Sanctifying Relationships

A couple embraces joyfully in a sunlit forest with golden autumn leaves around them.

Relationships bring people together in a unique connection. This is something to celebrate, whether through the public festivity of a wedding, or in the private reflection of immersion in the mikveh. Sanctifying our relationships elevates these unions and gives them a context of meaning and joy.

Latest Rituals

A havdalah candle-lighting ritual as part of a Jewish-Christian interfaith wedding performed on a Saturday night

a blue and white havdalah candle

Using water in place of wine or grape juice when making kiddush

goblets and pitchers of water

A ceremony in place of an auf ruf for an interfaith couple before their wedding

Bride and groom holding hands and smiling at each other under a wedding arch.

Liturgy of the sheva brakhot adapted for a lesbian wedding or two people identified as female

two women about to kiss

Language for ring exchange that recognizes ever-evolving laws of Moses

bride and groom holding hands

Revamping the traditional betrothal blessing to move away from the language of forbidden relationships

holding hands

Honoring seven role models by asking for their blessing

many hands touching

A new version of erusin focusing on the vulnerability of intimacy and the holiness of committed relationships

Bride and groom holding hands and smiling at each other under a wedding arch.

Seven blessings to offer at a wedding loosely based on the traditional sheva brakhot

man and woman holding hands palms down

Looking forward to a day when all loving couples can rejoice under the huppah in a marriage recognized by federal and state law

Floral arch on a beach with candles on a table beneath, ocean and sky in the background.

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