Elul Shofar Cohort

Prepare for the Jewish New Year during the Month of Elul

Thank you to everyone who joined us! Stay tuned for our 2024 program.

About

The month of Elul is a sacred time in the Hebrew calendar. The twelfth month of the year, Elul is a time of preparation and self-reflection in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Festival of the Huts).  

Traditionally the shofar (usually a ram’s horn) is blown every morning during this month and psalms (tehillim) are recited as the process of taking personal inventory begins. 

For the whole month of Elul, we offer a daily, 15-minute online gathering each weekday morning. 

  • Engage in spiritually contemplative topics to prepare for the season of renewal and repair.
  • Learn from a new  rabbi, educator, artist, writer, activist, or organizer each day, who will share reflections on teshuvah (spiritual return).
  • Blow the shofar together every morning or enjoy listening if you don’t have your own

When:
Monday, August 21 – Friday, September 15, 2023
8:45-9:00 am PDT |  Monday–Friday
(No meetings on Saturdays or Sundays.)

Where:
Join us from anywhere in the world. We will meet over Zoom. Receive the link to join after you register.

Price:
Sliding Scale $18–$108

Jewish Scholars part of Wilderness Torah's Elul Shofar Cohort
Registration is now closed. Stay tuned for our 2024 program.

This Year’s Teacher Lineup

Scroll from left to right to see who is teaching each week.

Day Aug. 21–25 Aug. 28–Sept. 1 Sept. 4–8 Sept. 11–15
Monday Rabbi Zelig Golden Hadar Cohen Rabbi Arik Labowitz Natalie Bitton
Tuesday Rabbinic Student Aya Baron Rabbi Adina Allen Rabbinic Student Rebecca Schisler Ellie Schindelman
Wednesday Reb Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks Kohenet Riv Shapiro Rabbinic Student Paige Lincenberg Jerry Falek
Thursday Rabbinic Student Becca Heisler Rabbi Dan Goldblatt Baruch Schwadron Rabbi Melanie Levav
Friday Rabbinic Student Jericho Vincent Rabbi Shefa Gold Rabbinic Student Daniyel Berchenko Rabbi Zelig Golden

Testimonials

“Thank you for creating such a rich, meaningful space with the daily Shofar calls. This is my first experience with Wilderness Torah and my feeling after every call is – this is the connection to Judaism I have been yearning for!”

“I loved the daily grounding in the meaning of shofar blowing and Elul. It was a delight to be able to zoom in from across the country. I’ve never heard of anything like this! I am so grateful to have had this experience.”

“It was just so great to get to connect in with all these meaningful and diverse expressions of the possibility of the shofar and Elul! I am extremely grateful for all the work and teachers that went into this month of wisdom drops.”

FAQ

The shofar, which has traditionally been used as a tool of communication to call to the community, is used during Elul and the High Holidays as a tool to support our awakening and the process of doing teshuvah.  

Teshuvah is the act of returning to our soul’s essence through spiritual uprightness and course-correction. It is a process of making amends for the areas of our lives where we may have missed the mark.

This process begins with the month-long contemplation offered in Elul. Most people know that we do teshuvah around Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but in fact it is a much longer and deeper process to prepare for the Jewish new year.

With an amazing lineup of teachers and a chance to hear the shofar each day – we hope you join us in community as we prepare together for the Jewish New Year.

Yes! We encourage you to attend as frequently as you can. We also understand that it may not be possible to attend every day.

No, we will not send out recordings to participants. However, we may record some of the sessions and post a short recap on social media. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Yes! You are welcome to join even if you do not have a shofar of your own. That being said, the intention of the cohort is to gather people who want the experience of working with the shofar as a tool towards awakening, so we encourage you to find one if you can.

The morning meetings will take place over Zoom. We will send the link to you after you register. You can join us from your web browser, the Zoom app, or dial in from any phone.

This course is open to adults of all ages, identities, abilities, and experience levels. We actively invite all interested people across the spectrum of faith and spiritual practices to learn with us. Wilderness Torah strives to create a pluralistic community for participants across the spectrum of religious observance.

Yes. We offer a sliding scale registration fee of $18-$108.

As this program is meant to help you prepare for the Jewish New Year, we highly encourage you to attend services and/or continue to pray, reflect, and move this energy through your own spiritual process throughout Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

If you are in the Bay Area, we invite you to join Wilderness Torah for the following:

  • Rosh Hashanah, co-produced with Chochmat Halev in Berkeley, CA
  • Yom Kippur Overnight Retreat at Green Valley Farm in Sebastopol, CA
  • Sukkot Festival at Green Valley Farm in Sebastopol, CA

Learn more.