L’kol z’man, v’eit l’chol cheifetz tachat hashamayim.
For everything, a time; a moment for every purpose under heaven. Eccl. 3
This month, we begin the second year of our congregational study together. For the second trimester, beginning in December, we will study the book of Exodus. The third trimester, the theme is the Rabbinic period of Jewish history. This trimester (September through November), our holiness strand will focus on the lifecyle - the rites and rituals that we Jews have created to mark pivotal moments in our lives.
The principle lifecycle moments are well-known - birth is celebrated by welcoming a child into the covenant (b’rit) with either a b’rit milah (covenant of circumcision) for boys or a b’rit bat (daughter’s covenant) for a girl. We mark the entry into adulthood with Bar or Bat Mitzvah. In Reform congregations, we celebrate a milestone in Jewish education with Confirmation. Marriage is the lifecyle event celebrated under the chuppah (wedding canopy) with a ketubah (marriage contract). The end of life, of course, is marked by the funeral and shivah.
In many cases (other than birth and death), we create lifecycle events to mark moments that are more nebulous and difficult to pin down. When does a child become an adult - exactly? When does a relationship solidify into a life partnership? As Jews, we have created rituals to mark those liminal moments, to commemorate the change in our lives. In one sense, we are no different from the person we were before the ceremony. In another sense, we are altogether different people marked by and because of the ceremony. “Called to the Torah as a bar/bat mitzvah”; “Now husband and wife” - these words are parts of ceremonies that allow us to grow and change our status within our communities.
Judaism has many such places to hang our memories, to mark the changes in our lives. Modern Judaism is seeking to create meaningful rituals for other significant moments: the most important moment in the suburban child’s life, when he/she receives a driver’s license; when parent and child roles change as a child goes off to college - a lifecyle event for both parents and children; rituals for the beginning of the menstrual cycle and for its end; rituals for individuals and couples facing challenges of fertility.
Lifecycle rituals can help us not only to mark special occasions and to pin them down in our memories, but certain rituals can help ease us through difficult transitions. The rituals of mourning - the transition from shivah (the first seven days of mourning), through shloshim (the first 30 days), through the first yahrzeit (year anniversary of a death), help us move along a path of grief to acceptance. Rituals of divorce can act as a mirror to marriage and provide closure and release.
As we enter into this trimester of study, please take a moment - either through the materials available on our website, attending classes, reading suggested texts or listening at sermons - to become more knowledgeable about the lifecyle events in Judaism. Not only will this knowledge and familiarity help you in your marking of the moments of your life, but also in your sharing with others in our community. One of the ways that we are a sacred community is in how we share joy and sorrow with each other - providing strength and comfort. I had the joy this summer to officiate at the wedding of one of the first children whose Bar Mitzvah I celebrated in this congregation. Let us look forward to much more joy together.
For everything, a time; a moment for every purpose under heaven. Eccl. 3
This month, we begin the second year of our congregational study together. For the second trimester, beginning in December, we will study the book of Exodus. The third trimester, the theme is the Rabbinic period of Jewish history. This trimester (September through November), our holiness strand will focus on the lifecyle - the rites and rituals that we Jews have created to mark pivotal moments in our lives.
The principle lifecycle moments are well-known - birth is celebrated by welcoming a child into the covenant (b’rit) with either a b’rit milah (covenant of circumcision) for boys or a b’rit bat (daughter’s covenant) for a girl. We mark the entry into adulthood with Bar or Bat Mitzvah. In Reform congregations, we celebrate a milestone in Jewish education with Confirmation. Marriage is the lifecyle event celebrated under the chuppah (wedding canopy) with a ketubah (marriage contract). The end of life, of course, is marked by the funeral and shivah.
In many cases (other than birth and death), we create lifecycle events to mark moments that are more nebulous and difficult to pin down. When does a child become an adult - exactly? When does a relationship solidify into a life partnership? As Jews, we have created rituals to mark those liminal moments, to commemorate the change in our lives. In one sense, we are no different from the person we were before the ceremony. In another sense, we are altogether different people marked by and because of the ceremony. “Called to the Torah as a bar/bat mitzvah”; “Now husband and wife” - these words are parts of ceremonies that allow us to grow and change our status within our communities.
Judaism has many such places to hang our memories, to mark the changes in our lives. Modern Judaism is seeking to create meaningful rituals for other significant moments: the most important moment in the suburban child’s life, when he/she receives a driver’s license; when parent and child roles change as a child goes off to college - a lifecyle event for both parents and children; rituals for the beginning of the menstrual cycle and for its end; rituals for individuals and couples facing challenges of fertility.
Lifecycle rituals can help us not only to mark special occasions and to pin them down in our memories, but certain rituals can help ease us through difficult transitions. The rituals of mourning - the transition from shivah (the first seven days of mourning), through shloshim (the first 30 days), through the first yahrzeit (year anniversary of a death), help us move along a path of grief to acceptance. Rituals of divorce can act as a mirror to marriage and provide closure and release.
As we enter into this trimester of study, please take a moment - either through the materials available on our website, attending classes, reading suggested texts or listening at sermons - to become more knowledgeable about the lifecyle events in Judaism. Not only will this knowledge and familiarity help you in your marking of the moments of your life, but also in your sharing with others in our community. One of the ways that we are a sacred community is in how we share joy and sorrow with each other - providing strength and comfort. I had the joy this summer to officiate at the wedding of one of the first children whose Bar Mitzvah I celebrated in this congregation. Let us look forward to much more joy together.
