What is the Elul Challenge?

The month of Elul is dedicated to heshbon hanefesh, taking stock of ourselves, and imagining who we want to be—and what we want to do—in the New Year. It’s said that a month full of conscientious actions and behavior is enough to solidify a lifetime habit, so these 29 days leading up to Rosh Hashanah are the perfect time for a 30 day (minus 1!) #ElulWisely5781 challenge to do better and be better.

Each week we’ll focus on a theme of the High Holy Days and each day offers a prompt to complete by yourself or with your family (all ages welcome!)

Who can #ElulWise5781?

Anyone who wants to! While some of the prompts do suggest activities like writing, we hope that a parent, grandparent, or big sibling could help our friends who are not yet writing and reading. Or, there is always the option of drawing or some other alternative activity for those challenges. We want this to be accessible and meaningful for all ages and families of all shapes and sizes.

How do I Elul Challenge?

The easy answer is…however you want. You can do it by yourself, with your family and/or a few friends, or—our suggestion—in a challenge group. You can do some of the prompts, one of the prompts, or all of the prompts. You can do them when they are assigned, or when you get around to it.

What is an Elul Challenge group?

It is a group of people or families who are going to #ElulWisely5781 together. You can be each other’s accountability partners, walking buddies, inspirations…and new friends. We hope it will be a way to connect with each other, and also to commit to doing the prompts. If you want to throw in some prizes, who are we to stop you?

How will my Elul challenge group work?

How your group will connect and work together is largely up to its members. You might decide to have a WhatsApp or chat group, and send each other updates over the course of the day or the week. You might decide to have a weekly Zoom, where you chat about what you’ve done or not done in the challenge. You might decide you want to meet weekly for a walk or other safe gathering

Do I have to do all the prompts? It seems like a lot of work!

Nope! We encourage you to take on as much as feels good. For some people, having the daily prompt is really helpful, and makes it feel like more of a habit. For some folks, doing one prompt a week is going to be great. For others, it might be picking 4 prompts total and doing them when they get the chance. You can decide for yourself, or as a challenge group. And you can change your mind!

Do I have to do the prompt on the day they are assigned?

Nope for this one too. While the prompts are organized into weeks and themes, it’s totally cool to do them out of order, do a couple on one day, or skip when you need or want to. No one is taking attendance on the challenges, except maybe your groupmates!

Do I get a prize for finishing all of the challenge prompts?

We hope that the prize is feeling spiritually refreshed, renewed, repaired, and reflected before Rosh Hashanah.