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Endings & Beginnings

Our lives are shaped by a series of stories, each with its own narrative arc. We leave home and welcome people to our home; we enter our reproductive years and leave them; we end one piece of our life’s work and begin another. Endings and beginnings are bittersweet—we celebrate each with the awareness of the other. 

Photo by Jordan Cassway

Brief Meditation for Name Change Ceremony

Shared by John Wofford (Propper), Amitai ben Avraham v'Sarah | Complete Ceremony

Name changes can be both liberating and intimidating. Taking a brief moment to recognize the holiness of the act, and to affirm the dignity of the recipient of the new name, can be transformative. [more]

Found In: Covenant & Naming Rituals, Endings & Beginnings

Tags: name change, naming

Rituals for Undergoing Bariatric Surgery

Shared by Nathan Weiner - Rabbinical Student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College | Complete Ceremony

A three-part ritual incorporating tashlikh, birkat hagomel, and daily blessings [more]

Found In: Hard Times, Endings & Beginnings

Tags: gomel, tashlikh

Celebrating the Journey to Becoming an American

Shared by Daniel Coleman | Complete Ceremony

Marking the transition of becoming a US Citizen with words, song, and festive food [more]

Found In: Pursuing Justice, Endings & Beginnings, Communal Milestones

Tags: shehekheyanu

Empty Nest Ritual

Shared by Loren Amdursky | Article

One mother's account of preparing for an empty nest through pictures and a Shabbat meal [more]

Found In: Endings & Beginnings, Growing Older

Bar Yovel: A Retirement Ritual

Complete Ceremony

A ritual to mark the transition from employment to retirement and celebrate what lies ahead [more]

Found In: Retirement, Endings & Beginnings

Tags: shehekheyanu , tzedakah

Let Your Heart Take Courage: A Ceremony for Entering a Nursing Home

By Rabbi Cary Kozberg | Complete Ceremony

Excerpts from a short ceremony to be performed on entering a nursing home [more]

Found In: Endings & Beginnings, Growing Older

Tags: mezuzah, priestly blessing

Acceptance

By Charu Colorado | Poem

A poem of release and acceptance [more]

Found In: Mourning & Bereavement, Rosh Hashanah, Endings & Beginnings

Tags: tashlikh

Closing the Apartment

By Rabbi Richard Hirsh | Article

Developing a ritual for the dissolution of a home [more]

Found In: Mourning & Bereavement, Endings & Beginnings, Growing Older

Blessings for a New Home

Complete Ceremony

A brief ritual to perform with a group of friends before hanging mezuzot in a new home. [more]

Found In: Endings & Beginnings

Tags: mezuzah, shehekheyanu

A Chanukat Bayit — Housewarming

By Rabbi Rona Shapiro and David Franklin | Complete Ceremony

A housewarming ceremony to be performed with friends and family on a Saturday night at the conclusion of Shabbat [more]

Found In: Endings & Beginnings

Tags: mezuzah, Rabbi Rona Shapiro, shehekheyanu