Shalom shalom my friends and welcome back to another episode of the light lab podcast. My name is Eliana Light and I'm really excited, I know I always say that, I'm really excited to share today's interview with Rabbi Elie Kaunfer. I know Rav Elie from many years of studying on and off at the Hadar Institute. Hadar is an institute for Jewish learning based in New York City, but its influence has really spread all around the Jewish world. And Rav Elie, as he is often called, is the President and CEO and one of the cofounders of the Hadar Institute. He's previously been a journalist, a banker, a corporate fraud investigator, but we now know him as the liturgist extraordinare of Hadar. He has a doctorate in liturgy from the Jewish Theological Seminary. And his work on the intertext of liturgy is something that we've quoted here on the podcast many times. So we figured, think it's time to talk to the man himself about his work. He has been named multiple times to Newsweek's lists of the top 50 rabbis, he has written books, he has been in a lot of impressive fellowships. And he's also a really engaging teacher, which is why you might hear me be a little flustered, and not speak as well as I usually do. Because I was a little flustered, I felt very honored that I got to speak to Rav Elie, his work has really helped me in my understanding of liturgy. And he's currently working on a book about applying his vision of intertext to the whole Amidah. So since we are in the midst of our Amidah series, felt like a perfect opportunity to speak with him. Take a listen and enjoy my conversation with Rav Elie Kaunfer.