Shalom. Recently we had the honor and opportunity to be with a congregation in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Beth Emeth is creating a congregational wide program on Sacred Aging and we were invited to spend a weekend discussing aspects of our work and planting some seeds for their work. As we were discussing the session on new rituals, we began to discuss the importance of advanced directives and end of life documents. As part of the session, we reviewed the blessing that was created by some colleagues when they were part of a class at the Hebrew Union College on the impact of longevity. These students, now out in the world, created a blessing upon signing and advanced directive. As this Shabbat speaks of making preparations for burial, we wanted to post the blessing. Feel free to adapt or create a card that can be made available to congregants as they sign or revise their document. This is part of our workshop on New Rituals for New Life Stages.
“Blessed is the Eternal who has granted me life and enabled me to reach this season.
God who has given me the power of choice and who has brought me the strength to make these decisions today; thank you for granting me the wisdom to think ahead and to understand the great range of possibilities that could come in the future. While so much is out of our control, I am grateful that I can make choices in my life, make them known and have them carried out in the event I can no longer have the ability to do so myself.
When the time comes that I am no longer able to make decisions on my own behalf, may my wishes be carried out by those who are close to me.
I have been blessed with so much and, may my family be at peace with my decisions. May we love one another and cherish our time together.
Baruch Atah Adonai, who has given us free will and agency in our lives.”
(based on work of Rabbi Dan Fliegel and Educator Tess Levine
Shalom,
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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