Last week, the good folks at Jewschool blogged about the need for Jewish ritual in contemporary life events. Their list of examples included:
- Moving in with a partner to whom you are not married. [to some extent the marriage process acts as a ritual in the case where you move in together post-huppah.]
- Separating from a partner to whom you were never married.
- Substantially changing diet (becoming/ceasing to be, kosher-keeping, veg, vegan, etc)
- Accepting a new job.
- Graduating from university, trade school, etc. (MORE)
It’s an interesting and legitimate concern. When I started working here at MJL, I was surprised to find a group of articles specifically outlining ritual for such lifecycle events:
- Dealing with infertility
- Miscarriages
- Abortions
- Leaving for college
- Coming out
- Healing from abuse
- Finishing saying kaddish
I’m not sure I personally would use any of these “ceremonies” in my life, but it refreshing to know that scholars, clergy, and other individuals are addressing the holes in Jewish ritual causes by modernity.
