Deep appreciation to Rabbi Richard Address of Jewish Sacred Aging, Rabbi Evan Krame of Jewish Doorways and to Rabbi Laura Geller, Rabbi Beth Lieberman for their leadership in developing rituals for this stage of life. We are grateful to the many individuals and organizations named in this booklet who shared their creativity and their writings, including those originally published in New Rituals for New Life Stages, edited by Rabbi Richard Address of Jewish Sacred Aging.

To be read while preparing for immersion:

I stand here today in anticipation of welcoming a child.

As I arrive at this juncture, I carry with me the varied emotions of gratitude, excitement and fear.

I come today in amazement of the miracle of budding life, and in full acknowledgement of the strength and wisdom through which life is formed.

Hineini, here I am, ready to fulfill the obligations of being a loving parent, a devoted presence, and a dedicated guide throughout my child's journey. 

Clip source: Mayyim Hayyim

Secular-Friendly Mourners' Kaddish Translation by Rabbi David Cooper

There is an eternal essence that persists in time and space —
and this is our prayer to make it part of our awareness 
by affirming its persistence and pledging ourselves 
to act to advance the promise it holds of a better world; 
may it be soon and in our days. Amen.

Let the great essence be blessed through all our actions!

Whether it be blessed or praised or honored or exalted, 
we affirm that it is far beyond any expression which we use to describe it — 
prayer or song, prose or poem — and we say: Amen

We express our hopes for peace and for life upon us and upon all people. Amen.

May the harmony we experience as we gaze toward heaven 
be reflected in a harmony between all who dwell on the planet: 
Israelite, Ishmaelite, and all creatures upon this holy earth, and we say: Amen.
 

From: Beside Still Waters, available for download and purchase.  

Though this ritual is designed to be done in advance of the soul accounting we do on Yom Kippur, it may be used at any time of the year to reflect on your mortality and prepare for having these end of life conversations. You can complete one or more of the seven questions below, as you wish. 

Keep revisiting and revising until you feel it truly reflects your thoughts and feelings. Consider if and when it fits into your Jewish New Year preparations. Whenever you choose to write this letter, review it each year and update as needed. And remember, this can be sensitive and emotional work. Please proceed with caution.

Annual Life Review Task 1: Acknowledging Relationships Think about the people who have figured prominently in your life in the last year. What are their names?

Annual Life Review Task 2: Remembering Key Moments Recall meaningful moments in your life that occurred in the last year. Can you describe them? 

Annual Life Review Task 3: Asking for Forgiveness Write the names of the people who you may have hurt in the last year. Use this opportunity to consider how and when you may ask for their forgiveness.

Annual Life Review Task 4: Forgiving Others or Moving Through the Hurt Write the names of the people who have hurt you in the last year. Consider how and when to forgive or move through the hurt.

Annual Life Review Task 5: Saying "Thank You" Write the names of the people in your life you wish to thank based on your life over the last year. Use this opportunity to identify what they did for you, why you are thankful, and how and when you want to express your gratitude.

Annual Life Review Task 6: Saying "I Love You" Write the names of the people in your life for whom you have felt love in the last year. How and when might you express this love to them ahead of the new year?

Annual Life Review Task 7: Saying "Goodbye" What or who do you want to say goodbye to based on your life in the last year? Consider what or who you would like to let go from the past year.

Clip source: The Shomer Collective

In memory of Roberta and Michael Laric z”l 

Aharon was silent in the face of death.

Sometimes there are no words

And sometimes words are all we have

To communicate

To commiserate

To comfort.

HaMakom yenachem etchem btoch sh’ar aveilei tzion v'yerushalayim

“May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion

And Jerusalem”

Falls so short

And yet the very formula

Grants grace

Giving us words to fill the silence

Linking our discomfort to the discomfort of ages

And ages of comforters

Standing at graveside

Sitting at shiva

Wishing we could do more.

Sometimes there are no words

And sometimes words are all we have

That and a hand on a shoulder

A tear in the throat

A heart overflowing

And the promise to come

When everyone else has left

So, though bereft,

The mourner is not abandoned. 

-by Rabbi Susan Grossman

—

© Copyright. Rabbi Susan Grossman, 2022. Shared with author’s permission. 

מַה־יָּקָ֥ר חַסְדְּךָ֗ אֱלֹ֫הִ֥ים וּבְנֵ֥י אָדָ֑ם בְּצֵ֥ל כְּ֝נָפֶ֗יךָ יֶחֱסָיֽוּן׃

Mah yakar hasdecha Elohim! U’vnei adam b’tzel knafeycha yechesayun

How precious is Your loving-kindness, O God! Humankind finds refuge in the shadow of Your wings. (Psalm 36:8)

Parents: The tallit is an embracing symbol of the Covenant between God and the Jewish people, and we are reminded of the mitzvot by the tzitzit on its corners. Today we envelop our child into the folds of a tallit as a symbol of his/her/their entry into our Covenant with God and Klal Yisrael. These past nine months we have journeyed together and created this tallit together for this moment, a symbol not only of the covenant between our child and God, but between us and our child. May this tallit serve as a symbol of our love, commitment and protection.

Our God and God of our ancestors, we thank you for the gift of this child, and for bringing him/her/them to us in good time and in good health. May he/she/they grow to maturity embraced by God’s love and the love of all who know him/her/them. May the words of Torah surround him/her/them. Clothed in majesty and honor, may he/she/they always look to the future with joy. May the Shekhinah, God’s sheltering presence, be with our precious child always.

The child is wrapped in the tallit. 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית בְּעֲטִיפָה בַּצִּיצִית.

Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha‘olam, zokher habrit ba‘atifah batzitzit.

Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe, Who remembers the Covenant through the wrapping of a tallit. 

בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ שְכִינָה הַשּׁוֹמֶרֶת נַפְשוֹתֵינוּ תַּחַת כְּנָפֶיהָ.

Berukhah at Shekhinah, hashomeret nafshoteinu tahat kenafeha.

Blessed are You, Shekhinah, who shelters us beneath Her wings. 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה, יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה.

Barukh atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha‘olam, sheheheyanu, vekiyemanu, vehigiy‘anu lazman hazeh.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.

Clip source: Rabbi Sofia Zway