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. 

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 August 23rd, Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul, and continuing until September 20th, 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 13th, 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 Saturday evenings, we will begin with Havdalah, and so we'll end a few minutes later. You may drop in early to schmooze 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, and there are 24 opportunities! If you or a member of your household would like to sound the shofar, please contact Judy Tate.

Elul Book Group 5785 with the Rabbis - To Heal a Fractured World: The Ethics of Responsibility, written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Throughout the month of Elul, we’ll explore this book as a Beth El community. Join Rabbi Bekah, Rabbi Efrat, and Rabbi Ira for discussion of a few chapters at a time, on Thursdays August 28th, September 4th, and September 3rd 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]. The book is 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, August 28th - Part 1: The Call to Responsibility (Chapters 1-9)
• Thursday, September 4th - Part 2: The Theology of Responsibility (Chapters 10-16)
• Thursday, September 11th - Part 3: The Responsible Life (Chapters 16-20) 

How To Sukkah! Bringing Sukkot to our homes this year, easy peasy! 
Sunday, September 7th at 3:00pm
Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, has a certain intimidation factor to it, what with building a structure in your backyard or on a deck or balcony, "dwelling in it" for a week (Jewish camping? who knew?), and waving around palm fronds and unusual citrus fruit in a particular way (careful not to put an eye out!). Sukkot is a lot of fun, and doesn't have to be complicated. Join Rabbi Ira and members of the Ritual Committee on Sunday, September 7 at 3:00 p.m. for a lighthearted explanation of how to build a kosher sukkah, what the significance of the various components of sukkot are (did you know the roof of the sukkah is ritually the most important part?), sukkah decor, do-it-yourself lulavs and etrogs versus "the easy way" (Afikomen or mail order...or a plushie one you buy online), and answers to all your Sukkot-related questions. We want to get you started on your way to celebrating this joyful Jewish Festival.  

Deepening Your High Holy Day Experience 
Thursday, September 11 and 18th from 7:00-8:30pm 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. Thursday, September 11th will focus on the historical context of the High Holy Days (Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah) and how these holidays have evolved throughout Jewish history. Thursday, September 18th will focus on the spiritual connection of the High Holy Day season, and how we can bring these holidays home. Join us for one or both of these Elul learning sessions!

Selichot Film and Service - Mission: Joy
Saturday, September 13th, 7:00pm
Film screening beginning at 7:00 pm (in-person only)
Selichot Service and Havdalah beginning at 9:00pm (on Zoom and in the Sanctuary) 
The 10 Days of Awe, beginning and ending with Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, 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, Mission: Joy, followed by a discussion reflecting on the film's themes of finding joy, compassion, forgiveness, and light through dark times. Following the film, 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.

Embodied New Year’s Mikvah
Sunday, September 14th, 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 for an embodied experience of preparation. We'll begin individual and shared reflection and singing 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 breathe and release what we need to let go of from the last year in order to begin 5786 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!

Independent Learning and Reflection for Elul 
Below is a list of organizations that send daily Elul emails and provide other resources that our Beth El 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. 
• 10Q offers 10 reflection prompts during each of the 10 Days of Awe. At the conclusion of Yom Kippur you are invited to submit your responses to a “locked online vault.” Next year, before Rosh Hashanah, your answers will be sent back to you in preparation for the coming High Holy Days, before the cycle begins again.

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. 
• Unfolding: A High Holy Day Companion, by Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar
• This Is Real And You Are Completely Unprepared, by Rabbi Alan Lew