Category: Elul
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Elul 21
Tochekcha: From the root “to be firm” “to stand” “to be right”. This is often translated as loving rebuke. We offer Tochekcha to help people see what they have done wrong and encourage them to do better. This is a community responsibility and one of the key ways that we show love to one another.…
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Elul 20
Writing prompt: Ask God, What were you thinking?! Write the reply. Ask yourself, how am I called to respond? Write the reply. From the biblical ancestors on, our tradition depicts the human-Divine relationship as one in which both parties challenge, dissent, despair, desire, love, question, and thus grow in relationship to each other. Today’s prompt…
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Elul 19
Is there anyone with whom you need to make teshuva, repair? If you are not able to do that in person, consider writing a letter. Even if you don’t send it. You could be one of these people. On Yom Kippur we attempt a collective teshuva. In Elul we focus on our own part in…
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Elul 18
You have a place in Judaism. What is that place? Did you need to hear this from someone? We are here to affirm your belonging in Jewish community that believes in life, justice, love, truth and peace for Palestinians, Israelis, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Bahais, Buddhists, First Nations, atheists and so many others across our…
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Elul 17
Think of a place in nature where you feel “resourced.” Bring that to your heart/ mind, close your eyes and plant yourself there for a few moments. Resource your roots. When you open your eyes, bring this inner anchor to your work.
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Elul 16
Can I let go of some of my old patterns of defense, trusting the Source of Love is leading me to open-hearted presence?
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Elul 15
In Elul we say the Divine is the field, They are close, They are nearby, tending to our whispered petitions and our wailing. If this were the case, what would you ask of them? For yourself? For your communities? For the world?
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Elul 14
How can we begin expressing Kharata- grief, acknowledgement for the harms done in our names and with our tax money in Gaza knowing harm is ongoing and repair will take generations? We would have to be silent for nearly a month to give even a minute of silence for each life lost. How will you…
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Elul 13
Amjad Iraqi shares that in our struggle for a world in which Palestinian are granted agency, in which Israel is held accountable, and in which international institutions are respected, we must tolerate differences within our movements, and ask ourselves, is it leading to the effects we want? The sages framed it thus: There are disputes…
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Elul 12
Palestinian writer Hala Alyan recently reminded us that we owe Gaza our endurance AND that we belong to long, gorgeous lineages of endurance. Where is endurance in your line that you can pull on now?