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The Shofar Blast: Elul Messages

06/18/2024 05:33:09 PM

Jun18

06/15/2024 11:00:01 AM

Jun15

This is the archive of the clergy's weekly messages during the month of Elul to help the congregation prepare for the High Holy Days. (This page is blog-style, so the posts at the top of the page are the most recent.)Read more...

Shofar Blast: Elul Week Four

09/29/2024 07:01:05 AM

Sep29

Elul Week Four: Avinu Malkeinu

During Elul, a month of preparation before the coming High Holy Days, we hear the call of the Shofar as a reminder:Read more...

Shofar Blast: Elul Week Three

09/22/2024 07:00:52 AM

Sep22

Elul Week Three: Unetaneh Tokef

During Elul, a month of preparation before the coming High Holy Days, we hear the call of the Shofar as a reminderRead more...

Shofar Blast: Elul Week Two

09/15/2024 07:00:47 AM

Sep15

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul Week Two: Kol Nidre Kol Nidre has remained a touchstone of the High Holy Days in no small part because of its longstanding musical tradition stretching back many centuries, to a time before recordings or sheet music.Read more...

Shofar Blast: Elul Week One

09/08/2024 07:00:58 AM

Sep8

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week One: Hin'ni Hin’ni is one of my all-time favorite prayers and is one of the very first prayers which make up our Rosh Hashanah evening service. It is a prayer of profound humility...Read more...

2023 Shofar Blast: Elul Week Four

09/10/2023 06:00:00 AM

Sep10

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul Week Four: Accepting Who We Are It can be hard to accept things that are not “perfect” by our standards. It can be especially hard to admit to ourselves when we could stand to improve and take actionable steps to improve our failings....Read more...

2023 Shofar Blast: Elul Week Three

09/03/2023 06:00:00 AM

Sep3

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week Three: Gratitude “Modeh Ani” is a prayer for the morning. You don’t need to go to services to say it. It may simply be recited upon waking: “I am grateful”...Read more...

2023 Shofar Blast: Elul Week Two

08/27/2023 06:00:00 AM

Aug27

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul Week Two: Ahavat Chesed / Love of Kindness Kindness shows up in all kinds of ways in our lives....Read more...

2023 Shofar Blast: Elul Week One

08/20/2023 06:00:00 AM

Aug20

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week One: Showing Up in the Present I am excited it is the Hebrew Month of Elul! Elul is the last month of the Jewish year...Read more...

(2022) Shofar Blast: Jewish Paradoxes

09/18/2022 09:00:00 AM

Sep18

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul Week Four: Jewish Paradoxes As the weeks fly by and the High Holy Days approach, what have we done to prepare during this month of Elul? What have we learned? ...Read more...

(2022) Shofar Blast: Week Three

09/11/2022 09:00:00 AM

Sep11

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week Three: Facing the Unknown Some people say that transitions are part of life, but they are mistaken. ...Read more...

(2022) Shofar Blast: Week Two

09/04/2022 09:00:00 AM

Sep4

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul Week Two: Play like you practice, practice like you play. See if you can fill in the blanks in this phrase: “On Rosh Hashanah it is ____, and on Yom Kippur it is ___.” ...Read more...

(2022) Shofar Blast: Slow Down for Elul

08/28/2022 09:00:00 AM

Aug28

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week One: Slow Down for Elul People work hard today. Work, work, work! ...Read more...

(2021) Shofar Blast: Loving Your Neighbor

08/29/2021 06:00:00 AM

Aug29

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week Four. Living Our Values: Loving Your Neighbor. V'ahavta L'reiacha. Many people are familiar with the teaching in Leviticus...Read more...

(2021) Shofar Blast: Being Welcoming

08/22/2021 06:00:00 AM

Aug22

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul Week Three. Living Our Values: Being Welcoming. Hachnasat Orchim, Kavod, & Hachalah. In the Torah, we learn that Abraham and Sarah were the quintessential hosts...Read more...

(2021) Shofar Blast: Paying Attention

08/15/2021 06:00:00 AM

Aug15

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul Week Two. Living Our Values: Paying Attention. Sh'ma & Hineini. Two friends run into each other and are quickly catching up about their summer...Read more...

(2021) Shofar Blast: Living Our Values

08/08/2021 06:00:00 AM

Aug8

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Introducing Living Our Values. Another year is winding to a close. As we enter Elul, a month of preparation before the coming High Holy Days...Read more...

(2020) Shofar Blasts! - Elul Week 4

09/13/2020 09:00:00 AM

Sep13

Want even MORE Shofar? Click the image to hear the sounds of the Shofar in preparation for the coming High Holy Days! (Part 2 of a series of videos featuring some of our amazing Ba-alei T'kiah (shofar blowers) at Beth Ahabah.)Read more...

(2020) Week 4: Acknowledging the Hungers Within Us

09/13/2020 06:00:00 AM

Sep13

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

24 Elul 5780 / 13 September 2020

What are the things we want most in our lives? The answers are probably different for each one of us, but I suspect in many cases they fall into two general categories: “things that keep us alive” and “things that help us feel good.” Things that keep us alive in the immediate sense tend to be the same for all of us: health, sustenance, shelter, and safety. All very important things! The...Read more...

(2020) Shofar Blasts! - Elul Week 3

09/06/2020 09:00:00 AM

Sep6

Click HERE to hear the sounds of the Shofar in preparation for the coming High Holy Days! (Part of a series of videos featuring some of our amazing Ba-alei T'kiah (shofar blowers) at Beth Ahabah.)Read more...

(2020) Week 3: Perspective & Invitation to S'lichot

09/06/2020 06:00:00 AM

Sep6

Rabbi Scott Nagel

17 Elul 5780 / 6 September 2020

Do you remember that old movie, Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray? It came out in 1993, 27 years ago – the same year I graduated High School. :) Our boys are getting older, and Rabbi Randi Nagel and I decided to introduce them to the classics, so we started weekly family movie nights this past summer. Let me explain what our understanding of the classics are: Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Ferris...Read more...

(2020) Week Two: Connection

08/30/2020 06:00:01 AM

Aug30

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

10 Elul 5780 / 30 August 2020

One subject at the forefront of our minds this summer has been connection. From deep personal connections to casual conversations, even our internet connections have been important, now perhaps more than ever before!
 
In Jewish tradition, we are taught that the mitzvot (commandments, things we are supposed to do and ways we are supposed to behave) can be discussed as two overall...Read more...

(2020) Week One: Capacity

08/23/2020 06:00:00 AM

Aug23

Rabbi Scott Nagel

3 Elul 5780 / 23 August 2020

The High Holy Days are not just Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They are a season of time that begin NOW in the month of Elul and continue through the end of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Elul is the Hebrew month directly preceding Rosh Hashanah – the last 29 days of the Jewish Year.
 
There is work to be done in Elul. The great journey of turning, repentance and transformation begins...Read more...

(2019) What Now? The 10 Days of Repentance

09/29/2019 06:00:00 AM

Sep29

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul 29 Sept: Week Five
​​​​​​​What Now? The 10 Days of Repentance
Task: Celebrate High Holy Days at Beth Ahabah and continue our inner work.

Today is the last day of Elul. Tonight, Rosh Hashanah begins. It is not too late to do the work of Teshuvah. There is still time to find forgiveness. You are worth the effort to return to the person you want to be in this New Year. Judaism gives us a gift, The Ten Days...Read more...

(2019) The Importance of Solitude

09/22/2019 06:00:00 AM

Sep22

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul 22 Sept: Week Four
The Importance of Solitude
Task: Create at least one opportunity during the week for solitude (replicable during year).

Last night at our community Selichot service, we chanted a brief line from the book of Lamentations: “Pour out your heart like water” (Lam. 2:19). This is one of the essential images of the High Holy Day season, the idea of our heart cracking open, of becoming vulnerable, and of...Read more...

(2019) Finding Forgiveness Now

09/15/2019 06:00:00 AM

Sep15

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul 15 Sept: Week Three
Finding Forgiveness Now
Task: Come to our community Selichot Service, Sat. Sept. 21.

With one week left in the month of Elul, there is a marked increase in the urgency for preparation and the need for repentance. This week, on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah, we will recite prayers for forgiveness called Selichot (pronounced “S'lee-KHOHT”) in order to make sure we as individuals...Read more...

(2019) Looking Inward: Contemplation and Mindfulness

09/08/2019 06:00:00 AM

Sep8

Cantor Sarah Beck-Berman

Elul 8 Sept: Week Two
Looking Inward: Contemplation and Mindfulness
Task: Attend the Looking Inward event on Tues. Sept. 10 (or ask Cantor for a take-home version).

Last week we kicked off the High Holy Day season by identifying 15 positive qualities and 14 growth areas we want to embrace in the coming year – one for each day of the month of Elul. This week, we ask the question: how can we actualize our goals for...Read more...

(2019) Introduction to Elul and the Start of Real Change

09/01/2019 06:00:00 AM

Sep1

Rabbi Scott Nagel

Elul 1 Sept: Week One
Introduction to Elul and the Start of Real Change
​​​​​​​Task: Fill in the self-improvement handout (click here to download).

The High Holy Days are not just Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. They are a season of time that begin NOW in the month of Elul and continue through the end of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Elul is the Hebrew month directly preceding Rosh Hashanah – the last 29...Read more...

Thu, December 5 2024 4 Kislev 5785