Where the Rubber Meets the Road:
A Spiritual Accounting Action Plan for Elul and a Friend-raiser in Memory of Steve and Harriet Saturen z”l
Two-session event:
5 p.m. ET on Sundays August 24 & September 14, 2025 (4 p.m. CT ; 2 p.m. PT)
Traditionally, Elul has been a time for Jews to do cheshbon hanefesh, a personal spiritual accounting. Spiritual accounting is what we teach and practice all year at CCM.
This Elul, we invite you to join us and develop your own Elul Action Plan, a unique way to participate and benefit from the practice of cheshbon hanefesh. Two of CCM’s Mussar veterans, Adie Goldberg and Sonia Voynow, are hosting two one-hour sessions that bookend the month of Elul. In our first session, August 24, you will figure out how to use the essential concepts of spiritual accounting to create your Action Plan. In the second session on September 14, we will come together to listen and compassionately learn from one another’s Elul journeys.
Both sessions will be recorded for you.
“The practice of Spiritual Accounting in general is necessary reflective work that helps us become more aware of our habits of heart and mind. During Elul, this work is further intensified. We track our lives and relationships with the goal of becoming kinder and more helpful to those around us, and the Mussar Action Plan helps us focus this work on one particular relationship in our lives that we would like to attend to more deeply.”
Harriet Saturen z”l was a beloved member of the CCM community, and discovered Mussar as a student of Rabbi Boettiger many years ago, along with her husband, Steve Saturen z”l. Harriet became a CCM Madrichah and taught Mussar in Ashland, Oregon for many years. She also served as a Madrichah for CCM’s Madrich Training class.
Steve touched the lives of many in our community and beyond. He radiated a gentle strength and his authenticity and kindness were apparent from the moment one met him. He led with his heart. Steve was a close friend of Rabbi Boettiger’s, and they learned Mussar alongside each other for twelve short years. He was committed to this path of transformation, always growing, always curious, always showing up.
Those who knew Harriet and Steve cherished their warmth, their integrity and their wisdom. They lived their Mussar practice with courage, clarity, and love.
Honoring Steve & Harriet’s legacy
The Madrichim
Sonia Voynow has been with us before we became CCM. She joined almost 20 years ago as a student, became a madrichah, and is now CCM’s Director of Outreach and Madrich Development. She credits Mussar with helping her enrich her connections with family and friends and enlivening her relationship to Jewish practice. Sonia has had the privilege of working with both Steve and Harriet in their time with CCM. She co-taught future madrichim with Harriet, and she worked with Steve on various projects on CCM’s Board. She continues to be inspired by Steve’s devotion to Mussar and his can-do spirit, as well as Harriet’s authenticity. creativity and sense of humor.
Dr. Beulah Trey
Rabbi Joshua Boettiger
Adie Goldberg Adie began her Mussar journey in Ashland studying with Rabbi Boettinger over a decade ago. Thus began a lifelong learning journey as a madrichah, board member and most recently a co-writer of CCM's latest version of the workbook. Mussar has provided her with a Jewish framework for both her professional and personal lives. Friends and family have noted a less reactive and more curious presence in their relationships. She credits Mussar with this much appreciated shift. Harriet and Steve were two of the first people Adie met when she relocated to Ashland from Washington State. The doors to their home and their hearts were always open and their words continue to inform her internal dialogue. Never afraid to speak out, both did so with the gentlest of speech. As Harriet would say, Mussar practice "is where the rubber meets the road" and so we honor those words this Elul
Nancy Axelrod
Tim Cravens