Coronavirus

Two people wearing masks, one handing a grocery bag to the other outside a brick house.

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken our lives. Many of us have experienced loss of loved ones, loss of income, illness, fear, isolation, frustration, fatigue. Some of us have put our lives at risk on the front lines as doctors and nurses, grocery workers, delivery workers, and other places of vulnerability. All of us are trying to cope and adapt to a new reality. We all suffer in different ways, and no one’s suffering is more important than anyone else’s. We are in this together. And we can help each other. Below are blessings, prayers, poems and rituals written during the pandemic: from graduation and b’nei mitzvah ceremonies to prayers for health care workers to blessings for handwashing. These resources offer healing, hope, meaning, structure, gratitude and joy during this fragile moment.

Latest Rituals

On this Rosh Hashanah we crave connection

a person in a white collared shirt wearing a kippah and glasses blows a traditional shofar, next to a child in a white floral dress blowing a multicolor crafted shofar, and they are looking at each other

A beautiful family gathering on Zoom to sing Shehekheyanu for a bar mitzvah

A virtual choir with twelve people singing in individual video frames.

“We covered our faces in fear”

A person wearing a mask stands in a forest with heavy smoke and haze in the background.

“Blessed are you Adonai, for always believing in us”

A person stands with hands over heart, in front of a wall with notes and sticky notes. Sunlight streams in.

“God, help me renew my strength”

Silhouetted hands raised against a warm, glowing sunset sky.

“Time for a different kind of harvest”

A person in a floral dress gently touches ripe wheat in a sunny field.

Focusing on breath and light, we make space for our tears on Shabbat during a painful time

Romantic table setting with two candles, a bottle of wine, and two glasses on a decorated table.

A small, adapted wedding during COVID-19

Bride and groom at an outdoor wedding ceremony, surrounded by greenery and flowers.

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

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The Reconstructionist Network