The month of Elul leads up to the High Holidays. It is a month of introspection. The shofar, the ram's horn blown during the High Holidays, is sounded every morning at morning prayer services and people begin to wish each other shana tova, a good year. During the last week of Elul, selichot – special penitential prayers – are said, usually early in the morning. These prayers ask forgiveness for sins committed over the previous year.
Jewish tradition holds that, on the High Holidays, one atones for sins committed against God. However, for wrongs committed against one's neighbor, one's co-worker, one's parent, one's children, one'e spouse ... one must seek forgiveness directly from the offended. Many Jews devote the month of Elul to taking this practice seriously, seeking, through introspection, conversation, and correspondence, to make ammends. Elul provides us with the opportunity to think about the previous year and make plans for what we would like to do differently, to look at where we have lost track of ourselves over the past year, and to reset our course.
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Holidays and Commemorations through 2012 | Document
Corresponding secular dates through the end of 2012
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Elul | Poem
By Judith Sarah Schmidt
A poem welcoming the month of Elul
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Rosh Chodesh Elul: A Modern Psalm | Reading
By Debbie Perlman, z"l
A meditation for the tasks ahead
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Days of Awe | Poem
By Alicia Ostriker
Reflections on Elul, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
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Renewing Ourselves and Our Visions in the Month of Elul | Article
By Tamara Cohen
Traditions for the month of Elul and suggestions on how to use this period for personal and communal transformation
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On the Return Path: A Kavanah and Blessing before Taking on a New Mitzvah | Prayer
By Lori Hope Lefkovitz
A prayer for the period of Teshuvah — return — preceding the High Holy Days
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Soul Candles | Article
By Jane Enkin
A traditional pre-High Holiday ritual of making candles for one's beloveds
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Essence of Elul | Article
A summary of facts, characters, and holidays pertaining to the month of Elul
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