Dedication of the House of Stephanie
Shipper and Jim Bircher
2008
We will use a Mezuzah, a Bible,
wine, challah and salt.
Everyone present can share in
leading different readings.
In the
spirit of our Jewish faith, we consecrate this house with prayers of
thanksgiving and invoke upon it the blessing of God.
Sh'Ma YiSRaeL, ADoNai ELoHeiNu, ADoNai ECHaD.
Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God,
Adonai is One.
You shall love Adonai your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, that I command you this day, shall be upon your
heart. You shall teach them diligently
unto your children; and speak of them when sitting in your house and walking on
your way, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them for a sign upon your hands, and they shall be
a symbol before your eyes. And you
shall write them upon your doorposts and upon your gates. That you may remember all My commandments,
and you shall be holy unto your God. I
am Adonai your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am Adonai your God.
Our homes
have always been the dwelling place of the Jewish spirit. Our tables have been altars of faith and
love. When words of Torah pass between us, the Divine Presence is in our
midst. Our doors have been open to
the stranger and the needy. May this
home we now consecrate keep alive the beauty of our noble heritage.
[Challah is
dipped in salt and distributed to those present.]
BaRuCH ATah ADoNai, ELoHeiNu MeLeCH HaOLaM,
HaMoTzi LeCHeM MiN HaAReTz.
Blessed is Adonai our God, Ruler of
the universe, who causes bread to come forth from the earth.
[Wine is
given to each person.]
Wine is a
symbol of joy. May all who dwell within
these walls, and all who enter here, know contentment, happiness and peace.
Blessed is Adonai our God, Ruler of
the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
[The Bible
is opened and raised.]
The Torah
has been our life; it has taught us how to live. May this home be a place for learning and doing. May the hearts of all who dwell here be
filled with a love of the Torah and its teachings.
Blessed is Adonai our God, Ruler of
the universe, who sanctifies us by Your commandments and commands us to engage
in words of Torah.
[The
Mezuzah is raised.]
This
ancient symbol speaks to us of our need to love God and to live by the words of
the Eternal One. We affix the Mezuzah
to the doorposts of this house with the hope that it will always remind us of
our duties to God and to one another.
May the divine spirit fill this house - the spirit of love and kindness
and consideration for all people.
Blessed is Adonai our God, Ruler of
the universe, who sanctifies us by Your commandments and commands us to affix
the Mezuzah.
[The
Mezuzah, its top inclining outward, is affixed to the upper part of the
doorpost on the right, as one enters the house. If desired, a Mezuzah may also be similarly affixed to the right
doorpost of principal rooms.]
Blessed is Adonai our God, Ruler of
the universe, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and enabling us to reach
this season.
Unless Adonai builds the house, its builders
toil in vain.
In this
awareness we pray that our home be blessed by God's Presence.
Accept, O
God, our offering of thanksgiving for the promise of security and happiness
this home represents, and fortify our resolve to make it, now and always, a
temple dedicated to You. Let it be
filled with the beauty of holiness and the warmth of love. May the guest and stranger find within it
welcome and friendship. So will it ever
merit the praise: How lovely are your
tents, O Jacob, your dwelling-places, O Israel.
For all who
are assembled here, and for all who will enter these doors, we invoke Your
blessing:
