Earth Etudes for Elul: Spiritual Reflections for the Season

The month of Elul is a time for reflection, a time for t'shuvah, of turning and re-turning to G!d and to our best selves, in preparation for the Days of Awe. It is time for heshbon hanefesh, examining our hearts and souls. Elul is the time for us to begin to make atonement for the things we wish we had or hadn't done, and to renew ourselves, to do all we can to get ourselves to change. Elul is a time to turn away from the ways in which we have missed the mark and to make restitution as needed. To help you on this journey, you will find in this volume a series of reflections for the month of Elul, divrei Earth--teachings that connect Earth and Torah. These poems and essays are "etudes" that remind us that we cannot disconnect ourselves from all that surrounds us and that we are part of an intertwined whole. Use this volume to help you expand your own reflections about t'shuvah: read a few etudes a day or even select by theme. Themes include climate change, community and covenant, cycles, nature, gardening, personal behavior, rituals, and turning. These reflections, meditations filled with Jewish wisdom, are written by rabbis, hazzans, environmentalists, gardeners, activists, educators, storytellers, poets, scientists and other spiritual leaders, reflecting many points of view and ways of looking at the world and the process of t'shuvah. The editor, Rabbi Katy Allen of Ma'yan Tikvah―A Wellspring of Hope, is the co-founder and leader of the Jewish Climate Action Network (JCAN) and the facilitator of the One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Author: Katy Z. Allen
Publisher: Strong Voices Publishing
Published: 08/05/2018
Pages: 126
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.43lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.30d
ISBN: 9780990536161

About the Author
Allen, Katy Z.: - Rabbi Katy Allen is the founder and rabbi of Ma'yan Tikvah ― A Wellspring of Hope, based in Wayland, MA, which holds services outdoors all year long. She is the co-founder and leader of the Jewish Climate Action Network. She is a board certified chaplain through Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves as an Eco-Chaplain and the Facilitator of One Earth Collaborative, a program of Open Spirit, in Framingham, MA, and is a former hospital and hospice chaplain. She received her ordination from the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, NY, in 2005 and lives in Wayland, MA, with her spouse, Gabi Mezger, who leads the singing at Ma'yan Tikvah.