Family
Looking to enhance your family's spiritual life? On this page you will find articles about rituals and practices you can do with those you love.
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Blessing Children On Shabbat
Our dependent and delicious newborns, our self-assured and adventurous youngsters, our
rebellious yet loving teenagers… As our children keep changing, growing from infancy
to adulthood, our relationship to them keeps changing, too. But our wishes for them stay
the same always: We want them to be blessed with health and happiness; we want them to
know how much they are loved. While in our hearts, we wish the very best for our children
every moment of every day; an ancient Jewish practice of setting aside a special time each
week to bless our children encourages us to express our wishes for them aloud.
Meditation:
May I have the wisdom to know what blessing my child truly needs.
May my child be able to receive my blessing and to know my love is deep and unconditional.
Ritual:
Choose a special time each week, such as Friday night, at the start of the Sabbath, to
give each child a personal blessing. You might want to use the ancient words, or you may
want to combine them with your own words that express just what you feel. In Jewish
tradition, parents place their hands on their children’s heads as they bless them,
but hugs also work, and so do just plain words. And if you’re away from your children
at your regular blessing time, you can still "keep the appointment" by phoning
or e-mailing during the day. One father even photo-copies his hands and faxes them!
Blessing:
(For sons)
Yesimkha elohim k’efraim u’k’menasheh
May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh
(For daughters)
Yesimekh elohim k’sarah, rivkah, rachel, v’leah
May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah
(For sons and daughters)
May God bless you and protect you
May God’s presence shine on you and be good to you,
May God reach out to you tenderly and give you peace.
(Silently, or in a whisper, offer your personal blessing for this week.)
Teaching:
Noticing Joseph’s sons, Israel asked, "Who are these?" And Joseph said
to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." "Bring them
to me," he said, "that I may bless them." Now Israel’s eyes were dim
with age; he could not see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and he kissed them
and embraced them…(and he blessed them saying,) "May the angel who redeemed me
from all harm bless these lads; in them may my name be recalled. (Genesis 48: 8-10, 16)
I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the
Eternal. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the
children to their parents…(Malachi 3:23-24)
Yevarekhekha Adonai v’yishmarekha
May God bless you and protect you
(CLAL Faculty)
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