elul

Sections:

1. Main Themes of Elul
2. Minhagim of Elul
3. Elul in the Torah
4. Important Dates in Elul 
5. Shofar
6. Selichot
7. Elul in Art
8. Ideas to Bring Elul to Life
9. Elul Themed Music
10. Seforim List
11. Story Books
12. Top Picks From Online Teaching Resources

If we do teshuvah, daven with kavanah, and give tzedakah, Hashem will forgive us and save us from evil decrees.

These are the days we prepare for standing in front of Hashem to do Teshuvah on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

This short video from Rabbi Meir Elkabas at the Breslov Research Institute explains how this thinking and action is completely in line with Leadership Education.  Rabbi Elkabas explains the reasoning we start learning in Elul is to prepare for Rosh Hashanah.

The summer months of Tammuz and Av include the emotionally draining 3 weeks and Tisha b’Av, mixed with the heat of the summer.  This period in time makes people laid back and not in the mood to act. They don’t have the enthusiasm to learn in the manner they did in the winter months.

Learning in Elul reignites the passion of Torah and getting back into action. Some start as early as Tu b’Av, and others wait till Rosh Chodesh Elul.

Tishrei is so jampacked with chagim (holidays), that we start learning about Elul right after Tisha b’av, so we can get the bulk of our Chagim learning done before Rosh Hashanah.  Tishrei then becomes all about the preparations of the chagim and reviewing what we learned by doing what we learned, giving us the time to really connect with Hashem and the gift of this period of time to truly connect with Him.

The following is a compilation of resources to help guide you in your teaching of Elul. A buffet of information. Pick and choose what appeals to you.  All resources are from Orthodox sources and follow the Torah’s teachings.  

So how do you use everything below???  That is for you to decide. 
Where do you start?? Also for you to decide. 
What do I recommend – buy Eliyahu Kitov’s books set “Our Heritage” and “Round and Round the Jewish Year” and use them as your “spine” – follow the topics page by page. If you can’t acquire them, read the webpages I have sourced for information below. 

I know that I can not cover every single subject in depth every year. Also, you wouldn’t teach a 5 year old the same way you would a 15 year old. 
Every year we touch on every topic a little bit so that they get a sense of what is occurring in the month.
Then I find out what interests my child the most and lead off from there. 

For older children we may cover selichot intensely, learning the tefillot, listing to the different nusachs, studying the text. 
For younger children we could learn all about the animals used for a Shofar, or learn how to blow the shofar. 
Tehillim 27 – you may memorize it together, or learn the commentaries. 

By learning in different styles – visual, auditory, tactile, you can gain a deeper connection to the material. 

I have my child copy out some of the interesting facts they have learnt. 
I play the songs of Elul and the Selichot prayers in the car, and when we’re cleaning the home.  I will then find my more musical child singing even when the songs aren’t playing. 
My artists I will focus on drawing what they have learnt. We will attempt to recreate the art listed below. 
My readers – read and read, and read, and read. 

There is no ‘right way’ to learn.  Every child learns in their own way.  The point is to instill a love of learning.  To instill a love of their connection to Hashem, Torah, and Mitzvot.  

I have combined resources that will help a child bond to Elul through art, songs, and reading books. You will be able to cover the themes of Elul, minhagim of various Jews, Elul in the Torah, Elul in History, and then a variety of crafts for you all to do.  There are resources for young children, youth, and for parents.  I hope this eclectic amalgamation of resources will help you this year. How you use the information below is up to you.  Every child learns in their own ways, and every child should have the opportunity to show what they have learnt in their own way as well.  

I hope in the future to grow this list and create even more resources for you all.

Only Brochot for a beautiful year ahead,

Esther Malkah Barak

1. MAIN THEMES OF ELUL:

• Rosh Chodesh is two days
• Elul is the last month of the year (if counting Tishrei as the first month)
• Elul- ימי רוצון – Days of our Desire
• The Acronyms of אלול – Ani v’Dodi v’Dodi Li
• This is a month of wanting to receive an answer from Hashem
• How do you do Teshuvah?
• Tzedakah – Why we give tzedakah, types of tzdakah, 10 levels of tzedakah
• The King is in the Field – Hashem is so close to us.
• No Shabbat Mevorchim
• Elul has 29 days
• The difference between סליכה, מחילה, וכפרה – the different forms of forgiveness, giving and getting, how a karbon cleans our Neshama. 

Online resources to get information:

13 Elul Facts – Chabad.org

Seven Thoughts about Elul To Help Us Turn Inward and Forgive – Chabad.org

How to Really Grow During The Month of Elul – From Aish.com

The Temple Institute on Elul – The Temple Institute

A Brief History of Elul – Chabad.org

Elul: I am for my Beloved – Video by, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis

Aleph Beta – Elul and the High Holidays Video Series – Elul & The High Holidays Meaning,  Understanding Selichot, Just How Guilty Should I Feel? and more… Some videos are for free, others with membership. These are tailored more to older children and adults. 

What is Elul? – Breslov.org

Breslov Shiurim

Kabbalah of The Zodiac: Elul – Virgo: The Month of Love, by Rabbi Simon Jacobson – Audio Course

Video Series from Naaleh featuring Rebbitzen Tziporah Heller: Elul, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – 62 videos in the series (for adults)

2. MINHAGIM OF ELUL:

• To recite Tehillim (psalm) 27 – תהילים כז during morning davening. Some also say it in Mincha.
  Learn the meaning of Tehillim 27
  Why we say Tehillim 27 from Chabad.org
• To recite 3 extra chapters of Tehillim where we complete the entire book on Yom Kippur.
• כתיבה וחתימה טובה – sending letters to our family and friends for a sweet new year and writing your own bracha that they should be inscribed into the Book Of Life.
  How to great others on Rosh Hashanah from Chabad.org
• Many people check their Tefillin and Mezuzot in Elul
• Breslov Minhagim

3. ELUL IN THE TORAH

• 1st of Elul Moshe Rabbeinu ascended to heaven for 40 days
• 7th Elul Moshe Rabbeinu’s parents remarried
• 7th Elul The Death of the Meraglim (Spies)
• 9th Elul Dan, the son of Yaakov and Bilhah, and one of the Twelve Tribes was born
• 10th Elul Noah sent the Raven from the ark to find dry land
• 17th Elul Noah sent the Dove from the ark to find dry land
• 23rd Elul The Dove brings back an olive leaf to Noah
• 24th Elul the preparations to rebuild the Second Beis Hamikdash began
• 25th of Elul – the day the world was created
• 25th of Elul Nechemia completed rebuilding the walls around Yerushalyim
• 26th Elul Hashem separated the Heavens and the Earth
• 27th of Elul Hashem created Dry Land, trees, flowers, grass, herbs, and fruit trees.
• 28th of Elul Hashem created the sun, moon, and stars.
• 29th of Elul Hashem created the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky

4. IMPORTANT DATES IN ELUL

• 2nd of Elul Shulchan Aruch Completed (Orech Chaim) in
• 3rd of Elul is the yahrtzeit of Rav Avraham Isaac Kook
• 12th of Elul The Ramban was born
• 13th of Elul is the Yahrzeit of the Ben Ish Chai
• 18th of Elul is the Yahrzeit of the Maharal of Prague
• Chai Elul is the birthday of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, and he started the Chassidic Movement on this day in 1734 the founder of Chassidism
• 18th of Elul is the birthday of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadii, who created the “Chabad” branch of Chassidism
• 24th of Elul is the Yahrzeit of the Chafetz Chaim
• 25th of Elul Nechemyah completed the construction of the wall surrounding Yerushalyim.
• 27th of Elul is the yahrtzeit of the Belzer Rebbe Shalom Rokeach who founded the Belz Chassidic dynasty

A Brief History of Elul from Chabad.org

Chabad.org Calendar has amazing ‘This Day in History’ facts to review everyday.  This link goes to Rosh Chodesh Elul.