Rabbi Denise Handlarski from Secular Synagogue tells us more about this special month

Remember back in the spring when we were all suddenly in lockdown and figuring out how to do Passover seders over Zoom?  There were oh-so-many Passover jokes about plagues and "why this Passover is different from all other Passovers” because they were online. 

This year is pretty different for the High Holidays too. We can’t get together the way we normally would. Most in-person services are cancelled or drastically altered. And we are different too -- all of us have sustained significant loss and difficulty this past year. 

That is why we need the spiritually magical month of Elul.

Elul is the Jewish month leading up to the High Holidays, traditionally a time for spiritual reflection, study, and getting ready for the year to come. In the Secular Synagogue online community we are mainly secular and cultural Jews and our loved ones - and we make a big deal about Elul. 

I don’t think we can magically flip a switch this Rosh Hashanah and say “Happy New Year! I’m good now.” Getting to a place of feeling good, even feeling ok, is going to take some significant reflecting, goal setting, and work. 

Every year, I release a Get Clear on Your Jewish Year. It’s a great companion to the High Holidays at Home Time to Reflect guide. Both have prompts for reflection and goal setting. This one is my gift to you. But this year I felt I needed - we all needed - something more.

So I created the Elul Program: Engaged Living, Unlimited Love. It includes a 36-page guide with daily, weekly, and month-long challenges, five Zoom sessions, a bonus guide for kid-friendly Elul activities, the option for a study buddy, a special Elul playlist and more!

You get a community supporting you in doing your personal work, a program with so much goodness packed in you will feel smarter, stronger, healthier, and happier by following it, and you’ll get me helping nudge you in the direction you want to go.

This year is a weird year. Next year will be too. But it doesn’t have to be bad weird. Let’s draw on Jewish wisdom and connect with loving community to make sure we don’t waste any more days, weeks, or months waiting for things to be good again. Let’s make them good -- exactly where we’re at. 

And if you are curious about what Secular Synagogue has going on for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, get a sneak peak here.

Wishing you all a truly transformative Elul and a beautiful new year! 
Rabbi Denise Handlarski, http://denisehandlarski.com