Elul Unbound 2019: Wildcards

Shabbat Shalom! On Saturdays during Elul, we are mixing it up a bit. While each other day of the week will stay within one category (mini-podcasts, social juistice, etc), Saturdays will be "wildcard" days, so you won't know what to expect. Scroll down to explore each of our 4 wildcards of 2019, as they are released!

Week 2: Shabbat Sha-Breathe! (September 14th, 2019)

This second Shabbat of Elul, we are thrilled to provide you with a breath meditation, brought to you by Wendie Bernstein Lash. It's about 12 minutes long, and you can listen in by clicking the play-button above! We encourage you to listen to it as you sit in a quiet space, in a comfortable position, and soak in this spacious spiritual practice.

Week 3: When the Moon Hits Your Eye (September 21st, 2019)

The practice we are introducing today is an ancient Jewish practice called Kiddush Levana (Sanctification of the Moon). To do Kiddush Levana, you go out at night and bless the creation of the moon. In the book Spirit in Nature: Teaching Judaism and Ecology on the Trail by Matt Biers-Areil, Deborah Newbrun, and Michal Fox Smart, they introduce a contemporary way to do Kiddush Levana. We have adapted it even more for you to try out in Elul. 

Kiddush Levana Procedure:

  1. Wait until it is dark and the moon is up. Go outside to find a place where you can see the moon. (If it is cloudy or raining, you may want to postpone this practice until you can at least see the moon’s glow through the clouds.) 

  2. Take a deep breath in and let it out.

  3. Notice and connect with nature: What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you see? How does the air feel on your skin?

  4. Notice what cycle the moon is in. (If you do this on Elul 21, the moon will be waning/declining and in keeping with this week’s them of Autumn.) 

  5. Take a few minutes in quiet to be in the moonlight. Reflect on and appreciate the moon and moonlight. Let yourself bathe in the moonlight. Reflect on the waxing and waning of the moon and the concept of birth and death as merely two parts of the full cycle of renewal. (NOTE: Judaism’s spirituality and calendar is rooted in staying in touch with the moon’s cycle. Elul’s theme of teshuva (renewal and return) and the inevitable ups and downs of being alive are metaphorically played out every month in the moon’s cycle. You may be inspired to take this up as an ongoing practice.) 

  6. If you feel like it, move, dance, and/or raise your hands up to honor the moon and the moon light. 

  7. You may want to sing a song. If you do this on Elul 22 and it is the end of Shabbat you could combine it with Havdalah tunes, or sing Shalom Aleichem or Shavuah Tov (A good week).

  8. Offer a closing prayer of gratitude for the creation of the natural world and its wonders (either silently to yourself or out loud).  

Let us know how this spiritual practice resonated (or didn’t) with you and if you tried it alone or with a group and any additions or modifications that you made, via Elul@Judaismunbound.com!