September 29 – October 1, 2024 -The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem held a festive three-night event of musical selichot prior to Rosh Hashanah.

Selichot, Jewish penitential poems and prayers said in the days prior to the Jewish New Year and the fast day of Yom Kippur, are unique in that they are often said in unison by millions of Jews both religious and secular.

The prayers are a plaintive call for forgiveness and redemption, the latter a fitting theme for the past year – as Jews around the world mourn the atrocities of October 7 and yearn for a better year ahead.

The Museum’s rendition featured Israeli stars Kobi Aflalo, Yuval Dayan, Shuli Rand, Leah Shabbat, and Lior Almalich, each of whom led the prayers for the hundreds in attendance in our main event hall.

Each of the three nights was also highlighted by speakers whose children were killed during the October 7 attack or the current war raging – Shira Shapira, the mother of Avner Shapira, who was killed by Hamas terrorists at the Nova Music Festival, Nitzan Lipshitz, the father of Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz, who fell in battle in the Gaza Strip, and Sarit Zussman, the mother of Sgt. First Class Ben Zussman, who also fell in battle in Gaza. They stressed the need for unity in these trying times.