• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Overview
    • Rav Gavrielle Pescador
    • Our History
    • Our Values and Vision
    • LGBTQ Inclusive
    • Our Board
    • Our Sacred Objects
    • About Reconstructionist Judaism
    • Jewish Ann Arbor
  • What We Do
    • Shabbat and Holidays
    • Learning
    • B’nei Mitzvah
    • Tikkun Olam
    • In the (Washtenaw Jewish) News
    • Health and Safety Expectations for In-Person Gatherings
    • Join our Mailing List
  • High Holidays
  • Religious School
    • About Beit Sefer
    • Teachers
    • Enrollment and Tuition
  • Blog
  • Membership
    • Overview
    • Thinking about joining?
    • Renew your membership
    • Member Area
      • Overview
      • Get involved!
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
You are here: Home / Poems and Blessings / From Darkness to Light: Blessings for Receiving the Vaccine

From Darkness to Light: Blessings for Receiving the Vaccine

January 17, 2021 by Gillian Jackson 1 Comment

In the early months of the pandemic, it seemed a distant fantasy that the day would come when we would receive a vaccine against Covid-19. But thanks to the tireless work of an international team of scientists, public health entities, and pharmaceutical infrastructure etc., the day has indeed arrived. Some members of our congregation have already received their first doses, and though we know the future is uncertain, we are filled with hope.

After surviving so many months of adversity, there is so much to be grateful for. And, as we mark 400,000 lives lost in this country alone, we also struggle with how to mourn what and who we have lost. Certainly it will take many years to process this unique moment in history, but for now–we can open the doors to gratitude with prayer.

Such an immense gratitude and welling of emotion for this momentous time can be hard to express. Ritualwell, an online resource for Jewish ritual and prayer, has compiled a half-dozen new prayers and blessings, written in the last month, to help us express our gratitude on the occasion of receiving the vaccine. Please enjoy a sample of the blessings below, and feel free to share your own in the comments!

A Blessing of Gratitude for the COVID-19 Vaccine

by Trisha Arlin

Blessed Holy Wholeness:

As we roll up our sleeves

To receive this vaccine,

We take note

Of the inspiration and efficiency,

The hard work and creativity,

And the accumulation of knowledge and science

That brings us to this moment. 

No miracles were wanted or needed

For this vaccine

And for that we are grateful. 

Amen

Love Your Neighbor: A Blessing on Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine

by Rabbi Ahuvah (Amy) Loewenthal

To You who enliven all flesh, To You who guides all creatures: See me as I enact Your commandment “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Ruakh Kol Basar, Adon Kol haBriot: Hareni m’kabel/m’kabelet alai mitzvat asei shel “v’ahavta l’reakha kamokha.” 

From Darkness to Light: A Meditation on Receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine

by Rabbi Rebecca Kamil

As we move from darkness to light

May we take this vaccine as a sign of what is to come

A world reopened and renewed 

Embracing family and friends 

Gathering together in joy 

May we also be mindful of what has been 

The lives lost

The sorrow felt

And may the past and present intertwine 

Giving us hope for the future 

Share

Filed Under: Poems and Blessings Tagged With: gratitude

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Etta Heisler says

    January 22, 2021 at 6:29 pm

    Another to add in the mix. I have it saved in my phone until the day I finally get to roll up my sleeve:

    May it be Your will, my G!D, that this enterprise be for healing and that you heal me. As You are a G!D of healing and your healing is truth. Blessed are You, who heals unconditionally. Blessed is G!D who grants life, sustains us, and brought us to this day. May The One who made people innovators in the divine image, The Power that orders nature with both reason and mystery, The Grantor of Miracles, see this vaccine bring healing to us, relief to our broken society, and an end to this plague speedily and in our days. AMEN.

    (First two lines credit to Talmud Bavli Berachot 60a via David Jacob Andorsky. Third line is the shehechiyanu. Last line is by Etta Heisler.)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join AARC for the High Holidays!

Our High Holiday services are open, ticketless, and available to all. You are welcome to join us. View the schedule and learn more.

Search

Join Our Mailing List

Sign up for our twice a week newsletter to get details on upcoming events and catch up on our latest news.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Follow AARC

  • facebook
  • youtube

Upcoming Events

  • 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, October 14, 2023 – Second Saturday Shabbat Morning Service
  • 6:39 pm – 8:00 pm, October 27, 2023 – Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat
  • 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, November 11, 2023 – Second Saturday Shabbat Morning Service
  • 6:39 pm – 8:00 pm, November 24, 2023 – Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat
  • 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, December 9, 2023 – Second Saturday Shabbat Morning Service

Latest News

  • Zichronot Drash September 25, 2023
  • Shofarot: Rosh Hashanah 2023 September 25, 2023
  • Poem for Rosh Hashanah 2023 September 25, 2023
  • Greetings from Rav Gavrielle September 5, 2023
  • Yom Kippur Workshops 2023 August 31, 2023

Tags

Adult Learning Bar mitzvah bat mitzvah Beit Sefer book club Challah community community learning covid-19 Elul food/land/justice Hanukkah high-holidays-2020 High Holidays High Holidays 2021 High Holidays 2022 Human rights immigrants interfaith jewish learning Michael Strassfeld Mimouna mitzvah mitzvah committee Omer Passover Psalm 27 Purim Rabbi Alana Rabbi Debra Rappaport Rabbi Ora recipes Reconstructionism refugees Rosh Hashanah Shavuot Shmita Sukkot Sukkot Retreat Tikkun Olam Torah tu b'shevat upcoming events Washtenaw Jewish News Yom Kippur

Categories

  • Articles/Ads
  • Beit Sefer (Religious School)
  • Books
  • Community Learning
  • Congregation News
  • Divrei Torah
  • Event writeups
  • Food
  • Highlight
  • Mail Bag
  • Member Profiles
  • Poems and Blessings
  • Posts by Members
  • Rabbi's Posts
  • Reconstructionist Movement
  • Sacred Objects
  • Simchas
  • Tikkun Olam
  • Uncategorized
  • Upcoming Activities

Footer

Affiliated with

Register/Login

  • Log in
  • Register (for members only)

Copyright © 2023 Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation