This year I participated in my first Slichot tour, part of the modern contribution to the traditional time of Slichot (repentance) that takes place in the weeks or months leading up to Yom Kippur. I tagged along with MASA participants from Bezalel School of Art and Design and Rimon School of Jazzand Music as they toured Nachlaot, one of the oldest neighborhoods outside the Old City of Jerusalem. Slichot are prayers of repentance that occur before the onset of the Jewish New Year.  These prayers are done at night usually between 11pm and dawn, a time considered by Jewish mystics to be the most suitable for reaching a 'closeness' with God.  Slichot practices vary between Ashkenazi and Sphardi traditions, where the former must have at  least three days of Selichot before the start of Yom Kippur, the later, on the other hand, start their Slichot at the beginning Elul, the last month of the Hebrew calendar before the New Year.  Bezalel & Rimon particpants touring Nachlaot. This year marks the first year of the MASA Bezalel program, where participants from all over the world are enrolled in Israel's top school of Art and Design.  The Bezalel Experience program offers participants the opportunity to theoretically and practically study within their field of art and design.  Through a combination of accredited coursework and once a week volunteer placements, participants are exposed to academic learning as well as the larger art and deign culture in Israel.   Participants of the MASA program at the Rimon School of Jazz and Music  are integrated into classes at the Rimon school and join ensembles alongside Israeli students immediately upon enrolling.  The school itself is highly involved in Israeli's music scene, hosts many of the world’s acclaimed jazz players to conduct intensive workshops on campus, such as Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Lou Soloff, and Pat Metheny. The Rimon School of Jazz and Music has an accreditation agreement with Berklee College of Music in Boston, which enables our students to graduate from Berklee within two years.  . For photos of Nachlaot click here. For more information on Slichot click here.   For more information on Slichot in Nachlaot click here. For more information on Bezalel click here. For more information on Rimon click here

 

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