Originally published September 5, 2024
Every so often, our Jewish calendar and our secular calendar align in harmonious ways. Earlier this week, we marked Rosh Hodesh Elul, the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Rosh Hodesh Elul coincided neatly with the first day of the school year for so many of our families. As our young people and the teachers in our community prepare for a new school year, we are all preparing for the imminent new beginning of the Jewish year, as Rosh Hashanah is in just under a month.
While you might read this and think, “I’ve still got a month! That’s tons of time, Rabbi!,” our tradition advises that we have some spiritual homework to do before Rosh Hashanah. Elul is meant to be a month of preparation, of introspection, of examining our routines, our habits, our relationships, and preparing to remove what no longer serves us, in search of new ways of being, loving, and relating. This spiritual work is called cheshbon ha-nefesh, an accounting of the soul. Jewish tradition gives us a number of tools to begin this process, and I invite you to choose one (or several!) to try out with me this year.
- Reading of Psalm 27 – There is a Jewish custom of reading Psalm 27 every day during the month of Elul, all the way through the end of our High Holy Day period. If you’d like some guidance in reading and studying this psalm, the CCAR has a lovely app with music, reflective questions, and meditations to guide you through these next weeks.
- If you’d like to tap into your creativity over the next month, the Jewish Studio Project sends out daily Elul writing (or any other form of creativity!) prompts – you can sign up here. These prompts have been one of my favourite ways of preparing for the High Holy Days.
- If you’re a reader more than a writer, Jewels of Elul is a daily reflection or story from one of dozens of Jewish thinkers, artists, and leaders, to bring the themes of this time of year to your inbox.
- And lastly, there is a custom to sound the shofar every day during the month of Elul, except for Shabbat. So if you have a shofar at home, and want to wake up your neighbours – go for it!
Chodesh tov – may it be a month of reflection, growth, and peace.
