Nitzanim Blog 2026-27

Elul 5786 by Lauren

The Hebrew month of Elul begins in the dark of the new moon on Thursday, August 13, at sundown. My annual touchstone for this month (and the rest of the High Holiday season) is the book This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared by Rabbi Alan Lew z”l. Every year, different passages jump out at me as particularly relevant and meaningful. “Every day, I have to look at a very precise record of what is really important to me, what my priorities really are - a very different matter, in most cases, from what I imagine them to be. The truth of our lives is reflected in everything we do, and if we focus on even one small part of our lives, it brings up the entire truth of it.”

This reflection dovetails well with our preparations for a new year of learning in Nitzanim. My colleagues and I are working hard behind the scenes, and we are eager not just to bring meaningful, timely, and rich Jewish learning to our families, but also to partner with you in creating your family culture. When you leave the woods or the synagogue or the park after our programs, and head home to live out the fulfilling challenge of parenting within the truth of your own life, we hope that the support and Jewish wisdom you receive at Nitzanim can be of real use to you.

This year we’re working with various aspects of Gemilut Hasadim, loosely translated as Lovingkindness. We’re here to come alongside one another in the hardest and most beautiful moments, when we are helping our children grow into ethical, strong, and capable people, and when we are refreshing and updating our own priorities and discovering the truth of our lives again and again, as family and parenting demand. One of the amazing things about our tradition is that it is as fresh and current as it is ancient. And it needs each one of us. In a time when so many are feeling lost and unmoored by modern life, we are so lucky to have each other, and this deep, amazing community we’re building one sweet craft, one heartfelt parent circle, and one B. Mitzvah retreat at a time.

Wishing you a meaningful Elul, and so excited to embark on the next year together,

The Nitzanim Team