Experience the High Holidays in the historic Vilna Shul sanctuary. There's something for everyone—musical and uplifting services, festive holiday meals, programming for families with young children, and plenty of time to mix and mingle. No membership required. Drop in for one or all.
Festive kosher meals for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will be catered by Vilna favorite Dushez.
Tickets for Young Professionals (40 and under): We're happy to offer young professionals a special discounted ticket price for services and meals. Please see registration for young professional pricing.
Transportation: $5 validated parking at 207 Cambridge Street | MBTA Red line via Charles/MGH and Green Line via Park Street | Click here for more detailed directions.
Contact Our Team: While tickets are heavily subsidized, we don't want cost to be a barrier. Please email or call us at 617-523-2324 if you have any questions.
Meet our High Holiday Leaders
Rabbi Elyse Winick
Services will be led by Rabbi Elyse Winick, The Vilna's Director of Arts and Culture. Elyse has served as the Director of Learning and Education at Combined Jewish Philanthropies as well as the Jewish Chaplain at Brandeis University and the Director of KOACH/College Outreach. Ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary, Elyse has created High Holiday experiences for synagogues and campus settings in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Aron Zelkowicz
Joining us for Kol Nidre, cellist Aron Zelkowicz has performed at the Tanglewood, Banff, Aspen, Sarasota, Chautauqua, Colorado, Cactus Pear and Sunflower festivals, with members of the Emerson and Cleveland Quartets, as Principal Cello of the Miami Symphony Orchestra, with the Toronto Symphony and National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, and on international tours with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
As the Founder and Director of the Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival, he presented renowned ensembles and guest artists from the orchestral, chamber, early music, rock, and world music genres in innovative and thematic programs, for which he oversaw every aspect of fundraising, marketing, production, and artistic direction. Critics noted his “impressive” directorial debut of an original, fully staged production of the chamber opera “The Dybbuk: Between Two Worlds” and dubbed the Festival “one of the highest quality concert series in town”. The first five volumes in his ongoing album series "Russian Jewish Classics" showcase his talents as a producer and cellist and shed new light upon the early twentieth-century masters of Jewish art-music. He is currently based in Boston and performs through the New England region as a member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra, the ProArte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), as Associate Principal Cello of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and as Principal Cello of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.
Geo Poor
Geo Poor serves as Controller at Temple Emanuel in Newton and previously served as Director of Operations and Finance at The Vilna Shul. He is a lifelong musician, with highlights including playing in the award-winning Irish-rock band The Great Whiskey Rebellion.
Geo is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies, where his research focuses on Jewish mysticism and the Zohar. He has studied spiritual prayer leadership with the ALEPH Ordination Program and Nava Tehila in Jerusalem, experiences that continue to shape his approach to Jewish music and prayer.
Geo is grateful for the opportunity to return to The Vilna Shul as accompanist for the High Holidays.
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