Creating New Rituals

I was thrilled to hear back from several of you who read my essay, “Go Ahead and Change the Rituals” (Nov/Dec 2013 issue), and shared ways in which you yourselves have adapted Jewish rituals to make them meaningful. Many told me you were relieved to hear it is okay to make these personal adjustments, while others found it disrespectful to the religion. Those in favor said we should share more new rituals in order to inspire one another… and so that’s exactly what we’re doing. For this issue, we partnered with Ritualwell.org to bring you innovative ways in which Jewish women are customizing rituals to honor milestones and small moments.

Michelle Cove, Editor
mcove@brandeis.edu

In This Issue

• Feminism’s Stamp on Jewish Ritual

  How Jewish women have moved from adapting men’s religious rituals to creating our own.

• A Ritual for Separating

  I wanted a model which valued what had been and what was to be, while honoring the sadness of transition and loss.

• True Sustenance at Dinnertime

  Our mealtime rituals allow us to stop and notice one another in spite of the chaos of our busy days.

• Honoring Age 10

  How one Jewish grandmother helped her grandson ease through the huge milestone of turning double digits.

• Mikveh Following Cancer

  It is up to the veterans of radiation treatment to mark an end to treatment, and I decided on a ritual bath with supportive friends.