PREPARING FOR THE HIGH HOLY DAYS — THE MONTH OF ELUL

Elul, the Hebrew month before Rosh Hashanah, is a month of spiritual preparation for the coming Days of Awe. This year Beth El is again offering a series of programs to deepen our personal and spiritual engagement with the High Holy Days and their themes. You are invited to attend any of these sessions; they are open to everyone, regardless of background, prior experience or preparation. Our goals are to support one another in experiencing the richness of our traditions, deepening our understanding, and engaging meaningfully in the opportunities for introspection that Elul brings. 

Elul Book Group 5784 with the Rabbis - The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World, written by Rabbi Sharon Brous
Throughout the month of Elul, we’ll explore this book as a Beth El community. Join Rabbi Bekah and Rabbi Ira for discussion of a few chapters at a time, every Thursday in September from 12:30-1:30pm in person in the Beit Midrash or on Zoom. Each week we will reflect together on what we’ve read as we prepare for the New Year as individuals and members of our kehillah kedoshah [sacred community]. A limited number of copies of the book are available for purchase at Beth El for the discounted price of $15; email clergyassistant@bethelberkeley.org to secure yours! (The book is also widely available wherever books are sold.) Please let us know you plan to join us by clicking here.

Click here to join the Zoom discussion!

• Thursday, September 5th - Chapters 1-3
• Thursday, September 12th - Chapters 4-5 SESSION CANCELLED
• Thursday, September 19th - Chapters 6-7
• Thursday, September 26th - Chapter 8, Epilogue, Practice

Deepening Your High Holy Day Experience 
Thursday, September 12th from 6:45-8:00 pm in the Beit Midrash
The High Holy Days are coming! And, you may feel completely unprepared?! Join Rabbi Ira as we explore what these High Holy Days are all about, how we can prepare ourselves for this period of time, and how we can bring the High Holy Days into our homes this coming season! All are welcome, whether this is your first High Holy Day journey, or your 120th, as we look to deepen our High Holy journey this coming year. 

The High Holy Day Olympics!
Sunday, September 22nd at 2:00pm at Beth El
Join your Beth El as we keep the Olympic Torch burning for the High Holy Day Olympics! Together, we will participate in experiential, ruach filled activities and friendly competition, as we learn about the upcoming holiday season (From Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah and everything in between). This program is geared for families and children but is open to all!

Daily Sounding of the Shofar
During the Hebrew month of Elul, we sound the shofar every day. These blasts are a “wake-up” call to the deepest parts of ourselves, intended to inspire and remind us to engage in the soul-searching needed to prepare for the High Holy Days. The sound is also significant as it serves to bring our community together during this sacred season.

Beginning on September 2nd, Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul, and continuing until September 30th, two evenings before Erev Rosh Hashanah, we will gather at 6:00pm on Zoom every evening (except for Friday evenings, when the shofar will be heard during Shabbat services, and on September 28th, when the shofar will be heard at the Selichot service) for a brief shared moment for reflection and to hear the shofar. We will start at 6:00, and the Shofar will be sounded at about 6:05. On Saturdays, we will begin with Havdalah, and so we'll end a few minutes later. You may drop in early to shmooze if you wish - no prior registration is required. Click here to join every evening at 6:00 pm!

Volunteer ba’alei tekiah - shofar-sounders - are needed for each of these gatherings! There are 24 opportunities. If you or a member of your household would like to sound the shofar for us, please contact Judy Tate.
 
Daily Emails During the Month of Elul 
Our Beth El Ritual Committee has decided to sunset our daily Elul emails this year, but here's some information about organizations that send daily Elul emails and provide other resources that our Ritual Committee suggests might be meaningful for the season:

Sign up to receive daily reflections from a variety of contributors, including rabbis, actors, and politicians, this year on the topic of Finding Balance.

The Jewish Studio Project sends out daily emails during Elul.

Beginning with Tisha b'Av and running through Yom Kippur, the Meaningful Life Center has options for daily emails, podcasts, and a WhatsApp group.

Judaism Unbound sponsors podcasts, live webinars, and twice per week emails throughout the month of Elul.

Temple Micah, a Reform synagogue in Washington, DC, sends out daily emails through its Elul Project.

The Institute for Jewish Spirituality in NY offers year-round daily weekday Jewish meditation Zooms at 9:30 am Pacific Time. They also provide free recorded meditations and some classes on their YouTube channel. During Elul, they blow the shofar at the end of every morning sit.

Applied Jewish Spirituality in Israel will be offering a class about Elul, and provides resources about this and other seasons of the Jewish year.

While not an email process, this page gives you reflective journaling prompts for each day of Elul. 

Books:
60 Days: A Spiritual Guide to the High Holidays, by Simon Jacobson of the Meaningful Life Center
Preparing Your Heart for the High Holidays, by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky. Includes prompts and space for daily journaling.

Embodied New Year with Movement, Melody & Mikvah
Saturday, September 28th, 4:00 pm on Albany Beach
So much of our preparation for and practice during the High Holy Day season is anchored in our minds. Join Rabbi Bekah & Cantor Elaya for an embodied experience of preparation. We'll begin with gentle movement (accessible to all levels) and melody on the beach, and conclude with a cleansing and invigorating mikvah [ritual immersion] in the mayim chayim [living waters] of the Bay. All are welcome as we stretch, breathe and release what we need to let go of from the last year in order to begin 5785 renewed and embodied. We'll gather on the sand at Albany Beach, located on the Albany Bulb at the west end of Buchanan Street in Albany. Wear your bathing suit under your clothes, bring a towel and warm layers—the water is cold!

Selichot Film and Service - The Last Repair Shop
Saturday, September 28th, 7:30 pm
Film screening beginning at 7:30pm (in-person only)
Selichot Service and Havdalah beginning at 8:45pm (on Zoom and in the Sanctuary) 
The High Holy Days, known in Hebrew as the Yamim Nora'im —  the Days of Awe — are preceded by Selichot, when we first hear the familiar and powerful words and melodies of the season. Selichot is observed on the Saturday evening the week before Rosh Hashanah. We will begin our Selichot program watching the film, The Last Repair Shop, and discussing it’s themes of Tikun (repair) and how we can bring that into our own lives this season.  We will prepare for our own season of transformation as we see the bimah and our Torah Scrolls transformed for the New Year and conclude with Havdalah and Selichot services.