In times of crisis, many of us find ourselves turning to rituals that we don’t normally do — and what we are experiencing now is definitely a time of crisis.
The past two weeks, as the Hey Alma team has met to discuss how to best show up for our readers and community, we’ve found ourselves sharing the Jewish rituals we’ve been building into our lives (or are now actively looking for) to help cope with our feelings of grief and anger.
One of us mentioned joining a community Mourner’s Kaddish that moved her to tears. Another has started saying a single tehillim, or psalm, before bed each night. Another has been listening to a playlist of 13 different versions of “Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu” she stumbled upon on Spotify. We all cope in different ways!
We realized if we’re leaning into ritual, you probably are, too. So we asked the Hey Alma community to share what Jewish rituals you’ve been practicing. Here is a collection of your thoughts.
Jewish Rituals From the Hey Alma Community
Singing along to Jewish music from my childhood
Reading from my childhood siddur every day
Wearing my Star of David necklace for the first time in 20 years
Lighting Shabbat candles
Celebrating Shabbat with my family, friends and chosen family
Praying
Praying, even though I’m agnostic
Praying, even though I usually don’t
Praying, even though I’m not religious
Saying Birkat Kohahim every time I separate from my children lately, even though I’m nontheist
Saying the Shema
Saying a prayer each morning in gratitude for making my kid breakfast
Making so much challah
Going to synagogue even when I’m too tired to function
Attending Shabbat services
Saying the Hashkiveinu every night
Watching Jewish movies — they always help lift my spirits
Hosting big Shabbat potlucks
Lighting yarzheit/memorial candles for the dead and the grieving
Seeking Jewish spaces/community that mirror and can hold my specific double grief
Reciting Oseh Shalom nightly
Seeking out Jewish texts
Reconnecting with Jewish friends
Carrying around a little zohar for spiritual/physical protection
Covering my hair when I go out
Widening my Jewish communal circle beyond my friends/synagogue/city/denomination
Printing and hanging prayers around my home to see daily
Relearning Hebrew
Reading tehillim
Going to hear Shiurim (a lecture on Torah), which I had never done before
Reciting Mi Sheberach
Finally putting up our mezuzah
Putting tefillin on daily
Stopping by my local Chabad for challah and shabbat candles
Observing more mitzvot
Keeping kosher
Fasting
