Starting a Family

In contemporary homes, starting a family is often a deliberate choice. The experience of pregnancy, the drama of giving birth, and the miracle of adoption are occasions for joy and wonder. These are also experiences that can be fraught with pain and struggle, reflecting the full spectrum of life and death. We offer prayers for those who are trying to conceive, prayers for pregnancy and childbirth, rituals for parents preparing to adopt, mourning ceremonies for miscarriages, blessings for those struggling with infertility, rituals to prepare for or acknowledge an abortion, and much more.

Latest Rituals

Sibling Blessing

“May you never feel alone for you will always have each other”

baby naming, blessing

Sibling Blessing

Brit Mishpakhah: Marking the Adoption of an Older Child

“We wrote this ritual to mark the adoption of our son, who was weeks away from his 18th birthday at the time”

Brit Mishpakhah: Marking the Adoption of an Older Child

Prayer for Those Struggling to Conceive & Infertility

“Blessed are You, Divine Presence, Healer of All Flesh and Maker of Miracles”

infertility, pregnancy, Shekhinah

Prayer for Those Struggling to Conceive & Infertility

Hearing in our Hearts

A prayer about infertility invoking the biblical Hannah

Hearing in our Hearts

Prayer Before Starting IVF

infertility, IVF

Prayer Before Starting IVF

Ritual of Separating from a Foster Child

Ritual of Separating from a Foster Child

Mother’s Day Prayer

Mother’s Day Prayer

Everything Is But a Moment: A Meditation on Kohelet

meditation, megillah, mourning, welcoming

Everything Is But a Moment: A Meditation on Kohelet

Self-Birthing: A Ritual for Termination of a Pregnancy

Self-Birthing: A Ritual for Termination of a Pregnancy

Dream of the Red Tent

feminism, gender, lesbian, LGBTQ, Miriam

Dream of the Red Tent