We are delighted to have Rabbi Shefa Gold leading our Elul Retreat again this year.

We hope you can join us.

Elulian Mysteries

The Babylonian name of the month has been thought of as an acronym for Ani L’dodi V’dodi Li (I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine) which is a line from Shir HaShirim (The Song of Songs). As we prepare ourselves for the High Holy Days we spend the month of Elul repairing the very foundation of our connection to the Great Mystery.

          On Tishab’Av we experience a necessary shattering of that relationship and then spend the next 7 weeks returning, re-creating ourselves, and finally re-encountering that Mystery during the High Holy Days.

 What is the journey from devastation to renewal?

The Shattering of Tishab’Av is also marked by the seeding of a profoundly hopeful vision- the birth of the Messiah or of Messianic consciousness. How do we water that seed?  How do we nurture the seedling and honor its growth?

We are guided and inspired through this journey by 7 amazing texts- the haftorot of consolation, readings from Isaiah that show us the pathway from desolation to comfort, from utter destruction to dazzling hope.