ICJudaism: A Teacher’s Guide to Judaism

      Hosted by ICTeachers                                                                Formerly: Mike’s Rough Guide to Judaism

Disclaimer:

The contents of these pages represent the author’s personal views, experience and understanding.
There are bound to be some things here that some Jews would disagree with.

 

Elul

Elul, the 6th month of the Jewish calendar is a time of preparation for the High Holy Days.

From the 2nd - 28th of Elul, except on Shabbat, the shofar is blown after morning services as a wake up call, reminding us that the 10 Days of Repentance are coming. Elul is the time when Jews begin the process of repentance, focusing particularly on asking forgiveness of people we have wronged in the previous year. The theory is that unless we have apologised to people we have wronged, God Himself cannot forgive wrongs we have done to Him (ie not following His rules).

Elul is also a time for visiting the graves of deceased relatives and for checking that the scrolls inside mezuzot and tefillin are intact and therefore still kosher.

From the last Sunday (ie the day after Shabbat) before Rosh Hashanah (or the one before that if Rosh Hashanah is due to fall on a Monday or Tuesday) additional prayers for forgiveness are said before the morning service. These prayers, called S’Lichot, are often sung to beautiful melodies. Many communities have a special S’Lichot service on the evening before (Saturday evening, after the end of Shabbat) which can often take the form more of a concert than a normal prayer service.

 

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