fienschliff; Unsplash
We are now knee-deep in the Jewish month of Elul, which began in mid-August and ends when Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish new year, begins. As the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is known to be a time for deep reflection and contemplation in preparation for the High Holidays.
Around this time two years ago, the Avodah Institute team launched our High Holiday guide, Transformative Teshuvah, meant to support our community with this contemplation from a justice lens. It’s built around the themes of the High Holidays but is also a beautiful complement to year-round reflection.
In addition to the recommendations below, we encourage you to check out the many offerings included in this guide, such as Rabbi Aryeh Bernstein’s teaching on releasing the incarcerated and repairing our justice system; Akiko Yonekawa’s reflection on the meaning of the sound of the shofar; and Melissa Shaw’s writing on housing insecurity through the lens of the Sukkot holiday.
I’m especially drawn to the questions Akiko leaves us with in her piece: Whose cries do you need to heed? Whom have you forgotten? What alarm are you raising? What joyful sounds are you bringing? What is calling you to action this Rosh Hashana?
L’shanah tovah (Happy New Year),
— Alison Rollman, Program Manager, Avodah Institute for Social Change
Recommendations
Resource Guide
Transformative Teshuvah
Explore the Institute’s very own guide for your High Holiday practice and reflection—filled with poetry, lesson plans, journaling and creativity prompts, audio meditations, and more.
Resource Guide
Land Acknowledgements Through a Jewish Lens
This guide from the Mitsui Collective outlines what land acknowledgements are and why we do them, and invites us into action through ritual.
Film
40 Days of Teshuvah
This powerful film and discussion guide by Yehudah Webster, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), Hannah Roodman, and Inside Out Wisdom and Action Project document a 40 day protest and spiritual action that explores how spirituality is central to our personal and communal reckoning with racial injustice.
Panel
Allies in Action: Combating Antisemitism and Racism
View the recording from the Avodah Institute for Social Change and the Black Jewish Liberation Collective’s hosted a virtual event on the intersections of antisemitism and racism.
Article
It Has Always Been A Shared Story: Finding the Narratives of Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Equity in Judaism
Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital shares her research and stories about the ways Jewish parents talk about race and racism with their children.
Resource Guide
Holiday Resources
Jewtina y Co. created this beautiful bilingual (English and Spanish) library of resources for Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
