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Becoming a Jewish Adult

The path to adulthood is full of twists and turns. From celebrating a bar/bat mitzvah to leaving home for the first time, this is a journey fraught with new freedom, new responsibilities, and an abundance of complex emotions. We offer blessings, prayers and rituals that help parents and children use a Jewish vocabulary to describe this journey—and to experience it as richly as possible.

From our Forefathers

A blessing for a son, drawing inspiration from our forefathers [more]

Found In: Bar / Bat Mitzvah, Covenant & Naming Rituals, Childhood Milestones

Tags: torah

Blessing the Graduate

Modern blessings for a daughter or son [more]

Found In: Covenant & Naming Rituals, Friday Evening, Graduation

Tags: Marcia Falk

Blessing for Adult Milestones

A Jewish way to mark life’s passages [more]

Found In: Becoming a Jewish Adult, Gender & Sexual Identity, Choosing & Affirming a Jewish Life, Retirement, Growing Older

Tags: mi sheberakh

Talmud Berachot 17a

"May your eyes sparkle with the light of Torah and your ears hear the music of its words" — a prayer for our children based on a talmudic passage [more]

Found In: Bar / Bat Mitzvah, Covenant & Naming Rituals, Choosing & Affirming a Jewish Life

World of Your Dreams

"May you live to see your world fulfilled" [more]

Found In: Graduation

Two-part Ceremony for a Son or Daughter Leaving for College

A ritual for parents and children involving a havdalah service before leaving for college and the hanging of a mezuzah upon arrival [more]

Found In: Leaving Home

Tags: college, havdalah, mezuzah, shehekheyanu

Saying Good-bye at College Time

A father's prayer read at the Shabbat table prior to his son's departure for college [more]

Found In: Leaving Home

Tags: college, tefilat haderech

To A Daughter Leaving Home

Ceremony for a child going off to college for the first time [more]

Found In: Leaving Home

Tags: college, havdalah, mezuzah, priestly blessing

A Family Ritual for a New Driver

A ritual for parents and children marking this significant moment in their relationship [more]

Found In: Driver's License, Traveling

Tags: tefilat haderech

New Rituals for the Onset of Menstruation

A set of suggestions for creating a Jewish celebration of menarche [more]

Found In: First Menstruation