Fw: Drum Circle Rosh Chodesh Elul, Sunday Aug 19th

[Eliezer Kaplan <zelwel...>]

FW: Drum Circle Rosh Chodesh Elul, Sunday Aug 19thRuby Harris just forwarded 
this to me- it may be of interest to folks in the Chicago area-


Subject: Drum Circle Rosh Chodesh Elul, Sunday Aug 19th

Dear friends,

   This is just a reminder and confirmation that we will be having a Drum 
Circle to celebrate Rosh Chodesh Elul this Sunday, August 19th, 10:30 A.M., at 
the Morse Avenue Beach in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. We will be 
drumming, chanting some prayers with drumming, trying to create a kavavnah of 
entering the month of Elul in which we focus on Teshuvah (as we have the 
opportunity to do on every Rosh Chodesh) in preparation for Yom Kippur, and 
more drumming.

   This is open to all who want to experience spiritual drumming.  Men and 
women, drummers and those who have never played a drum before.  ( I have extra 
drums and percussion instruments.)  If you have a drum or two, bring them along.

   The Morse Avenue Beach is located on Chicago's lakefront, between 6900 and 
7000 North, one block east of Sheridan Road.  Parking may be a little tight, 
but generally available.  There is a meter lot one block north between Lunt 
Ave. and Greenleaf Ave.  Or park on Sheridan or west of Sheridan.  There is a 
CTA Redline EL stop at Morse Ave. just a one block west of Sheridan.  There are 
also bus lines on Sheridan Road. 

   A location has been offered for some future drumming circles in Oak Park, so 
that we can rotate locations.  Let me know by email or lets talk on Sunday 
about other ideas you may have for future locations.

The following is an excerpt from an email teaching posted by Mindy Ribner.  I 
hope that it is nourishing to you.

"Enjoy the last weeks in this month of Av. Kabbalistically, they are supposed
to be a time of compassion, as opposed to the first two weeks which are a
time of judgment. Even though the summer heat may still be strong, you may
notice that there will be a subtle change in the quality of light upon the
arrival of Elul on August19th.When Elul comes, we begin to sense that fall
will soon be upon us. In many places in the world, the days will become
shorter,the air cooler, and the leaves of may trees will once again turn
into beautiful colors before they fall to the ground. We will see before our
very eyes the cyclical dance of nature. Some of us will greet these changes
with joy and some with regret; nevertheless, the natural changes will
occur.Nature will turn inward once again.

The process of turning inward begins in Elul also for human beings. Elul is
the headquarters for teshuva, which literally means " to return" Teshuva has
many facets to it. In its most mystical level, it is the returning of our
awareness to the inner wholeness, beauty, and potential of the soul within
us. It is the healing and the letting go of what keeps us separate from
others and from being who we really are. Through the spiritual grace of the
month of Elul it is easy to get in touch with what is pure and virginal
within us, and to be more aware of the ways in which we strayed from
actualizing our potential. It is interesting to note that the astrological
sign for the month of Virgo is the virgin."


Hope to see you on Sunday,  Please forward this to someone who you think may 
want to participate.  Also let me know if you are getting this more than once 
so I can straighten out my email lists.

Al Goldberg