Elul can be a busy time. A new school year is getting off the ground, perhaps you are starting a new job or getting busier at your old one after a quiet summer…oh, and somehow, you’re also meant to find time for the vital ruchniusdik preparations for Tishrei.
You know how important it is, and you know that you need to put in the work in order to get the most out of Tishrei. You know that the work continues during Tishrei itself, even as the physical preparations required for the chagim fill your schedule. And yet, squeezing this avodah into the hustle and bustle can be a daunting prospect.
If only there were an easy, systematic way to fit it in – right?
Well, for the women of Crown Heights and beyond, there is: the Systematic Avodah Initiative (SAI), run by local women’s organization Living Chassidus.
Participating in SAI is simple but impactful:
Read a single page a day of Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s 60 DAYS: A Spiritual Guide to the High Holidays.
Complete at least 1 personal journal entry about the readings each week.
Attend biweekly farbrengens with fascinating speakers for even deeper doses of inspiration.
To help get the nefesh habehamis on board with the program, those who complete the readings and journal entries are eligible to receive special prizes throughout the duration of the program.
And it really works: “As a busy mommy, I don’t always have the time that I’d like to learn,” reflects SAI participant Yosefa. “Being able to read the short readings and think about it and write about it really helps me put myself in the mindset to be prepared for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, and I just love it. It’s very doable and manageable.”
Another participant, Yehudis, recalls of one of the SAI farbrengens from a previous year, that it “was life-changing. I remember carrying lessons I learned in that sukkah for months and months and months.”
It’s not too late to join this year’s SAI program! Register today and you will be just in time for an engaging farbrengen with Rabbi Chaim Drizin on Monday, September 16. For those not located in Crown Heights, all materials can be mailed and farbrengens are recorded and broadcast live on Zoom.
Register now and transform your Tishrei experience this year. To view a full schedule of upcoming farbrengens and to sign up, go to livingchassidus.org/sai.
All women are invited to join the farbrangens free of charge!
Living Chassidus is a home away from home for post-seminary women in Crown Heights. For more information, email info@livingchassidus.org.
