High Holy Days & Mental Health
Amazing Resources from the Blue Dove Foundation
The Blue Dove Foundation’s mission is to transform the way the Jewish community understands and responds to mental illness and addictions.
We turn to traditional Jewish values – or middot – to guide us as we strive to eliminate the shame and stigma around mental illness. Using Jewish values, we create mental health and Judaism workshops and resources to help achieve our vision of a healthy, inclusive, vibrant Jewish community that is welcoming and knowledgeable about mental health.
The High Holidays offer a great opportunity to work on your relationship with mental health and to reaffirm your commitment to your own well-being and that of your community. Both holidays have powerful themes that align perfectly with ideas of mental wellness.
Rosh Hashanah is a powerful and transformative holiday, from the inspirational and poetic prayers we recite to the powerful and incisive blast of the shofar. This experience, however, cannot be fully embraced in a safe and healthy way without preparation, and for that, we have the month of Elul preceding the High Holidays. We encourage you to take this month to fully embrace and engage with your past. Only by building better selves can we build a better world.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, can be a challenging subject for a lot of people. For some, it is a chance to make resolutions, accept the past and commit to a better future. But for those struggling with mental illness, this process of self-criticism and introspection can be devastating to their mental health. Therefore, we all must do our best to cultivate self-acceptance and, above all, self-forgiveness, in a healthy and collected manner.
Below is a collection of original articles and resources you can use to enrich your High Holiday experience with an emphasis on mental health and wellness.
High Holidays and Mental Health Reader
Looking for reading materials to get into the spirit of the High Holidays? Consider downloading our High Holidays and Mental Health Reader.
Mental Health High Holiday Shofar Blasts
These Shofar blasts can be used on Rosh Hashanah to connect to breaking the silence around talking about mental health and addiction and on Kol Nidre to invite the community to make a new vow to talk about mental health and substance abuse in the new year.
Mental Health Tashlich - The Blue Dove Foundation
Tashlich is a representation of expressing repentance, acceptance and forgiveness. We acknowledge any harm we have done, accept that we have harmed others and forgive ourselves with a commitment to move forward and do better.
Mental Health Rosh Hashanah Seder and Simanim - The Blue Dove Foundation
On Rosh Hashanah, it is a tradition to eat simanim, foods that are symbolic of blessings you would like in your life in the new year. Over time, different communities have added different foods to this list and given each one of them specific symbolism. Infuse your year with mental wellness with our mental health Rosh Hashanah Seder Simanim!
NEW YEAR – NEW YOU!: A Teshuvah Reader by Anne Andrew, PhD
This short booklet will lead you to understand the significance and power of teshuvah, and it will provide you a step-by-step method to help to achieve it and to change your life in ways you never thought possible.
Shofars and Semicolons: Struggling with Suicidal Ideation on Rosh Hashanah
High Holiday Liturgy Viewed Through the Lens of Depression
Imagine for a moment you live with depression. It is not a family member or loved one who has depression — you are the patient. You are suffering. You are in so much pain and your brain is so ill, you have thoughts of suicide. Next, consider the liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: We are commanded to “choose life.” Teshuva, Tefilla and Tzedakah, repentance, prayer and charity, are your ticket to the Book of Life for another year.
Essays on Forgiveness
A collection of essays about forgiveness by The Mayo Clinic, Rabbi Eli Mallon, and Forgiving, According to Rabbi Twerski.
Blue Dove Foundation + Mayyim Hayyim High Holidays Mikvah Immersion Meditation
The Mikvah is an ancient Jewish practice that provides an incredibly powerful way to experience a transformation of the mind body and soul. It is a long standing tradition that people immerse in Mikvot before the High Holidays to spiritually prepare for the days ahead.
