Type: Poem

He confesses his family’s sins to whom all praise is due // He requests divine forgiveness, then declares TITHARU! // The kohanim and the people who witness what was said // Declare “Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto L’Olam Va’ed.”

Both birds of prey // Both live at my river // but only the vultures visit my home.

When hope is crushed, // Is it like clods of earth ground to mud, sticking in foulness to my boots as I walk?

A range of ideas to help a mother create a ritual for her child’s first period

“Soul vessels, with gods’ breath subsumed, / shatter in tessellated shards of light—”

“The comfort of your presence The call of my being toward your light…”

This ritual focuses on transforming grief through creative expression

“Wavering candlelight / illuminates our lament…”

“May we have the time /  to navigate our grief / with grace / at a pace  all our own. “

“Rain clouds mass above, / so we race towards rows of stiff backed chairs…”