INTRODUCTION:

The month of Elul is all about waking up and taking stock before Rosh Hashanah. Come explore the meaning behind the shofar notes, followed by guided writing sprints and creative reflection. 

MATERIALS:

• A shofar and someone to blow it, or a high-quality bluetooth speaker 
• Paper 
• Pens or pencils 
• Chisel-tip black sharpies or dark markers 
• (optional) discarded high holiday prayer books – ask a local synagogue! 
• Warm lighting and comfortable seating 
• Drinks and snacks 

SETUP:

• Seat everyone in an arc or circle, with the shofar blower standing slightly back or in the center so the acoustic sound washes over the room. 
•  Set up a side table or clear wall space with painter’s tape/clothespins before the event starts, labeled “Elul Impressions”, for people to share their poetry 
• Make sure there’s a dedicated area for snacks and drinks, and have extra paper, pens, and markers there too 

PROGRAM OUTLINE (~60 minutes):

• Introduction (5 minutes) 
• Guided Reflection (15-20 minutes) 
• Break (5-10 minutes) 
• Blackout Poetry (20-25 minutes) 
• Snacks, Sharing, and Closing (15 minutes) 

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Welcome everyone to the space and explain the purpose of the program: to get familiar with the different shofar calls and to use them as prompts for reflection 
• Explain the shofar briefly. 
  • During the month of Elul (the month before the High Holidays), we blow the shofar every non-Shabbat day. This sound – which was used in ancient times as an alarm – is supposed to wake us up order to mentally prepare ourselves for the new year and the changes we want to see in ourselves. Rosh Hashanah is also called Yom Truah, the day of shofar blasts, because the shofar is traditionally blown 100 times. 
• Have someone demonstrate the three main calls of the shofar: tekiah (one long blast), shevarim (three medium blasts), and truah (nine short blasts). Explain that tekiah gedolah (extra long tekiah) is usually reserved for the high holidays themselves, but that we will be demonstrating it later. 
  • If you can’t find anyone to demonstrate the shofar, find a high-quality recording like this one and play it, audio-only to mimic the experience 
• Share this quote from Rabbi Daniel Nevins:  “The simple pure notes of tekiah should remind us that our souls are pure from the outset, and that we are expected to return to that state of purity. The middle notes of truah  and shevarim should shake our confidence and cause us to identify and act on changes.” And closing with the fullness of tekiah should bring us back to our core, best selves. 

Guided Reflection (15-20 minutes) 

• Pass out these Shofar Reflection Guide pages, or give participants instructions to divide their page into four sections, each labeled with one of the shofar blows. 
• Blow a live Tekiah, then the prompt below. Give 3 mins to write in silence. 
  • Tekiah represents wholeness and foundation. Where in your life do you feel grounded, steady, or whole right now? 
• Blow Shevarim, then share the prompt below. Give 3 mins to write. 
  • Shevarim represents shattering or crying: What broke, fractured, or felt heavy this past year?   
• Blow Truah, then share the prompt below. Give 3 mins to write.  
  • Truah represents urgency and a wake-up call. What is crying out for your immediate attention or change? 
• Finally, blow a Tekiah gedolah. Share the prompt below, then give 3 minutes to write. 
  • Tekiah Gedolah represents a reset, and the future. What do you imagine restoration or wholeness looks like for you like moving forward? 
• Give participants a few minutes to read over their reflections and choose one thought or line that stands out to them. Have them turn to the person next to them and share one thing from what they wrote. 

Blackout Poetry (20-25 minutes)

• Thank everyone for sharing and offer a snack/water break, then move into the next part of your program.  
• Example Script: 
  • Blackout poetry, or erasure poetry, is a form of found poetry or found object art created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem. Blackout poetry is a way to give an existing piece of writing a new set of meanings, questions, or suggestions. Today we’ll be using the text of high holiday prayers as a source of blackout poetry, honoring their original purpose but also giving them our own meaning. 
  • (if using discarded prayerbooks) Traditionally, when sacred text like prayerbooks are no longer wanted or fit for use, they are buried in a cemetery. This is considered a way to honor their purpose and the way that texts, like people, can give life. Today, we’ll be doing something different. The pages we’re using were set to be discarded. Instead of putting them straight into the ground, we are engaging in a process of chiddush (renewal), extracting new meaning from old words before they are laid to rest. Feel free to mark them up boldly. At the end of the night, you can take your creation home or place it back with the book to be buried. 
• You may want to show example images of blackout poetry. 
• Pass out pages of the prayerbook, or printed scans of a prayerbook such as this one. 
• Put on some light instrumental music. Guide participants to read through their page once, noting phrases of interest but not marking it up at all. Then encourage them to go back through and begin marking up the page – circling words or phrases they want to keep, crossing out things they don’t want.  
• Make sure you give at least five minutes of uninterrupted time for participants to get into the flow. 

Snacks, Sharing, and Closing (15 minutes) 

• Bring everyone back together, and thank them for their time. 
• If anyone wants to share their blackout poetry, they can leave it out on a dedicated table or tape it up on the wall for others to see. 
• Encourage participants to take snacks and drinks and enjoy the “gallery wall” of their fellow community members’ poetry 
• Before ending the program, remind participants that they can keep their poetry or return it to the prayerbook. 
• Blow the shofar again, or play the tekiah gelodah, to close the program