thank you for the new

mommyeverafter — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:19:32 +0000

Thank you for all that is new.
In Judaism, there is a blessing called the Shehecheyanu.
Traditionally, you say the Shehecheyanu to mark the start of something new,
for every first,
at the beginning of a Holiday,
for a birth,
on an occasion to be grateful for….
I think you get the gist.
This is one of my favorite blessings,
and growing up, my parents taught us to say the Shehecheyanu each Friday evening at sundown as we lit the Sabbath candles.
Thank you for allowing us to experience the start of a sweet new week.
As we grew older, my parents loved to hear my sister and I sing the Shehecheyanu,
with it’s beautiful melody,
and our own invented harmony,
and embarrassed us at many a family dinner by coaxing us into chanting this blessing for the group.
I think we both rolled our eyes at this request,
but both also loved it, just a little,
as it really is so
so
beautiful.
Thank you for the songs of the future.

This week, I am thankful for many new things;
like the fact that this week, my baby really began sitting up on her own;
this week, her babbling of “mama” seemed to have greater purpose behind it;
this week, my daughter shed her first tear over a boy.
Yes, it was because her baby boyfriend startled her with a giant “roar”,
and yes, baby tears are never really something to celebrate, despite how adorable their origin may be,
but it was a right of passage, nonetheless.
Thank you for each new milestone.
Tonight, our Shabbat Dinner was nothing formal or fancy;
it was pizza and wings with my husband, baby and brother-in-law in front of the Phillies game,
but it was, as it always is,
a way to put last week behind us,
and look ahead at what next week may bring.
Thank you for quiet nights at home.
The Shehecheyanu takes but a minute to say,
but is a deeply precious way to give thanks for all of the new, sacred blessings that surround each of us.
Thank you for our day of rest.
I do not know what the next week will bring,
but I do, with all of my heart, know that I will do my best to say my blessings,
as I count my blessings,
one bite of cheese pizza,
one cry for “mama”,
one roar
at a time.
And let us say,
Amen.

The post thank you for the new appeared first on Mommy Ever After.

Mommy Ever After » Shabbat

thank you for the new