The Month of Elul

A month of reflection and return.

Elul invites us to pause, prepare, and open our hearts before the Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays. It is a season of introspection.

Start Your Elul Journey

Quick start: Spiritual Preparations | Shofar

The Month of Elul in 2025, starting with Rosh Hodesh Elul, begins Saturday evening, September 23rd, and continues through Monday night, September 25th. Elul ends with the onset of Rosh Hashanah.

Common Questions about Elul:

What exactly is Elul?

In the Jewish calendar, Elul is the month that precedes the Yamim Noraim, the High Holidays, all of which are in the month of Tishrei.

Thematically, it is an invitation to reflect on one’s actions and begin to do the work of teshuvah, repentance, so that we may become the best people we can be.

What are Selichot?

Selichot, literally “forgiveness,” is a series of prayers that prepare us for the High Holidays.

In Sephardic and Mizrahi traditions, they are recited throughout Elul. In Ashkenazi traditions, they are recited beginning on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah.

In all traditions, these prayers of forgiveness are intended to help us access compassion – God’s compassion, one another’s compassion, and our own.

✨ The Core of Elul

The core of the themes in the month of Elul is a sense of personal reflection, self-improvement, and spiritual preparation for the beginning of the new year.