This blessing may be recited while preparing the deceased for burial.
I wash you as journey through the Waters of Life & Death
I wash you with the rain that quenched your thirsts & nourished your growth
I wash you with the wine that comprised every proposed & unproposed toast made in your honor
I wash you with the Living Waters that feed us as an ancient people & connect us to our heritage
I wash you with the blessings that honor the Dead, comfort the Living & praise the Divine
I wash you with the words of Love, spoken & unspoken, flowing from those you leave behind
I wash you with the tears shed by all who love you & all who mourn losing you
I wash you with the salty tears shed by those for whom your absence is painfully palpable
Each drop filled with the emptiness you leave in your wake & the experiences you will never have
I wash you with the sweet tears shed by those who celebrate who you were & still are to them
Each drop filled with memories of moments lived & time shared
I wash you with the tears you shed while this body carried you through your days
I wash you with the tears you shed as you came into & passed out of this Life
I wash you with the tears you shed as you couldn’t contain your joys & sorrows
I wash you with the tears you cried so hard you thought you’d never stop
I wash you with the tears you cried so hard you thought you’d wet yourself!
I wash you with all the tears you held back out of fear, out of numbness
May they flow freely now
I wash you with all of the Waters of your Life
Cleansing all the pain, illness and negativity from your body
Filling in the cracks & dents of your heart
Quenching the thirst of your questioning mind
Carrying your soul onto its next journey
- Kohenet Ahava LilithIn the midrash (rabbinic story about the Torah story), Lilith is imagined as Adam's first wife. Because she wanted equality, she wss ultimately banished, and God provided Adam with a more obedient wife. Lilith, according to tradition, lives on as a kind of demon, causing men to have wet dreams and stealing infant boys from their cribs. Today, Lilith has been reclaimed by Jewish feminists as a symbol of women's equality. EverShine, 2013/5773 (for JosephJacob's eldest son by his beloved wife, Rachel. Joseph, the dreamer, was his father's favorite and nearly murdered by his brothers. Sold into slavery, he became viceroy of Egypt where he ultimately saves the Egyptians and also his own family from starvation. His Hebrew name is Yosef/ Adelman & family)
