The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices

Drawing from decades of experience in connecting spirituality with daily life, offers traditional and contemporary ways to mark all sorts of important events in people's lives. For each of more than 100 everyday events and holidays, it offers a meditation, a blessing, a profound Jewish teaching, and a ritual.

Acknowledgments

viii

About the Contributors

ix

Preface

xi

Introduction: Renew the Old, Sanctify the New

1

(7)

EVERYDAY LIFE

Waking Up

8

(2)

Praying for What We Need

10

(4)

Washing Our Hands

14

(2)

Eating

16

(2)

Making a List of Things to Do

18

(4)

Preparing a Family Recipe

22

(2)

Going to Work

24

(4)

Organizing Your Room, Your House, Your Office, Your Affairs, Your Life

28

(2)

Traveling

30

(2)

Keeping a Sense of Home When You Are on the Road

32

(2)

Spending Time with Family

34

(4)

Having Guests of Different Faiths at Our Table

38

(2)

Bringing Home a New Pet

40

(2)

Gardening

42

(4)

PARENTS AND CHILDREN

Hoping to Have a Child

46

(4)

Celebrating Pregnancy

50

(4)

Welcoming a New Child

54

(4)

Nursing

58

(2)

Guiding Our Growing Children toward Independence

60

(2)

Preparing for Your Bar or Bat Mitzvah

62

(4)

Sending a Child to College

66

(2)

Blessing One's Parents

68

(4)

RELATIONSHIPS

Falling in Love

72

(2)

Celebrating the Difference You've Made in Each Other's Lives

74

(4)

Ending a Relationship

78

(4)

Healing Relationships

82

(4)

Receiving Guests

86

(4)

Blessing One's Hosts

90

(4)

SPECIAL MOMENTS

Celebrating a Private Miracle

94

(2)

Celebrating Birthdays

96

(2)

Hearing Good News

98

(2)

Being a Guest at a Wedding

100

(2)

Seeing Natural Wonders

102

(4)

Standing at a Crossroads

106

(4)

Running a Marathon

110

(4)

Noticing a Change in the Seasons

114

(4)

Moving into a New House

118

(4)

Joining a Synagogue

122

(4)

Taking on a Jewish Name

126

(4)

Wearing a Tallit for the First Time

130

(2)

Retiring

132

(4)

HEALING

Praying for Healing

136

(2)

Visiting the Sick

138

(4)

Finding Hope in a Time of Illness

142

(2)

Treating a Patient

144

(4)

Starting to Work Out

148

(4)

Quitting Smoking

152

(2)

Creating Opportunities, Opening Doors

154

(4)

LIFE AND DEATH

Hearing of a Death

158

(2)

Making a Shiva Call

160

(4)

Remembering the Loss of Someone You Love

164

(4)

Moving Out of Mourning and Back into Life

168

(2)

Writing an Ethical Will

170

(2)

Saying Good-Bye to a Beloved Pet

172

(4)

LEARNING

Starting School

176

(2)

Beginning to Study Torah for the First Time

178

(4)

Studying Sacred Texts Each Day

182

(4)

Finishing an Important Book

186

(2)

Honoring a Teacher at the End of the Year

188

(4)

LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNAL LIFE

Building a Pluralist Jewish Community

192

(4)

Examining Ourselves as Leaders

196

(4)

Taking on New Responsibilities

200

(4)

Taking on a Volunteer Role

204

(4)

Holding a Meeting

208

(2)

Installing a New Communal Leader

210

(4)

Celebrating a New Community Building

214

(4)

Naming a Community

218

(4)

ISRAEL

Going to Israel

222

(4)

Visiting Jerusalem

226

(4)

Sending Your Child to Israel

230

(2)

Returning from Israel

232

(4)

TZEDAKAH

Preparing Ourselves to Do Sacred Work

236

(4)

Donating Food and Clothing

240

(2)

Soliciting Support

242

(4)

Receiving Requests for Contributions

246

(2)

Making a Contribution

248

(2)

Dedicating a Wall or Plaque that Honors Donors

250

(4)

Wearing Your Commitments

254

(3)

HOLY DAYS

Shabbat

257

(6)

Lighting Shabbat Candles

258

(2)

Blessing Children on Shabbat

260

(3)

Rosh Hashanah

263

(16)

Changing Your Fate for the Coming Year

264

(4)

Preparing Your Prayers for the High Holidays

268

(4)

Casting Away Our Sins (Tashlikh)

272

(4)

Hearing the Shofar

276

(3)

Yom Kippur

279

(4)

Fasting

280

(3)

Sukkot

283

(14)

Building a Sukkah

284

(2)

Receiving Sukkah Guests

286

(4)

Waving the Lulav and Etrog

290

(4)

Taking Down a Sukkah

294

(3)

Simchat Torah

297

(4)

Dancing with the Torah

298

(3)

Chanukah

301

(8)

Lighting the Menorah

302

(4)

Rededicating Your Home on Chanukah

306

(3)

Purim

309

(4)

Preparing Mishloach Manot

310

(3)

Passover

313

(12)

Removing Chametz from One's Home

314

(4)

Searching for the Afikoman (for Grown-Ups)

318

(4)

Counting the Omer

322

(3)

Yom Ha'atzma'ut

325

(4)

Celebrating Yom Ha'atzma'ut, Israel's Independence Day

326

(3)

Shavuot

329

(4)

Studying Together on Shavuot

330

(3)

Rosh Chodesh

333

(4)

Celebrating Rosh Chodesh

334

(3)

About the Translations

337

(1)

About CLAL--The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership

338

(3)

About Jewish Lights

341

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The Book of Jewish Sacred Practices

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials