{"id":1863,"date":"2017-07-11T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/2017\/07\/11\/alternative-blessing-for-children-with-masculine-and-feminine-god-language"},"modified":"2018-06-12T12:36:49","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T09:36:49","slug":"alternative-blessing-for-children-with-masculine-and-feminine-god-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/2017\/07\/11\/alternative-blessing-for-children-with-masculine-and-feminine-god-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative Blessing for Children with Masculine and Feminine God Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

This\u00a0post<\/a>\u00a0presents the blessing for the children using both traditional male God-language as well as feminine God-language,\u00a0reflecting\u00a0a blend of Jewish tradition with modern feminist approaches. The two versions of the traditional blessing are followed by\u00a0Marcia Falk\u2019<\/a>s contemporary, open-ended text for blessing one\u2019s children on Friday night in a way that empowers them with a sense of possibility, is free of gender roles, and does not limit them to the qualities of particular ancestors. The post ends with the personal customs of two\u00a0families. These blessing alternatives are presented by Kolot: Center for Jewish Women\u2019s & Gender Studies<\/a>, which is located on the campus of the Reconstuctionist Rabbinical Seminary, and shared on\u00a0<\/em>Ritualwell.org,<\/a>\u00a0a project of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College that provides a platform for creating new Jewish practices and observances.<\/em><\/p>\n

Feminine God-Language, Female Child<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n

\u05ea\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05b4\u05de\u05b5\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e7\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05b8\u05d7\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b5\u05d0\u05b8\u05d4
\n\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b5\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05d5\u05b9\u05ea\u05b5\u05da\u05b0\u05b0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b6\u05da\u05b0<\/span>
\n\u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b5\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b4\u05d7\u05d5\u05bc\u05e0\u05b6\u05da\u05b0
\n\u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05e9\u05c2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b6\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05b5\u05dd \u05dc\u05b8\u05da\u05b0 \u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd<\/p>\n

Tisimekh Elohim k’Sar<\/cite>a<\/cite>h<\/cite>\u00a0Rivka Rakhel vi-Leah<\/cite><\/span><\/span><\/i>
\nTivareykh Otakh Ya v’tishmirekh<\/span><\/span><\/i>
\nTa’er Ya paneha elayikh vi-tikhunekh.<\/span><\/span><\/i>
\nTisa Ya paneha elayikh vi-tasem lakh shalom.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Masculine God-Language, Female Child<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u05d9\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05b4\u05de\u05b5\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05b8\u05e8\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05b4\u05d1\u05b0\u05e7\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e8\u05b8\u05d7\u05b5\u05dc \u05d5\u05b0\u05dc\u05b5\u05d0\u05b8\u05d4<\/span>
\n\u05d9\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b5\u05da\u05b0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1\u05b7\u05de\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b5\u05da
\n\u05d9\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b4\u05d7\u05bb\u05e0\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05da\u05b0<\/span>
\n\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05c2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05b4\u05da\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05b6\u05dd \u05dc\u05b8\u05da\u05b0 \u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd<\/p>\n

Yisimekh\u00a0Elohim k’Sarah Rivka Rakhel vi-Leah<\/span><\/span>
\nYivarekh Adonay v’yishmirekh<\/span><\/span>
\nYa’er Adonay panav elayikh vi-yikhunayikh<\/span><\/span>
\nYisa Adonay panav elayikh vi-yasem lakh shalom.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Feminine God Language, Male Child<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u05ea\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05bc\u05b6\u05d4
\n\u05ea\u05bc\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b6\u05db\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05e9\u05c1\u05b0\u05de\u05b0\u05e8\u05b6\u05da\u05b8
\n\u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b6\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8\u05b0 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b0\u05d7\u05bb\u05e0\u05b6\u05da\u05b8<\/span>
\n\u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05e9\u05c2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d9\u05b8\u05d4 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b6\u05d9\u05d4\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05b5\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd<\/span><\/p>\n

Tisimkha Elohim k’Ephraim vi-khi-Menashe.<\/span><\/span><\/i>
\nTivarekhikha\u00a0Yah<\/cite>\u00a0vi-tishmirekha<\/span><\/span><\/i>
\nTa’er Yah paneha elekha vi-tikhunekha<\/span><\/span><\/i>
\nTisa Yah paneha elekha vi-tasem likha shalom.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Masculine God-Language, Male Child<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u05d9\u05b0\u05e9\u05c2\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05d0\u05b6\u05e4\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d9\u05b4\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05db\u05b4\u05de\u05b0\u05e0\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05d4
\n\u05d9\u05b0\u05d1\u05b8\u05e8\u05b5\u05da\u05b8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1\u05b7\u05de\u05bc\u05b6\u05e8\u05b0\u05da\u05b8<\/span>
\n\u05d9\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05e8 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b4\u05d9\u05d7\u05bb\u05e0\u05b6\u05da\u05b8<\/span>
\n\u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05c2\u05bc\u05b8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b2\u05d3\u05b9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9 \u05e4\u05bc\u05b8\u05e0\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5 \u05d0\u05b5\u05dc\u05b6\u05d9\u05da\u05b8 \u05d5\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b8\u05e9\u05c2\u05b6\u05dd \u05dc\u05b0\u05da\u05b8 \u05e9\u05c1\u05b8\u05dc\u05d5\u05b9\u05dd<\/span><\/p>\n

Yismikha Elohim k’Ephraim vi-khi-Menashe.<\/span><\/span>
\nYvarekhikha Adonay vi-yishmirekha.<\/span><\/span>
\nYa’er Adonay panav elekha vekhuneka.<\/span><\/span>
\nYisa Adonay panav elekha vi-yasem likha shalom.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

English Translation with Feminine God-Language<\/h2>\n

For a Girl<\/span>: May God make you like Sarah,\u00a0Rebecca<\/cite>,\u00a0Rachel<\/cite>\u00a0and Leah.\u00a0<\/span>
\nFor a Boy<\/span>: May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe.<\/span>
\nMay God bless you and watch over you.<\/span>
\nMay God shine the light of Her face upon you and may She be gracious to you.<\/span>
\nMay God lift Her face towards you and grant you peace.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Marcia Falk, a contemporary feminist liturgist offers her own version of this blessing. Instead of wishing that the child be like someone else, this blessing asks that the child be as s\/he is.<\/span><\/p>\n

To a girl:<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

______ \u05d4\u05b2\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9<\/span>
\n\u05d5\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9 \u05d1\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05db\u05b8\u05d4<\/span>
\n\u05d1\u05bc\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b4\u05d9<\/span><\/p>\n

___________,<\/i>\u00a0Hayi asher tihyi vahayi b’rukhah ba’asher tihyi.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

To a boy:<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

_________
\n\u05d4\u05b1\u05d9\u05b5\u05d4 \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4
\n\u05d5\u05b6\u05d4\u05b1\u05d9\u05b5\u05d4 \u05d1\u05bc\u05b8\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05da\u05b0<\/span>
\n\u05d1\u05bc\u05b7\u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05c1\u05b6\u05e8 \u05ea\u05bc\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05d4<\/span><\/p>\n

__________,\u00a0Heyeh asher tihyeh \u2014 veheyeyh barukh ba’asher tihyeh.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

(child’s name), Be who you are \u2014 and may you be blessed in all that you are.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two Families Share their Stories<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

My family modified the traditional blessing of the children to be more inclusive by age and gender by having the oldest at the\u00a0Shabbat<\/cite>\u00a0table bless the next oldest. Therefore, I bless my partner, who blesses our six-year-old daughter, who blesses her 16-month-old brother, who kisses the keppi (head) of his teddy bear. As our Shabbat table changes, so does the order of blessings, except that the teddy bear always gets the kiss on the keppi. (Catherine Sull)<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Our four-year-old daughter likes to bless everyone by putting her hand on people’s heads and saying a blessing in her “secret” language. It is great to see her feel that she has the power to bless folks and not just receive blessings. Our hope is that as she gets older her blessings will be more substantial than just “waka, waka, waka etc….” Who knows, though…. (D<\/span>avid Gerwin and Lisa Gersten)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This\u00a0post\u00a0presents the blessing for the children using both traditional male God-language as well as feminine God-language,\u00a0reflecting\u00a0a blend of Jewish tradition with modern feminist approaches. The two versions of the traditional blessing are followed by\u00a0Marcia Falk\u2019s contemporary, open-ended text for blessing one\u2019s children on Friday night in a way that empowers them with a sense of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[308],"tags":[255,233,314,258,293],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1863\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=1863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1863\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1864\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=1863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=1863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=1863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}