מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אַבְרָהָם יִצְחַק וְיַעֲקֹב שָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת ___________ בַּת __________ שֶׁמָלְאוּ לָהּ שְׁתֵיִם עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה וְהִגִּיעָה לְמִצְווֹת וְנוֹתְנָהּ שֶׁבַח וְהוֹדִיָה לְאָדוֹנֲי יִתְבָּרַךְ עַל כֹּל הַטּוּב הַטּוֹב שֶׁגָּמַל אוֹתָהּ. יְשַׁמְּרָהּ הַקָּדוֹשְׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְחַיָּה וִיכוֹנֵן אֶת לִבָּה לִהְיוֹת שָׁלֵם עִם ה’ וְלָלֶכֶת בִּדְרָכָיו וְלִשְׁמֹר מִצְווֹתָיו כֹּל הַיַּמִּים וְנֹאמַר אַמֵּן
Mi Shebeirakh avoteinu, Avraham Yitzchak v’Ya’akov, SarahThe first matriarch, wife of Abraham, and mother of Isaac, whom she birthed at the age of 90. Sarah, in Rabbinic tradition, is considered holy, beautiful, and hospitable. Many prayers, particularly the Amidah (the central silent prayer), refer to God as Magen Avraham – protector of Abraham. Many Jews now add: pokehd or ezrat Sarah – guardian or helper of Sarah. Rivkah RachelLavan's younger daughter and Jacob's beloved wife second wife (after he is initially tricked into marrying her older sister, Leah). Rachel grieves throughout her life that she is barren while Leah is so fertile. Ultimately, Rachel gives birth to Joseph and dies in childbirth with Benjamin. Rachel is remembered as compassionate (she is said to still weep for her children), and infertile women often invoke Rachel as a kind of intercessor and visit her tomb on the road to Bethlehem. v’LeahThe third of the Jewish matriarchs, Lead is the eldest of Lavan's daughters and one of the wives of Jacob. She is the daughter whom Lavan tricks Jacob into marrying instead of his younger daughter Rachel, whom Jacob has requested to marry. Leah is mother to six of the the twelve tribes and to one daughter, Dinah., hu y’varekh et __________ bat __________ shemalu la sh’taim esreh shanah v’higi’ah l’mitzvotLit. Commandment. It is traditionally held that there are 613 mitzvot (plural) in Judaism, both postive commandments (mandating actions) and negative commandments (prohibiting actions). Mitzvah has also become colloquially assumed to mean the idea of a “good deed.", v’notnah shevakh v’hodiah l’Adonay yitbarakh al khol hatov shegamal otah. Y’shamrah hakadosh barukh hu v’khayah, v’yikhonen et libah lihi’ot shalem im Adonay, v’lalekhet bidrakhav v’lishmor mitzvotav khol hayamim, v’nomar amen.
May the One who blessed our forefathers AbrahamAbraham is the first patriarch and the father of the Jewish people. He is the husband of Sarah and the father of Isaac and Ishmael. God's covenant - that we will be a great people and inherit the land of Israel - begins with Abraham and is marked by his circumcision, the first in Jewish history. His Hebrew name is Avraham., Issac and JacobLit. heel Jacob is the third patriarch, son of Isaac and Rebecca, and father to the twelve tribes of Israel. More than any of the other patriarchs, Jacob wrestles with God and evolves from a deceitful, deal-making young man to a mature, faithful partner to God. His Hebrew name is Yaakov., and our foremothers Sarah, RebekahThe second Jewish matriarch, Isaac's wife, and mother to Jacob and Esau. Rebecca is an active parent, talking to God when she is pregnant and learning the fate of her children, then ultimately manipulating Isaac and the children to ensure Jacob's ascendancy. Her Hebrew name is Rivka., Rachel and Leah, bless ____________ daughter of ______________ who is twelve years old and has reached the age of the commandments. She gives praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for all the good that God has done to her. May God keep her and sustain her, and direct her heart to be whole, and to walk in God’s ways and follow God’s commandments all of her days. And let us say Amen.
Published by JOFA,The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance The Orthodox Jewish Woman and Ritual: Options and Opportunities Bat Mitzvah, www.jofa.org. Used by permission of JOFA.
