Fear and Overcoming: Breathing in a Strong Spirit

In the beginning, God gave us breath and the courage to begin life on earth.

Where does our/my strength come from? What gives us/me chazak v’amatz—strength and courage?

God works miracles with a yad hazak, but, with the Egyptian army in pursuit, Moses took a breath, held out his arm over the sea, and a strong east wind blew all night and turned the sea to dry ground.

In the dark, we wait, for deliverance, from Mitzrayim—the narrow place—to enter the promised land. 

God’s ruakh through the night brings peace, rest, and courage to walk into the sea on dry land through the roiling wall of waters on each side.

We/I face the fear(s) that challenges us/me.

We/I give breath to calm the fear that enwraps us/me.

We/I draw strength from our/my community.

We cheer each other on.

We/I sing.
We shall overcome. I shall overcome.
We are not afraid. I am not afraid.
Deep in my heart, I do believe that we/I shall overcome some day.

Hazak Hazak v’nithazek (Strength, Strength, and May we be strengthened)

Ritualwell content is available for free thanks to the generous support of readers like you! Please help us continue to offer meaningful content with a donation today. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Rituals

Shop Ritualwell - Discover unique Judaica products

The Reconstructionist Network

Learning to Say "We": Writing Identity

In this immersion, we will reflect and expand on our personal experiences of identity, using writing exercises and in-depth discussions to think about, challenge, discover, explore, and experiment with different ways to identify ourselves, to consider how those ways connect us to and separate us from others, and how they represent and misrepresent aspects of who we are.

Four sessions, starting June 15th

Get the latest from Ritualwell

Subscribe for the latest rituals, online learning opportunities, and unique Judaica finds from our store.