Tag
Elul
5 articles
High Holiday Preparation: A Complete Guide for Elul and Beyond
The High Holidays don't start on Rosh Hashanah — they start a month earlier, in Elul. Here's your complete guide to spiritual and practical preparation, from selichot prayers to meal planning to the inner work of teshuvah.
Selichot: The Midnight Prayers That Open the Gates of Mercy
Selichot — penitential prayers recited before the High Holidays — fill the night with haunting melodies and raw pleas for forgiveness. From Ashkenazi midnight vigils to the Sephardi month-long tradition, these prayers prepare the soul for judgment.
Forgiveness in Judaism: From Elul to Yom Kippur and Beyond
Judaism has a structured, demanding approach to forgiveness: you must ask three times, the offended must try to grant it, and God forgives sins against God — but not sins against other people. Only they can do that.
Jewish New Year Resolutions: Cheshbon HaNefesh and the Art of Teshuvah
Forget January 1. The Jewish New Year — Rosh Hashanah — offers a deeper, more structured approach to self-improvement through cheshbon hanefesh, Elul introspection, and practical teshuvah.
Teshuvah: The Complete Guide to Jewish Repentance
Teshuvah — literally 'return' — is Judaism's transformative process of repentance. Far more than saying sorry, it involves genuine change and is available to every person at any time.