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Growing Older

An elderly woman joyfully jumps in a garden, with sunlight and trees in the background.

Several generations ago, a woman got married in her early 20s, had children immediately, and by the time she was finished having children, she was well on the way to being a grandmother. And life was shorter. Today, most of us can hope to enjoy many years when our focus shifts back to our own goals and purposes, much as it did in our 20s. Questions of meaning and purpose again present themselves. At the same time, we have acquired the wisdom of years, and some of us long to have that recognized and celebrated within our communities. Other important events characterize this time of life: our bodies change, some of us become grandparents, some of us retire from long-established careers, and at some point we may move out of our homes and downsize, or even move in with children or into a facility. All of these changes present opportunities for ritual.

Latest Rituals

A meditation and teaching for taking on new responsibilities

A woman with outstretched arms walks down a road in a rural landscape under a cloudy sky.

Prayers for individuals facing physical decline, including loss of vision, loss of ability to speak, general weakening of the body, and decline in mobility

mans hands holding cane
One mother’s account of preparing for an empty nest through pictures and a Shabbat meal
woman making online photo album

A ceremony which adapts traditional texts and facilitates an individualized ceremony to honor those whose memory we wish to perpetuate

A woman kisses a smiling girl on the cheek in a grassy field.

Developing a ritual for the dissolution of a home

empty room with sliding glass doors to green lawn and lake

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.
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

An article about the meaning of birthdays in Jewish tradition and how to make birthdays more meaningful, Jewishly

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

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