Elul

The Hebrew month of Elul begins this year at sundown, Thursday, August 17, 2023. At CBST, we prepare for the upcoming Days of Awe, the High Holy Days of 5784, with unique opportunities for study, connection, and prayer. Let’s move into the new year with new hopes, together!

Elul Greeting from the CBST Clergy

“Elul asks us to look back on the year and take account of how we have behaved, where we have done our best, and where we have missed the mark? What were our areas of growth, and where are the places we are still growing into? Where have we abandoned knowing ourselves and where have we abandoned knowing our community?” Read the full greeting »

Programs & Classes

Spiritually preparing for the Yamim Noraim / the Days of Awe during the month of Elul
With Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum on Aug 22 and Sept 12
With Rabbi Yael Werber on Aug 29
With Music Director Joyce Rosenzweig and Cantor Sam Rosen on Sept 5
4 Tuesdays, 6:00–7:00 p.m. | Aug 22, 29; Sept 5, 12 | Via Zoom | Register »
We will learn about the prayers and music of the High Holy Days and prepare for the Days of Awe. ALL ARE WELCOME. No background required, just your spiritual curiosity and desire for a new year full of renewal and return. The Zoom room will open at 5:45 p.m. for pre-class shmoozing. 
Elul Meditations
With Rabbi Mike Moskowitz 
Mon–Thurs, 8:30–8:45 a.m. | Aug 21–Sept 14 | Via Facebook Live | Learn More » 
Rabbi Mike Moskowitz offers a daily morning Elul Meditation livestreamed on the CBST Facebook page. Elul is the time for us to appreciate all of God’s beautiful creations and recognize that God, the Creator, is even more beautiful. Elul is an opportunity to reflect, push ourselves, and reinvest. Registration is not required. Thank you for considering a contribution to help support Adult Education at CBST.
Building a Holier World: Seasonal Resistance During the Yamim Noraim
Sponsored by Aging Together
Monday, August 21, 7:30–9:00 p.m. | Via Zoom | Register » 
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum in conversation with Rabbi Mike Moskowitz, author of Seasonal Resistance, will explore how this season of t’shuvah can be used to further the movement toward a more just, free, and equitable society. Want a free, signed copy of Seasonal Resistance? Enter the raffle by August 16 for a chance to win!
Aleinu 20s & 30s Elul Sunday Study
Aleinu Co-Chair Jess will be leading a brand-new, three-part series during the month of Elul on spiritual goal setting and preparation for the High Holy Days! Join for one, some, or all of the sessions below (all via Zoom in our usual Sunday Study time block from 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.). Email aleinu@cbst.org for the Zoom link.
  • Sunday, Aug 20 – Taking a shame-free spiritual inventory of 5783
  • Sunday, Aug 27 – Visualizing your Days of Awe
  • Sunday, Sept 3 – What is it you wish to do with your one wild and precious life? Finding your Kavanah for the year ahead

"Achat Sha'alti"

Achat Sha’alti (from Psalm 27) by Israel Katz, recorded by the CBST Chorus, September 2020. Arranged by Music Director Joyce Rosenzweig.

The Shofar Project

Let’s get real: Join an amazing community of folks doing the inner work to prepare for the Jewish New Year with the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

Sign up for The Shofar Project: Getting Real for a New Year, a FREE five-week program featuring weekly teachings and live practice sessions with the IJS faculty, grounded in lessons from “This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared,” by Rabbi Alan Lew, z”l. The first live session takes place Tuesday, August 15, with IJS Senior Faculty, Rabbi Sam Feinsmith. Learn more and register »

Feminist Teshuva Circle

An offering from Rabbi Avigayil Halpern

Our community’s narratives of “teshuva” often harm vulnerable people. We are asked to be self-critical when self-criticism itself is something that is a constant, harmful companion; we are asked to treat traits that we need to cultivate (anger, for example) as inherently bad; and we are asked to focus on all of us as perpetrators of harm when some of us are undergoing profound experiences of victimization; and more.

In the Feminist Teshuva Circle, we will dive into each of these areas using the Torah of texts and of our lives, moving toward a vision of teshuva that settles us more deeply within ourselves.

Each week of Elul (starting August 18, on Rosh Chodesh), participants will have access to:

• Daily prompts for writing/thinking based on the week’s theme
• A Substack comment thread to discuss the prompts—and anything else on your mind—with the community
• Readings on the theme
• A processing hour on Zoom—optional from week to week
• A weekly wrap-up essay
• If there is interest, a feminist teshuva circle chavruta pairing, with optional prompts

Learn more »

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