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Dear Families and Children, the Hebrew Month of Elul

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Dear Families and Children, the Hebrew Month of Elul Dear Families and Children, The Hebrew month of Elul (August 20th-September 18th) is a preparatory time for the High Holy Days. It is a time to think about where you have been on your journey and where you are going. One of the ways Jews engage in this is to hear the shofar daily, except on Shabbat. The other way is to engage in mediation practice daily. In the guide below prepared by Rabbi Beth Klafter, Rabbi/Cantor Audrey Halpern and Dr. Margie Gursky. For each day of the month, there Commented [BT1]: Incomplete sentence are activities to complete and videos to watch. I have added a few items as well and hope that this guide will inspire the families in Macon to a deeper practice. Sincerely, Rabbi Bahar August 20/ Elul 1 An opening conversation about Rosh Hashanah https://www.bimbam.com/episode/rosh-hashanah/ August 21/Elul 2 For younger kids, here is a book read on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COQHIzXUC90 For older children, here is a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG9ezcY8Mn4 I invite you to please interview a family member and work with them to create something for your own family’s Rosh Hashanah dinner. August 23 / Elul 3 Kids Talk about Jewish Customs [3-minute video] https://reformjudaism.org/video-kids-try-jewish-high-holiday-traditions Talk about all the customs you know for the holidays! August 24 / Elul 4 Make a list of three great things that have happened in 5780. Make a list of three really hard things that happened in 5780. Keep your list private or talk about it with your family. LEARN MORE ABOUT SHOFAR BLOWING – for all ages [3-minute video] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm7NIQK7qpU August 25 / Elul 5 Make Happy New Year cards and mail them to someone you haven’t seen in a while. Here are some fun Rosh HaShana songs to play while you are creating your cards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlcxEDy-lr0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlF8SZFs44I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn9QgBNgl1w August 26 / Elul 6 Have fun with the Rosh Hashanah word puzzle . https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/3022/rosh-hashanah/ August 27 / Elul 7 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE! Who knows more? A child or an adult in your house? https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/rosh-hashanah/quiz-how-much-do-you-know- about-high-holidays August 30 / Elul 10 DISCUSSION FOR FAMILIES WITH OLDER CHILDREN: Pursuing Justice: “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20) Discuss with your family: “Justice, justice you shall pursue” has been interpreted as one of the main Jewish texts directing us toward social action, which is one focus of Yom Kippur. In what ways do you see the Jewish community engaging in social justice? What are some ways your family can pursue tzedakah (money dedicated to the work of world-repair or, literally, justice)? SHALOM SESAME – [2-minute video with questions for discussion] https://reformjudaism.org/celebrate-rosh-hashanah-shalom-sesame-and-rosh-hashanah- hannah August 31 / Elul 11 FAMILY GAME OF JEWPARDY – WHO WILL WIN IN YOUR HOUSE? http://www.behrmanhouse.com/jewpardy-high-holiday-edition September 1 / Elul 12 Talk about what you want to accomplish in 5781. Is it something at home? At school? With your friends? At the temple? September 2 / Elul 13 SHALOM SESAME: Word of the Day: SORRY for younger listeners [1-minute video] https://youtu.be/-AZ3BhHXhow John Legend & Kane Brown sing, “Last Time I Say Sorry,” for older listeners [4-minute song with lyrics] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-vQlgEoOo8 Why is it sometimes hard to say,”Slicha, I’m sorry?” September 3 / Elul 14 Discuss ways you can help someone in 5781. It could be someone in your family, in your neighborhood or in the world. You could make a list and hang it in your room or in your kitchen for the whole family to see during the new year to remind you of your ideas. September 6 / Elul 17 Practice writing the words, “Happy New Year” or “Shana Tov” (in Hebrew) and put little cards all around the house for the season. You could hide some of these notes for other people in your house to find "#$% September 7 / Elul 18 SHABOOM to the HOLIDAYS – geared for younger children but super cute for older kids and adults too! [10-minute video] https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/rosh-hashanah/teaching-children-about-rosh- hashanah-be-best-me The important question in this video for all ages is, “How Can I Be the Best Me?” How would you answer that question? September 8 / Elul 19 Did you know that apples are not the only fruit Jewish people eat on Rosh Hashanah? The other is the Pomegranate. That is because they say a pomegranate has 613 seeds which is the same as the number of commandments in the Torah. (We haven't counted, but I trust this.) Some people say we should have that many blessings in the new year. What blessings do you hope for in 5781? LEARN ALL ABOUT POMEGRANATES in JUDAISM here: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/9-jewish-things-about-pomegranates/ Try to find a pomegranate if someone goes to a store this month. They are messy and delicious! September 9 / Elul 20 Find a recipe to make something this weekend with honey or apples or anything yummy! Here is one to try: https://reformjudaism.org/video-easy-way-make-honey-cake Did you ever make applesauce at home? Here’s one recipe to try or find one of your own: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/applesauce/ September 10 / Elul 21 This week’s Torah portion is called Nitzavim from the book of Deuteronomy. It is one of the places in the Torah that mentions the High Holidays. This Torah portion is also read on the morning of Yom Kippur. Listen to this RAP VERSION of the portion: [2-minute video] https://reformjudaism.org/learning/torah-study/nitzavim/nitzavim-teens-shabbat-sha-raps September 13 / Elul 24 Take a ‘walking tour’ of your home with your family to decide where you will make your ‘Home Sanctuary,’ a special place where you will be together to ‘attend’ TBD High Holiday services Live Streamed on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Do you need comfy chairs or a couch for each person? Will it be in a room with big windows? Once you decide, make a list of things you can do during this week to get that space ready. September 14 / Elul 25 SHALOM SESAME ABOUT YOM KIPPUR especially fun for younger children [2-minute video]: https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/yom-kippur/learn-about-yom-kippur-shalom- sesame-saying-sorry A big idea for the High Holidays is “Teshuva.” The English word is “Repentance” which is a big word for saying, “I am sorry and I will try better next time.” The Hebrew word actually means ‘turning’ and it reminds us to turn to other people to say “I am sorry” and to turn to ourselves and think hard about how we behave. Is there someone you can turn to to say, “I am sorry for something I did that hurt your feelings?” Is there something you did that you can turn to yourself to say, “I will try my best to do that better next time.” September 15 / Elul 26 Please have fun with the puzzles below THIS VIDEO IS ESPECIALLY FOR PARENTS: https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-life/family/parenting/teaching-children-about-asking- forgiveness-slicha September 16 / Elul 27 Even though we are not going to go to the temple building for services this year, think about what you can wear in your ‘Home Sanctuary’ to help you feel like it is ‘temple time’ too. September 17 / Elul 28 Get Ready to Hear the Shofar on Rosh HaShana – all the sounds of Elul AND Tekiyah Gedolah SHALOM SESAME SOUNDS THE SHOFAR https://reformjudaism.org/celebrate-rosh-hashanah-shalom-sesame-sounding-shofar (Check out more Shofar videos on YouTube too) .
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