Pre-Dawn Mountaintop Performance Provides New Year’s Inspiration

To help people appreciate the emotional and spiritual power of the pre-Rosh Hashanah prayers, Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Shimon Elharar invited several dozen Israeli men, women and children to the mountaintop fortress of Masada to experience a predawn musical and theatrical performance followed by morning prayer services. Elharar, who directs Chabad of the Dead Sea, has organized similar gatherings in the past to educate visitors about Jewish holiday customs. Sponsored in part by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the recent event featured the talents of Israeli performers Michael Viegel and Gil Akivayov.