This link will take you to a three-part online audio course exploring the content, meaning, and music of Lecha Dodi, as part of Mechon Hadar’s Tefillah Toolkit series. Three scholars explore what the prayer is about, what it means to pray it, and how to get a community praying it together. First, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, President and CEO of the Hadar Institute, investigates the deeper meaning of the poem Lecha Dodi, including an analysis of its structure and biblical and Talmudic allusions. Then, Dena Weiss, Rosh Beit Midrash and Director of Fellowship Programs at Hadar, explores how the lonely Sabbath is the perfect partner for the Jewish people, changing our understanding of Lecha Dodi? Finally, Joey Weisenberg, a musician and the creative director of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, shares best practices when leading Lecha Dodi in community, and samples four tunes of very different styles.The lectures and accompanying PDF source sheets are from educators at Mechon Hadar, an educational institution that empowers Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah learning, prayer, and service.