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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Celebrating A Private Miracle
While Jews everywhere celebrate the national miracles of Chanukah or Purim, individual Jewish communities and families have long had a tradition of recalling particular miracles that have happened just to them. Usually these are miracles that mark narrow escapes, but they needn’t be. These private miracle days are called "Days of Thanks" or "Purim Katan," Special Purims.
Meditation:
Deepen your awareness of the private miracle that you wish to mark by creating a
brakhah, a blessing which affirms, "YES! I know how fortunate I have been, again and
again…" Your brakhah can explain how the miracle has enriched or altered your
life, led you from vulnerability to strength, opened your eyes and heart.
Ritual:
Go public and expand your gratitude. Hold a "Day of Thanks." Gather people
who are important to you. Tell the story of your personal or communal miracle, the story
of one amazing save when your back was to the wall or the whole collection of small and
intricate miracles that is your life. Eat – have a se’udat
ho’da’ah (a meal of thanks – that’s the origin of the
Thanksgiving feast) and, of course, give tzedakah, expanding the ripples of your joy into
your community.
Blessing:
(When you say this blessing, try to recall all the other miracles with which you and
the people you love have been blessed in the past.)
Barukh atah she’asa li nes bamakom hazeh.
I bless you for this miracle you have given me.
Teaching:
May a people recite a blessing at places where miracles occurred to their ancestors or
their teachers?
(JT: Berakhot 9:1)
There was once a man who was traveling through the valley of Aravot. He was thirsty and a
well was miraculously created for him. Another time, he was traveling through Machoza when
a wild camel attacked him and at that moment the walls of a house collapsed to form a
hide-out, and he escaped inside. From then on, whenever he came to Aravot he would say,
"Blessed are You who caused the miracles of the well in Aravot and the miracle of the
camel in Machoza; When he passed through Machoza, he would say, "Blessed are you who
caused the miracles of the camel in Machoza and the well in Aravot."
(BT: Berakhot 54a [adapted])
Modim anachnu...
We thank You for the miracles we celebrate each day.
(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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