Prayer on the Occasion of a Premature Birth, by Rabbi Elliot Kukla
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=41741
open_content_license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license Date: 2022-01-03
Last Updated: 2025-03-27
Categories: Conception, Pregnancy, and Childbirth
Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., childbirth, English vernacular prayer, infants, Parents blessing children, prayers concerning children
Excerpt: "Blessing for a Premature Birth" was written by Rabbi Elliot Kukla and was first published in Where Healing Resides (CCAR 2013), p. 48. . . .
Content:
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Blessing for a Premature Birth
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May the One
who blessed our ancestors
bless you, little one, who was born
in your own time and at your own hour.
May you follow in the footsteps
of your ancestor Jacob
who arrived after Esau and was not expected,
and Peretz, the son of Tamar,
who burst forth early surprising the midwives.
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We say b’shaah tovah, may it be in a good hour,
and the hour when you were born was truly good,
as you are a perfect image of God.
It is impossible to predict the exact moment
when trees will blossom and give fruit;
we can only bless its produce.
Likewise, we can only bless
the ongoing miracle of your gradual unfolding into life
and the miracle of each of your precious breaths.
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You came into the world
at your own time and in your own way;
may you continue to grow and thrive
along your own unique, curving, and surprising pathways.
May we, your parent(s) and your loved ones,
have the z’chut, the privilege,
of raising you to a life of Torah (learning and community),
chuppah (loving relationships),
and maasim tovim (good acts).
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“Blessing for a Premature Birth” was written by Rabbi Elliot Kukla and was first published in Where Healing Resides (CCAR 2013), p. 48.
Contributor: Elliot Kukla
Co-authors:
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Name: Elliot Kukla
Bio: Rabbi Elliot Kukla (he/they) is a rabbi, chaplain, author, artist, and activist. Elliot has been tending to the spiritual needs of grief, dying, and becoming (more) ill or disabled since 2007 and he has been engaged in justice work since 1996. He is currently faculty at Svara: A traditionally radical yeshiva where he is also the founder and director of the Communal Loss and Adaptation Project (CLAP). He was a rabbi at the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center from 2008 to 2021 where he co-directed Kol Hanshama, the multiple award-winning volunteer spiritual care hospice program. Elliot’s essays on disability and spirituality have been featured numerous times in the New York Times, as well as many other anthologies and magazines. In 2006, he was the first openly transgender rabbi to be ordained by a mainstream denomination (the Reform seminary, Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles) and in 2007 he trained as a chaplain at UCSF medical center. He currently lives on Oholone Land (Oakland, California) with his partner, their kid, queer chosen family, two Boston Terriers, and a cat named Turkey.
Website: https://elliotkukla.com
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/elliot-kukla
Featured Image:
Title: avian_baby_bird_care_chick_close_up_cute_daylight-1082285
Caption: Sparrow chick (credit: n/a, license: CC0)