A Prayer Before Knitting
Recently, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg challenged us all to engage in a spiritual practice - any spiritual practice - whatever made sense to us, to keep us engaged and sane during this time of pandemic.
If you have a spiritual practice, this would be a good time to double down on it.
If you don’t have a spiritual practice, this wouldn’t be the worst time to start one.
— Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR) January 31, 2021
My spiritual practice is knitting - and so I decided to record the prayer that I try to say when I'm knitting for someone in need.
When I began this practice of knitting-as-healing-prayer, I looked for prayers written by others. Everything I could find was written from a Christian perspective, which is fine...except I'm Jewish.
So I wrote my own, and when I'm knitting for someone in need I make sure to exchange my usual media for something a little less...extreme, and I make sure I have comfy clothing and some hot tea and I forbid myself to doomscroll.
I take a few minutes to breathe and make sure I'm calm, and then I pray and begin to knit.
When I engage in gemilut chasadim - this act of lovingkindness - I reap the benefits of mindfulness and meditation for myself even as I create a tangible piece of love for another.
I sit and
I breathe and
I reach for my yarn and
I move my hands with intent.
Yarn flows around my needles
Like the winding of tefillin -
like a ritual before prayer
that in itself becomes the sacred.
Holy One of Blessing,
witness every stitch that I create.
May each one count as a petition
that You grant (____) r'fuah sh'leimah.
May You knit up (____)'s body
As I knit this (____).
May you comfort (____)'s soul
Through the warmth of this gift.