations and make a new friend.
8:00pm
A Lab/Shul tradition to break fast together with a special catered feast. Stay tuned for an update about our special guest chef.
Registration coming soon.
5787/2026
high holy days