Elul Unbound 2022

Scroll down this page to explore our 2022 Elul Unbound content. To access all of our Elul content from previous years (Comics! Videos! Poetry! Social Justice! Spiritual Practices! So much more!), click the 2018, 2019, 2020, or 2021 buttons below! Sign up for our Elul Unbound email list here.

What the heck is Elul? What the heck is Elul Unbound?

You've probably heard about the fall holidays of Rosh Hashanah ( the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). But far fewer people know about Elul, the month that precedes them. Elul is the last month of the Jewish year.

It is a time of introspection. Time to stop and take a look back at the past year to see how we did.  Where did we grow and how do we want to continue to build on that growth? Elul is a time of asking for forgiveness from others in ways we caused harm and offering forgiveness to people who have harmed us.

Elul gives us a month to get prepared before the Jewish New Year starts. And this time around, it also gives us a month to depart from the Shmitah year (a once-every-7-year societal reset), and envision the next 6 years.

There are a few traditional practices that some Jews take on during Elul. These include listening to the sound of the shofar daily, reading Psalm 27, and reflecting on our behavior over the previous year.

This year, Judaism Unbound is experimenting with offering you a variety of experiences to try out during Elul. We created special weekly mini-podcasts, emails, Zoom gatherings, and more, all of which you can explore through the links at the top of this page (the orange buttons).

Elul Zoom Gatherings: FINAL event this Saturday, September 24th (Elul/Shmita Havdalah)

Click the image above to register for the next Elul Zoom gathering of Elul Unbound 2022! It will take place on Saturday (NOT FRIDAY LIKE OUR OTHERS), September 24th, at 7:30 pm ET/6:30 pm CT/4:30 pm PT.

Elul, the final month of the Jewish calendar year, is concluding. That’s wild. To mark that conclusion, we are taking the weekly ritual of Havdalah — a separate of Shabbat from the rest of the week — and applying it to Elul. We are also layering it on to Shmita, the year of release that is concluding!

Come experience an “Elul Havdalah” (and “Havdalah for the Shmita Year) with Wendie Bernstein Lash and Lex Rofeberg, your two Elul Unbounders-in-Chief. Share your reflections on the “holi-month” of Elul, and learn from others who journeyed through the month as well!

2022 Mini-Podcasts (scroll down for all our past Elul Mini-Podcasts)

Elul Emails

Remember up this page a few inches, where we said “STAY TUNED?” Good times, good times. Well…STAY TUNED again!

All of our resources from Elul Unbound’s bi-weekly emails will be featured here, once the month of Elul begins (August 28th). Sign up to receive those emails, as they are sent out, by clicking here!

Farewell to Shmita

We are thrilled to announce that this year's Elul will be centered not only on preparation for the High Holidays, but also on our departure from the "Holi-Year" of Shmita. Shmita is a once-every-seven-years Biblical observance which revolves around connection to land, and to a radical recalibration of society. The Jewish year that began on Rosh Hashanah 2021 (this year, as you read this!) has been a Shmita year, and the next 6 years will be “normal” (non-Shmita) years.

Learn more about Shmita (its Biblical framing and its contemporary re-invention) by heading to ShmitaProject.org! For some thoughts on how we can channel the conclusion of the Shmita year into the next six “non-Shmita” years, check out our 2022 mini-podcasts, emails, or zoom gatherings!

Spiritual Direction

Contact Us

Remember, we love hearing from our listeners! So please, in addition to utilizing our resources at the links above, we would be thrilled if you shared your Elul plans and resources with us. You can do so by sending emails to Elul@JudaismUnbound.com. Chodesh Elul Tov -- have an amazing month!