Marina Roscha’s Chazan Produces Yomim Noraim Album

The atmosphere of Elul can already be felt in Russia’s capital, as the melodies of the Yomim Noraim are heard in Jewish homes, educational institutions, businesses, and batei medrash.

This year, the season carries special historical significance as the Marina Roscha community marks 100 years since its founding. In honor of the milestone, the community is releasing a musical gift intended to help Jews prepare for the tefillos of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Initiated by Chief Rabbi of Russia Rabbi Berel Lazar, the new album, Tefilah LeDavid, was produced by the Chief Chazan of the Central Synagogue, Rabbi Dovid Caytak. The album features selected sections of davening and traditional melodies that have been sung in Marina Roscha for many years.

Musician and composer R’ Elor Velner arranged the tracks, creating a rich musical setting designed to retain their traditional and Chassidic character.

The project seeks to help listeners arrive at the Yomim Noraim better prepared and with a deeper connection to the tefillos. For many Jews across Russia who did not receive a formal Jewish education or grow up familiar with the atmosphere of a shul, hearing the melodies beforehand can make the lengthy davening more familiar, accessible, and meaningful.

The album includes 12 tracks drawn from the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur davening. Among them are “Avinu Malkeinu” in the Chabad tradition, a tefillah medley, “Hineni He’ani Mima’as,” “Kol Nidrei,” “Ki Hinei Kachomer,” “Haben Yakir Li,” and “Eileh Ezkerah.”

The album also includes “Ve’al Yedei Avadecha,” “Ya’aleh,” “Ki Anu Amecha,” and “Atah Hivdalta.” Each track was produced to convey something of the solemnity and holiness that fills the Marina Roscha synagogue during the Yomim Noraim.

More than a musical production, Tefilah LeDavid is intended as a tool for shlichus, bringing the familiar and stirring melodies of the Yomim Noraim to Jews throughout Russia and beyond.

The Marina Roscha community expressed the hope that the melodies will awaken Jewish hearts and help listeners prepare for a good and sweet new year.