Another period. Another pregnancy lost. A child stillborn. Different paths toward emptiness—all devastating.
Even if we try to pray, our prayers often crumble in our souls, our dreams dissolve in our hearts. Despair seeps in the doors, taps at the windows, and threatens to clog all our passages of hope. How can we speak softly to God when we see, yet again, the fruitless stain of our blood; when we feel the lifeless mass slipping from our womb; or when we hold a beautiful, perfect but still child in our arms? For some of us, no amount of explanation—medical or theological—can soothe.
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
From Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope:
A Jewish Spiritual Companion For
Infertility and Pregnancy Loss
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After a Miscarriage: Hold Me Now | Prayer
By Vicki Hollander
A contemporary prayer asking for God's sustenance and "holding" through this difficult period
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Baby Brother's Gone to Heaven | Article
By Anne-Lynne Keplar
Description by a mother of her six-year-old son's response to the death of his stillborn brother
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Finding Comfort After a Miscarriage: A Synagogue Ritual | Prayer
By Rabbi Susan Grossman
These prayers are meant to be recited in synagogue as an introduction to birkat hagomel (a prayer said during the Torah service by one who has survived a dangerous situation) by someone who has suffered a miscarriage.
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A Grieving Ritual Following Miscarriage or Stillbirth | Complete Ceremony
By Rabbi Amy Eilberg
A ritual divided into three parts: Mourning the Loss, Choosing Life Again and Communal Support and Blessings. A contemporary ritual with selections in Hebrew taken from the Psalms, Job, and Deuteronomy.
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Havdalah Ritual After a Miscarriage | Complete Ceremony
By Rabbi Shira Stern
This ceremony uses the occasion of havdalah, the service separating Shabbat from the week, to mourn a miscarriage. It is performed at home with a small circle of family and friends.
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Healing After a Miscarriage | Poem
By Merle Feld
"I want no platitudes, no stupid shallow comfort. I hate all pregnant women, all new mothers, all soft babies." The anger is wonderfully honest in this poem.
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I Lost a Child But Did Not Mourn Her | Article
By Ron Wolfson
A personal account describing the author's experience of stillbirth before rituals were developed to encourage mourning
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A Lullaby for Courage | Poem
By Debbie Perlman
A new psalm for a woman to say when she goes to end her pregnancy or when premature labor begins
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Memorial Service for Our Babies and a Reawakening of Hope | Complete Ceremony
Anonymous
A mourning ceremony for twins who died before birth
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Prayer to be Said When Preparing for the End of the Pregnancy | Prayer
By Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
Prayer to be recited when pregnancy must be ended therapeutically
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Prayer After Miscarriage or Stillbirth | Prayer
By Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
A prayer combining contemporary words and Hebrew selections from the High Holy Day Amidah (standing silent prayer)
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A Prayer of Comfort Following a Miscarriage | Prayer
By Rabbi Arnold Stiebel
A prayer to be said in synagogue for a couple who has experienced a miscarriage
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Renew Me Like the Moon: Toward Healing after Miscarriage | Complete Ceremony
By Lois Dubin
Selections and adaptations from a larger ceremony
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Creating a Ritual when None Exists | Article
By Freda Curchack Marver
How one woman infused the tashlich ritual with a dimension for coping with her loss
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