The month of Elul is here, and you know what that means — the High Holiday season has officially begun. This time of year, beginning with Elul and continuing through the month of Tishrei, has traditionally been recognized as a time of heightened spiritual searching, rich textual investigation, and community gatherings. For educators like yourself, it’s a particularly abundant time for learning opportunities. Wondering where to begin diving into the many texts associated with Elul, Tishrei, and the holidays? We’ve got you covered. Here are some great places to start exploring.
Search by Topic
Did you know you can peruse the library by themes, not just book titles or authors? Topic Pages are curated collections of resources that relate to a specific concept, interspersed with short introductory paragraphs, meant to serve as guideposts for the curious mind. A few to look at during this season are Elul, High Holidays, Forgiveness, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur. While you’re at it, don’t forget to download Sefaria for Google Docs, our new browser extension that lets you add any source in the library to a Google Doc with the click of a button (among other features).
Source Sheets Galore
Both our community of learners and the Sefaria learning team have crafted a wealth of source sheets featuring relevant resources with helpful guidance to parse them and their interconnections. Check out these examples:
- Elul/Teshuva is a collection of source sheets created by Rabbi Margie Jacobs, designed to invite learners on a “journey inward” for the High Holidays through ancient texts, contemporary poetry, and reflective questions.
- Teshuva: Waking Up Through Sound includes sources about the practice and power of hearing the sounds of the shofar during the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah and on the holiday itself. This sheet was created by the Rising Song Institute.
- A Tasty New Year - Symbolic Rosh Hashanah Foods is a sheet made by the National Library of Israel, with sources all about the foods traditionally eaten at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah meals.
- #ElulZman Shofar is a source sheet curated by Sefaria’s learning team about the relationship between the shofar and the month of Elul.
Thinking about Atonement
Traditionally, Elul is a time for introspection and repentance. Throughout the ages, Jewish thinkers have been writing about this contemplative time of year.
- In the 12th century, Rambam (Maimonides) wrote the Mishneh Torah — a foundational work of Jewish law. The section on repentance discusses the obligations and responsibilities related to repentance for various transgressions.
- The recitation of selichot (penitential prayers) is a traditional spiritual practice during the month of Elul. In the Orach Chayim section of his authoritative 16th century legal code known as the Shulchan Arukh, Rabbi Joseph Karo describes the Sephardi practice in contrast to the Ashkenazi one.
- Return: Daily Inspiration for the Days of Awe by Dr. Erica Brown includes lessons for the ten-day period beginning with Rosh Hashanah and culminating with Yom Kippur. For each day, the book offers a biblical or rabbinic-themed essay, passages for textual study, and a practical exercise of self-improvement.
Symbols and Liturgy
The traditional services during the months of Elul and Tishrei feature unique prayers, some of which are only recited or chanted during this time of year. These tend to be rich in symbolism related to seasonal themes. Just one example is the Tashlich service, wherein communities gather around a body of water in order to symbolically cast away their sins. Sefaria’s learning team has curated lesson plans and source sheets that explore some of the liturgy and symbols of the High Holidays:
- Understanding Tashlich: Lessons for All Learners includes texts and modalities for exploring Tashlich with students in elementary, middle, and high school.
- Renew Us For A Good Year / Avinu Malkeinu includes reflective prompts and questions about this prayer, which is central to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Ten Days of Awe between them.
- Remember Us? / Zochreinu Le-Chayim is a source sheet with questions and thoughts about the ‘Zochreinu’ (Remember us) paragraph added to the regular holiday liturgy for the High Holidays.
- What Type of Seat Does God Sit In? / HaMelech Yoshev examines the idea of God’s physical form (if any) as portrayed in this section of the High Holiday liturgy.
To keep exploring more of the special prayers for this time of year, take a look at Top Tefillot for Rosh Hashanah (and Yom Kippur) — a source sheet collection curated by Sefaria’s learning team.