When Shabbat and Hanukkah coincide on December 3 this year, we have the opportunity to light candles for both holidays and take a moment to bless our children, a Shabbat tradition.
We offer you an update to this ritual to help our preteens and teens shine bright and transcend the many challenges of this year. I hope you will enjoy blessing your children on any Friday night, as a Hanukkah gift, or anytime that works for you.
Place your hand on your child(ren)’s head(s) and recite:
- May you be blessed with shleimut, a sense of personal wholeness and peace. May you see yourself clearly, aware of your gifts and your challenges, and may you treat yourself with compassion and love.
- May you be blessed with hesed, the flow of loving-kindness that happens between people when they care for one another. May you grow your connections to others and may those connections lead you to trusting relationships, new experiences, and adventures.
- May you be blessed with tzedek, the power of doing justice in the world. May you help others to see the way that the world is broken, may you inspire them to do the work of fixing, and may your vision of a better world become a reality.
Wishing you a Happy Hanukkah filled with light, reflection, and hope.
Download a PDF of this ritual, and please consider supporting Moving Traditions.