Elul: Walking the Sacred Path: Approaches to Prayer, Song and Embodied Practice for Spiritual Renewal and the High Holy Days

As the month of Elul invites us into reflection and return, this three-part series offers a meaningful pathway to prepare our hearts, bodies, and spirits for the transformative journey of the High Holy Days.

Led by renowned teacher and scholar Ariel Evan Mayse, this immersive course explores how prayer, sacred song and embodied spiritual practices can open the gates of renewal and deepen our experience of teshuvah (inner return). Drawing from Hasidic teachings—including selections from Ariel’s forthcoming book on the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the 18th century Jewish mystical revivalist movement — we will encounter timeless wisdom that speaks directly to the soul’s longing for connection, healing, and wholeness.

Together, we’ll explore:

• How to cultivate a living, heartfelt prayer practice

• The power of song and silence to awaken spiritual awareness

• Embodied practices to ground our spiritual preparation in the body

• Teachings from the Baal Shem Tov that illuminate the inner dimensions of the High Holy Days

Whether you're new to Jewish spiritual practice or seeking to deepen your journey, this series offers a sacred container to walk into the Days of Awe with greater intention, openness, and presence.

Rabbi Ariel Evan Mayse is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, the rabbi-in-residence at Atiq: Jewish Maker Institute, and senior scholar-in-residence at the Institute of Jewish Spirituality and Society. He holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies from Harvard University and rabbinic ordination from Beit Midrash Har’el in Israel. He is the author of Laws of the Spirit: Ritual, Mysticism, and the Commandments in Early Hasidism (2024), Speaking Infinities: God and Language in the Teachings of Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezritsh (2020), and, along with Rabbi Arthur Green, the editor of A New Hasidism: Roots and A New Hasidism Branches (2019).