A first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Dead Sea branch of the international Chabad-Lubavitch movement and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority will provide Israelis with a unique opportunity to say and experience selichot atop Masada.
Selichot are prayers of penitence recited by observant Jews in the early morning hours during the month of Elul and the Ten Days of Teshuva between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
The special artistic program, named “Selichot in Words and Sound,” will be performed by two professional creative artists, Michael Viegel and Gil Akivayov against the backdrop of a magnificent Masada dawn.
The event will take place at sunrise at the ancient synagogue at the summit of the wind-swept cliff-top fortress on Thursday, 7 Elul (August 27), at 4:30 AM. Tickets for the event, which will include use of the cable car, are priced at NIS 75 for children and 110 for adults.
The only way to ascend the mountain will be from the entrance leading to the site from the Dead Sea Highway. Cable cars will begin operating at 4:00 AM. The selichot will be followed by the daily morning Shacharit prayer.