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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...