A Prayer for the Woman to Say Before Returning from the Mikveh
Poem
By Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
To my lover
I weave a hymn of love and joy to you
to be one with you is all that I desire,
to be sheltered in the shadow of your hand
to know the hidden mystery of your fire.
So, God, drape me in the fragrant sheets of heaven.
Bind my clothes with cords of satin, soft as a dove.
Braid my hair as you did Eve's once in Eden.
And send your angels to guide me safely to my love.
Excerpts from Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope ©1999 by Nina Beth Cardin (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing). $19.95 + $3.75s/h. Order by mail or call 800-962-4544 or on-line at www.jewishlights.com.
