Ritualwell Explained
Ritualwell is a website that allows users to find, create and share Jewish rituals.It was initially launched in 2001[1] [2] and was nominated for a Webby Award in the Religion & Spirituality category in 2003.[3] The site was redesigned and relaunched in 2005.[4] It seeks to "increase the number of rituals available for holidays, Shabbat and traditional lifecycle events.[4]
Approach
Ritualwell aims to "promote a democratic Judaism where everyone is welcome to submit content and join the conversation."[5] Earlier prayer and ritual were committed to paper and published in books. Ritualwell seeks to leverage the fluid, changing and democratic nature of the internet. While its roots are in the feminist movement, Ritualwell attempts to be broadly inclusive while also seeking to make contemporary feminist Jewish liturgy and rituals widely available.[6]
The name Ritualwell references a Jewish story of endless water available in the desert. The midrash of Miriam's well "is a rabbinic legend that tells of a miraculous well that accompanied the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert at the Exodus from Egypt".[4] Though Miriam is closely associated with Jewish feminism, Ritualwell tries to "expand the use of ritual in daily life, to sanctify all life changes for men, women and children."[4] The story of Miram's well is linked to a late 20th century feminist addition to the traditional seder plate;some seders (including the original Women's Seder, but not limited to women-only seders) now set out a cup for the prophet Miriam as well as the traditional cup for the prophet Elijah, sometimes accompanied by a ritual to honor Miriam.[7] Miriam's cup originated in the 1980s in a Boston Rosh Chodesh group; it was invented by Stephanie Loo, who filled it with mayim hayim (living waters) and used it in a feminist ceremony of guided meditation.[8]
Traditional rituals
Ritualwell includes information on traditional Jewish rituals such as attending the mikvah, Counting the Omer, and marrying.[9] [10] It offers a variety of new approaches to traditional rituals such as marriage (with rituals for same sex weddings and second marriages), baby naming, and the Passover seder.[4] [11] [12] [13]
Rituals are reshaped by people who want Judaism in their lives but don't feel comfortable with some aspect of the traditional ritual. Current Ritualwell editor Rabbi Roni Handler explains "Even if they do not have a regular spiritual practice, couples view their wedding as a microcosm of the home they are creating together... [they] aren't looking at marriage as a business transaction as it was once understood... They want the [ritual] to represent their commitment to each other." Since traditional Jewish weddings include a large number of different rituals, Ritualwell includes betrothal blessings, tisches, and other elements of the wedding.[14]
New rituals
The site offers newly created rituals to mark various points in contemporary life such as a child beginning kindergarten, getting a driver's license or leaving for college. Other new rituals include retiring from work, suffering a miscarriage, surviving cancer, and the separation of a marriage.[4] [6] [15] [16]
Informing contemporary ritual
Since its founding in 2001 Ritualwell has regularly been cited as a source for material on Jewish ritual practice. Books, websites and blogs all refer to Ritualwell and recommend it as a resource.
Books
- Open it Up!: Integrating the Arts Into Jewish Education (2006) cites Ritualwell as a source for inspiration for Passover projects.[17]
- The Women's Seder Sourcebook: Rituals and Readings for Use at the Passover Seder (2006) discusses Ritualwell as a source for seder rituals and ideas.[18]
- Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Fall Holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot (2007) refers to Ritualwell in discussion of Rosh Hashanah and Simchat Torah.[19]
- Teaching the Holocaust (2007) references Ritualwell as a resource for creating a Yom HaShoah service for students.[20]
- Women Remaking American Judaism (2007) discusses the orange on the seder plate and cites Ritualwell as a source for "new ritual."[21]
- The Torah commentary book Torah Queeries (2009) includes a chapter on each of the 54 weekly Torah portions. The chapter on Parashat Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27) refers to two different rituals from Ritualwell while discussing transformation and covenants.[22]
- The Creative Jewish Wedding Book (2009) repeatedly mentions Ritualwell as a source for material to use when planning a Jewish wedding.[23]
- Inventing Jewish Ritual (2010) calls Ritualwell one of "two trustworthy Web sites" for learning about new Jewish rituals and refers to the site throughout the book as a source for material.[24]
- Bioethics in a Cultural Context: Philosophy, Religion, History, Politics (2011) cites Ritualwell in a discussion of the Jewish position on Assisted reproductive technologies (ART).[25]
- A Jew's Best Friend?: The Image of the Dog Throughout Jewish History (2013) mentions a "Blessing of the Animals" ritual found on Ritualwell.[26]
Websites and blogs
The following is a sample of websites and blogs that reference Ritualwell. This list is not comprehensive.
- Hillel, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, advises students wishing to start a Rosh Chodesh group to rely on the "excellent discussion" in an article on Ritualwell.[27]
- Congregation Netivot Shalom recommends Ritualwell as a resource for people planning marriage and commitment ceremonies and b'nai mitzvah, people converting to Judaism, and for people grieving a loss.[28]
- Omerharvest, a website focused on the annual Counting the Omer recommends the "wealth of resources" on Ritualwell.[29]
- Rabbi Sarah Tasman discussed using a ritual from Ritualwell on her blog (2013).[30]
- The Jewish Baby Network cites Ritualwell as a resource on its "blessings and rituals" page.[31]
- Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein references Ritualwell in posts about teaching children to pray, bat mitzvahs, and the power of ritual (2013).[32]
- The Jewish Women's Center of Pittsburgh recommends Ritualwell as a "website of value" to Jewish women.[33]
History and relationship to Jewish feminism
Lori Lefkovitz and Eve Landau launched Ritualwell in 2001 with the purpose of making "contemporary feminist Jewish liturgy and rituals broadly accessible."[1] [6] [34] Lefkovitz was working in her role as the founding director of Kolot: Center for Jewish Women's and Gender Studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) and Landau was director of Ma'yan, the Jewish Women's Project. Their organizations were resources for people interested in feminist and innovative Jewish ritual.[4] [6]
Lefkovitz stated "history shows us that Jewish ritual and liturgical practices were once more fluid than they later became. It seems to me that the printing press froze our words and practices, and I am convinced the Internet is in the process of defrosting [them]."[4]
The site was nominated for a Webby award in the religion and ritual category in 2003.[35] [36]
In 2005 Lefkovitz and Shapiro published a scholarly article in Nashim discussing the creation of Ritualwell and the difficulty of creating a site that was feminist while still being accessible to a broad spectrum of Jews (from unaffiliated to Orthodox). They "wanted to provide a resource equally valuable to a traditional rabbi in the big city and to a Jewish family remote from many Jewish resources" with a primary commitment to "sanctifying life occasions and holidays" through the lens of Judaism and egalitarianism. Issues they struggled with included:[6]
- The gendered nature of Hebrew and traditional Jewish prayer that "classically references both God and the normative Jew with masculine pronouns."
- The use of the word "feminist" appeared to discourage participation by "some of [their] targeted audience."
- The inclusion of rituals intended to mark milestones in the lives of boys and men because "parents who had created beautiful new ceremonies for their baby girls now needed to make the celebrations of their sons' births as meaningful as those for their daughters.
- The question of whether new rituals "resonate[d] with Jewish tradition... utilize[d] Jewish symbols in ways appropriate to them... make use of traditional prayers or texts in innovative ways that remain[ed] true to their essence... [and felt] Jewish?"
In 2005 RRC became the sole publisher of Ritualwell and launched a redesigned website.[4] [5] Rabbi Roni Handler, the current editor of Ritualwell.org, started in that role in 2007.[5]
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Internet Archive: Wayback Machine . 19 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010419111656/http://www.ritualwell.org/ . 19 April 2001 . dead.
- Web site: Ritualwell.org. 21 November 2012 . Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. 29 January 2014.
- Web site: The Webby Awards Gallery. International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. 1 February 2014.
- News: Esserman. Rachel. Defrosting Judaism: A look at the Ritualwell Website . 29 January 2014. The Reporter. 1 September 2006. Jewish Federation of Greater Binghamton. Binghamton, NY. 5. Print.
- Web site: Handler. Roni. Feminism's Stamp on Jewish Ritual: How Jewish women have moved from adapting men's religious rituals to creating our own.. 614: HBI eZine. Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. 19 March 2014.
- Lefkovitz. Lori. Lori Hope Lefkovitz. Rona . Shapiro. Ritualwell.org--Loading the Virtual Canon, or: The Politics and Aesthetics of Jewish Women's Spirituality. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues. Spring 2005. 9. 101–125. Indiana University Press. 19 March 2014.
- http://www.miriamscup.com/RitualFirst.htm Miriam's Cup: Miriam's Cup rituals for the family Passover seder
- Web site: Why Miriam's Cup? Because without Miriam, Jewish life would not exist | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California . Jweekly.com . 2015-04-02 . 2015-04-13.
- News: Lebowitz Rossi. Holly. Finding 'Something for Everyone' in the Mikvah. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 7 May 2004.
- News: Ingall. Marjorie. Waters of Contention. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 5 November 2004.
- News: Zeveloff. Naomi. Conservatives Give Gay Wedding Guidance. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 31 May 2012.
- News: Kriger. Linda. Getting Past the Past: A Family Grows in Remarriage. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 17 April 2009.
- News: Ingall. Marjorie. My Niece Has Two Daddies. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 9 February 2007.
- Musleah. Rahel. Jewish Weddings. Na'amat Woman. Spring 2014. 6. Na'amat USA. Canoga Park, CA. web magazine.
- News: Nussbaum Cohen. Debra. Blessing a Child Leaving for College. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 30 August 2011.
- Web site: Litman. Jane Rachel. A Ritual for Separating. 614 HBI eZine. Hadassah-Brandeis Institute. 19 March 2014.
- Book: Cheskis-Cotel, Aliya. Open it Up!: Integrating the Arts Into Jewish Education. 2006. Behrman House. Springfield, NJ. 0867050896. 60–61. Peter Allard . Ellen Allard . 1 February 2014.
- Book: Anisfeld, Sharon Cohen. The Women's Seder Sourcebook: Rituals and Readings for Use at the Passover Seder. 2006. Jewish Lights Publishing. Woodstock, VT. 9781580232326. 305–306. Tara Mohr . Catherine Spector .
- Book: Steinberg, Paul. Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Fall Holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot. 2007. Jewish Publication Society. Philadelphia, PA. 978-0827608429. xvi, 213. registration. Janet Greenstein Potter. 1 February 2014.
- Book: Schweber, Simone. Simone Schweber
. Simone Schweber. Teaching the Holocaust. 2007. Torah Aura Productions. 9781891662911. 276. Debbie Findling . 19 March 2014.
- Book: Prell, Riv-Ellen. Women Remaking American Judaism. 2007. Wayne State University Press. Detroit, MI. 9780814332801. 228, 299. registration.
- Book: Drinkwater, Gregg. Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. 28 October 2009. NYU Press. New York, NY. 978-0814741092. 26–27. Joshua Lesser . David Shneer . 1 February 2014.
- Book: Kaplan-Mayer, Gabrielle. The Creative Jewish Wedding Book: A Hands-On Guide to New & Old Traditions, Ceremonies & Celebrations. 2009. Jewish Lights Publishing. Woodstock, VT. 978-1580233989. 52, 115, 168, 219. registration. Kerry M. Olitzky . Sue Levi Elwell . 1 February 2014.
- Book: Ochs, Vanessa L.. Inventing Jewish Ritual. 2010. Jewish Publication Society. Philadelphia, PA. 978-0827611184. 55, 56, 170, 185, 225. revised. 1 February 2014.
- Book: Barry, Vincent. Bioethics in a Cultural Context: Philosophy, Religion, History, Politics. 2011. Cengage Learning. Independence, KY. 978-0495814085. 224. 1 February 2014.
- Book: Ackerman-Lieberman, Phillip. A Jew's Best Friend?: The Image of the Dog Throughout Jewish History. 2013. Apollo Books. 978-1845194024. 248. Rakefet Zalashik . 1 February 2014.
- Web site: Rosh Chodesh Groups Guidebook. Hillel's Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning. 1 February 2014.
- Web site: Congregation Netivot Shalom: Life Cycle Events. Congregation Netivot Shalom. 3 February 2014. Berkeley, CA.
- Web site: Omerharvest: Counting the Omer resources from Ritualwell. 19 April 2012. 3 February 2014.
- Web site: Tasman. Sarah. 7th Night of Hannukah - Chag HaBanot. 4 December 2013. Rabbi Sarah Tasman. 1 February 2014.
- Web site: Jewish Baby Network - Blessings and Rituals. Jewish Baby Network. 1 February 2014.
- Web site: Frisch Klein. Margaret. The Energizer Rabbi. Rabbi Margaret Frisch Klein. 1 February 2014.
- Web site: The Jewish Women's Center of Pittsburgh. 3 February 2014.
- Web site: 12 Years of Jewish Feminism. 21 November 2012 . Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. 19 March 2014.
- News: Shactman. Noah. Alternative-Ritual Site Nabs Webby Award Nomination. 29 January 2014. The Jewish Daily Forward. 30 May 2003.
- News: List of Webby Award Winners. 29 January 2014. SF Gate. 5 June 2003.