Becoming a Jewish Adult

A young person reads from a Torah scroll with two adults by their side, in a ceremonial setting.

The path to adulthood is full of twists and turns. From celebrating a bar/bat mitzvah to leaving home for the first time, this is a journey fraught with new freedom, new responsibilities, and an abundance of complex emotions. We offer blessings, prayers, and rituals that help parents and children use a Jewish vocabulary to describe this journey—and to experience it as richly as possible.

 

Latest Rituals

Modern blessings for a daughter or son

father daughter hug

A Jewish way to mark life’s passages

Two people taking a selfie outdoors; one holds flowers and the other holds a gift. Both are wearing sunglasses.

“May your eyes sparkle with the light of Torah and your ears hear the music of its words” — a prayer for our children based on a talmudic passage

Three people smiling and holding a Torah scroll together in a synagogue setting.

“May you live to see your world fulfilled”

A misty forest at sunrise with tall trees and a carpet of red leaves covering the ground.
A ritual for parents and children involving a havdalah service before leaving for college and the hanging of a mezuzah upon arrival
hand touching mulitcolored mezuzah

A father’s prayer read at the Shabbat table prior to his son’s departure for college

father and college aged son hold hands
Ceremony for a child going off to college for the first time
college woman studying on a patio

A ritual for parents and children marking this significant moment in their relationship

hands in a plaid jacket holding the steering wheel of a car
A set of suggestions for creating a Jewish celebration of menarche
three women embracing, shot from behind, two holding sprigs of babys breath
A poem about a daughter’s onset of menses at the same time as her mother, the poet, begins menopause
silhouette of a woman photographed from behind in the lotus position facing the sunrise

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

Support Ritualwell’s free offerings and events and receive a weekly guide with prompts and practices for each week of the Omer.

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The Reconstructionist Network