Ḥeshbon HaNefesh

חשבון הנפש

A contemporary Jewish journey of reflection, repair and renewal

A Spiritual Humanistic Jewish journal for Elul · prepared by Rabbi Frank Tamburello, Westchester Community for Humanistic Judaism · Elul 5786 · 2026

Ḥeshbon hanefesh — the accounting of the soul — is the work of the month of Elul, the thirty days that lead up to Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Tamburello’s journal takes that inherited discipline and makes it honest for people who do not believe in a divine judge or supernatural forgiveness. Here it becomes an honest accounting of the life we are creating, and of the effects our choices have on ourselves, on other people and on the world.

How to use the journal

Set aside ten to twenty minutes each day. Each day has four parts:

PAUSETake a breath, and become present.
REFLECTAnswer the questions honestly.
ACTChoose one small action when action is called for.
REMEMBERConnect your reflection to your Jewish values and human responsibility.

The thirty days move outward: first what you can see, then the people you share a life with, then what you say you value, then the turning itself, and last the year that has not happened yet. Many days close with a humanistic practice and a Jewish value to carry — emet (truth), hakarat hatov (recognising what is good), aḥrayut (responsibility), ḥesed (lovingkindness), ometz (courage), kavod (dignity).

Ḥeshbon HaNefesh — a journal of return (PDF, 44 pages)Download

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The thirty days

I · Days 1–7
ראייה
Looking Back
Seeing the year honestly
  1. Begin Where You Are
  2. What Went Well?
  3. Where Did I Fall Short
  4. My Patterns
  5. The People Who Shaped My Year
  6. The People I Affected
  7. What Am I Avoiding?
II · Days 8–14
תיקון
Relationships
Repairing what we can
  1. An Apology I Owe
  2. An Apology I Am Waiting For
  3. Forgiveness
  4. Listening
  5. Someone I Take For Granted
  6. Conflict
  7. The Relationship With Myself
III · Days 15–21
אחריות
Values and Responsibility
Becoming intentional
  1. What Do I Stand For?
  2. Values vs. Habits
  3. Power
  4. The World Beyond Myself
  5. Courage
  6. What Is Enough?
  7. My Jewish Life
IV · Days 22–28
תשובה
Teshuvah
Turning toward change
  1. One Thing To Stop
  2. One Thing To Start
  3. One Thing To Continue
  4. Repair
  5. The Person I Want To Become
  6. My Commitments
  7. What I Cannot Control
V · Days 29–30
התחדשות
Renewal
Preparing for Rosh Hashanah
  1. My Elul Accounting
  2. A Humanistic Elul Covenant — and the first act of the new year

For each day of Elul: Psalm 27, adapted

It is traditional to recite Psalm 27 every day during Elul. The journal offers a shortened humanistic version:

May Wisdom be my light,
Courage be my strength,
And Compassion guide my way,
In times of fear, may I seek what is good
And help bring it into the world.

שנה טובה