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Month of Elul

Each year as summer fades into fall, Jewish tradition invites us to turn inward. The month of Elul precedes the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We dedicate this time to preparing ourselves for the holidays so that we can experience them as fully as possible. During Elul we are asked to look into ourselves. We think about who we are and who we want to be. Whose forgiveness do we need in order for us to enter a new year with a clean slate? Judaism offers help for this period of introspection in several ways: The shofar sounds daily, awakening us from complacency; later in the month, prayers of repentance—selikhot—are added to the daily liturgy. Perhaps most important, during Elul, we can support each other through the process of requesting and offering forgiveness with full and open hearts. 

Latest Rituals

“Sweeping the leaves out of the drain, I think of change …”

a layer of orange leaves

Instructions for taking stock of our lives at the beginning of the New Year

a person sits looking out on a dirt road

Meditation practice for forgiveness

a person sits cross-legged side profile, eyes closed, with earbuds in

“Death is my teacher”

full moon over dark landscape
Love has arrived! Elul, has begun.
woman holding a book

Questions to reflect on for the new year

A person in an orange checked shirt wearing a ring writes in a red journal

Walking in a labyrinth as spiritual preparation for the High Holidays

a person is seated in the middle of a labyrinth surrounded by trees

Texts and reflection questions for each day of Elul

a person's hands are clasped together sitting on an open book

“Adonai, how beautiful is Your name”

white flowers
Because aren’t we all / swirling dust, flashing shards / from a broken vessel of hope / too vast be contained?
two hands holding burning sparklers next to each other

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