Day 6 – The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy
When Moses returned to the mountain to receive the second tablets, the Lord descended in the cloud and proclaimed the Name: “The Lord, the Lord,…
Day 5 – Tzedakah: Righteous Giving as an Act of Return
The three classic pillars that “avert the evil decree” are teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah—repentance, prayer, and righteous giving (cf. the High Holiday liturgy). The letters…
Day 4 – Interpersonal Teshuvah: Repairing the Breach with Our Neighbor
Jewish tradition is unequivocal: the Day of Atonement atones for sins between a person and God, but it does not atone for sins between one…
Day 3 – Cheshbon Ha-Nefesh: An Accounting of the Soul
Elul is the appointed time for cheshbon ha-nefesh—a careful, honest accounting of the soul. The practice is simple yet demanding: each day we examine our…
Day 2 – The Shofar’s Call: Awake, O Sleeper
Each weekday morning of Elul the shofar is sounded after the morning service. The custom begins on the second day of Elul and continues until…
Day 1- Rosh Chodesh Elul: The Season of Return Opens
The forty days begin. Tradition links this period to Moses’ second ascent of Sinai. After the people made the Golden Calf, Moses shattered the first…
Introduction to 40 Days of Repentance 2026
From Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur we walk a forty-day path of teshuvah—return. These days recall the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai…