Parent Blessings Handbook: How to Select, Personalize or Write Your Own

This post contains a 7 page Parent Blessings Handbook designed to help the parents of a Bar/Bat Mitzvah select, personalize or write a meaningful blessing to be recited during the Shabbat morning service. It contains general information about blessings, a variety of traditional and alternative blessings, things to consider when selecting a blessing, and guiding questions to facilitate a conversation between parents and children about what type of blessing might be most meaningful. This handbook was prepared by Eileen Soffer for Congregation Etz Chayim in Palo Alto, CA, an egalitarian, independent and inclusive Jewish community, which melds elements from Judaism’s different branches.