Maybe no one ever feels ready to enter into this intensely introspective time. This year, we will have help. Havurah is encouraging everyone to read the inspiring and practical classic by Rabbi Alan Lew, “This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation.” Lew is disarmingly honest, sharing his personal experiences in a way that helps the reader understand how our traditions apply in our daily lives. You can read the whole book, or just the chapters that speak to you. This will be a community endeavor, with discussion groups to share your questions and insights, facilitated by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner and Adela Basayne. Please join other Havurahniks on this journey of discovery.

Havurah will host the following gatherings to support everyone who is reading the book.

You are welcome to attend all four, or as many as you like.

• Online gathering on Aug. 21, 7-8:30 pm

• In-person gathering on Aug. 28, 7 pm in the Havurah Sanctuary, and on Zoom

• Online gathering on Sept. 11, 7-8:30 pm

• In-person gathering on Oct. 9, 7 pm in the Havurah Sukkah

Even if you have read the book in years past, reading it with your Havurah community will be a new experience. You can borrow one of the 10 copies we’ve acquired for this program or order a copy from Powell’s or wherever you buy books.