This Ritual Life Archive
Welcome to This Ritual Life.
Here you will find out about ways to enhance your holiday experience, to celebrate or mark a meaningful life cycle event, and to deepen your experience of the everyday.
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Ending A Relationship
A story is told: I can tell our relationship is ending. As the full force of our
breaking up hits me, I pray: "Please, God, don’t let this end. Don’t take
my love away from me." I say this aloud for half an hour, until my prayer begins to
change. My face still stinging with tears, I pray: "Please God, show me the
way."
Meditation:
May You who heals broken hearts lead me to discover the wholeness of my heart.
Adonai birtzonkha he’emadetah l’hariri oz, histartah fanekha hayi’ti
nivhal.
When You are pleased, You make me as steady as a mountain. When You hide Your face, I am
terrified.
(Psalms 30:8)
Ritual:
To revive a broken heart: Gather your best friends. Get ready by washing your hair,
getting dressed up. Pass out a broom, a Dustbuster, and sweep out your house. Choose some
photos of you and your "ex" and tell their stories. When you’re through, do
not burn or throw the photos away! Place them in a sealed envelope, taking this part of
your life out of the "active file."
Blessing:
(When you gather friends for a "heart-mending")
Blessed are You, creator of love an hope, source of all the living, give me wisdom and
understanding. Guide me as I step away from the one with whom I can no longer share my
life. Guide me as I move forward and give me the strength to trust and love again.
Uv’tuvo m’chadesh b’khol yom tamid ma’asei v’reishit.
Creation renews itself everyday, in goodness.
Barukh atah mechayeh kol chai.
Blessed is the One who restores our spirits.
Teaching:
Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek.
Strengthen us, strengthen us, and we shall become strong.
(Torah service)
Tzofeh v’yodea s’tareinu mabit l’sof davar b’kadmato.
You know all our secret thoughts, intuiting the end of things at their birth.
(Yigdal)
Somekh Adonai l’chol ha’noflim v’zokef l’chol hakfufim.
God supports all who stumble, raising all who are bowed down.
(Ashrei)
Nothing is as whole as a broken heart.
(Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav)
Ha’rofei l’sh’vi’rey lev u’m’chavesh
l’atzvotam.
God heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their sorrows.
(CLAL Faculty)
CLAL's National Jewish Resource Center develops and publishes rituals that
help to bridge the gap between our contemporary lives and the ancient wisdom of the Jewish
tradition. We invite you to become a partner with us in thinking about the place of ritual
in our lives and in developing new ritual resources for our time. If you are interested in
being part of this exciting endeavor, visit with us in the Ritual Resource Area
of the CLAL website by clicking here.
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