Our special guest today is Rabbi David Gelfand, leader of New York City’s Temple Israel congregation. Rabbi Gelfand began his career at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, NY, and he then served synagogues in New Jersey (Har Sinai) and Ohio (Fairmount Temple). Prior to joining Temple Israel in 2007, he served as Rabbi of The Jewish Center of the Hamptons, where he initiated the highly acclaimed “Hamptons Jewish Summer Institute,” a unique, creative forum for Jewish learning, spirituality and culture. For over a decade, after helping found the Interfaith Alliance, Washington, DC, the largest interfaith organization in the USA, promoting dialogue and civility, he served as a national officer. Rabbi Gelfand is a member of the National Council of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and has been active in a number of Zionist & Israeli organizations and institutions. He currently serves on the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's Board of Governors, their President's Rabbinic Council. Rabbi Gelfand received his ordination from the HUC-JIR, Cincinnati, received a Doctor of Divinity from HUC-JIR and did post-graduate studies in Princeton, Jerusalem and Toronto.
Our Yom Kippur talk focuses on the Kol Nidrei prayer and on the special power of the communal experience this prayer offers for members of Jewish congregations.
