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.
Practices and meditations for making changes in life during the high holidays and all year long
A reminder that we have Elul to return to ourselves, the people we have wronged, and each other
An invitation to open our hearts to prepare for the reflection of Elul
A prayer and poem asking to return us to ourselves and our source
A ritual to help begin the transformation of a bad habit to something that is healthy and life-affirming
Celebrating the Torah while keeping our loved ones memories as blessings
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