Life Cycle
Searching for some words to mark a special moment in someone's life? Here you will find articles about rituals, new and old, that can help us mark those moments in our lives when we celebrate, grieve, or transition.
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Celebrating Birthdays
The world has a birthday on Rosh Hashanah. The trees have a birthday on Tu B’Shvat. On my birthday, I declare a holy day, a day to celebrate the uniqueness of me, my connection to all that is born, and the completion of another year.
Ritual:
Light the candles on your own cake with people you love, and try (if you can remember) to recall the distinct blessings of each year. Yom huledet sameach!
Blessing:
Avinu malkenu: chadesh aleinu shana tova.
Renew our lives with a blessed year.
Blessed are you who has sustained me for another year, and who provides me with the opportunity to begin anew. May this coming year be one of health, happiness, fulfillment, peace, growth and learning.
Teaching:
"The older scholars grow the more wisdom they acquire, for it is said, ‘With
age comes wisdom, and with length of days, understanding.’"
(TB Shabbat 152a)
"Teach me to number my days so I may develop a heart of wisdom."
(Psalm 90)
Ad meah v’esrim.
May you live until one hundred and twenty.
(CLAL Faculty)
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