Tomorrow my daughter Dana moves to Los Angeles. She’s lived with me for three months between college and career. This prayer was first written and posted last year. In the past few weeks I’ve become more keenly aware of the array of emotions captured here: joy for Dana’s achievements, concern with my own life transition. Here it is in Dana’s honor, revised (tweaked, really) based on comments from readers.

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer)
Holy One,
Heavenly Guide,
My daughter / son is leaving home
To begin the adventure of an independent life.
Bless her / his journey with joy and wonder.
Let opportunity open like a rose before her / his eyes.
Be her / his compass and her / his shield.
Lead her / him on a path of discovery
Guided by the love of Torah,
A commitment to mitzvot,
And dedication to the Jewish people.
Bless her / him with mentors and teachers,
Companions and friends,
Scholars and rabbis,
To support and guide her / him along the way.

In this marvel,
In this glorious moment of growth fulfilled,
My heart struggles with contradictions:
Pride and fear,
Joy and grief,
Love and loss.
The landscape of my life is shifting,
Offering new challenges and new choices
In the very moment my child departs.
Give me the wisdom and the strength to honor my own life
With gentleness and courage,
And to embrace the beauty and promise of the time to come.

G-d of our fathers and mothers,
G-d of sacred transitions,
Bless my daughter / son
_______________ (child’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue)
As she / he sets out on this new life.
May she be a blessing to her / his [new] community.
Lead us back to each other often,
With stories of marvelous moments and amazing discovery.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Who watches over the lives of our children.

© 2010 Alden Solovy and www.tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: As I noted (more eloquently) after the original post, this is a prayer of affluence. The ability to send a child to college, or help to launch her into the world, is a blessing in itself.

Please use these prayers. See “Share the Prayer!” in the right hand column. 

For notices of new prayers posted here, please subscribe. To read four to six mini-prayers each week, as well as notices of new prayers posted to the site, please join the To Bend Light fan page on Facebook.

I spent the winter of 2011 helping my daughter Dana prepare for and move to L.A. where she’s building her life. Seeing this unfold is the same blessing I received helping my daughter Nikki move to Denver. Transitions are tough on young adults and their parents. I’m blessed seeing my daughters become amazing, wise and powerful women. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen while you read, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

My Child Leaves Home (A Parent’s Prayer)
Holy One,
Heavenly Guide,
My daughter / son is leaving home
To begin the adventure of an independent life.
Bless her / his journey with joy and wonder.
Let opportunity open like a rose before her / his eyes.
Be her / his compass and her / his shield.
Lead her / him on a path of discovery
Guided by the love of Torah,
A commitment to mitzvot,
And dedication to the Jewish people.
Bless her / him with mentors and teachers,
Companions and friends,
Scholars and rabbis,
To support and guide her / him along the way.

In this marvel,
In this glorious moment of growth fulfilled,
My heart struggles with contradictions:
Pride and fear,
Joy and grief,
Love and loss.
The landscape of my life is shifting,
Offering new challenges and new choices
In the very moment my child departs.
Give me the wisdom and the strength to honor my own life
With gentleness and courage,
And to embrace the beauty and promise of the time to come.

G-d of our fathers and mothers,
G-d of sacred transitions,
Bless my daughter / son
_______________ [child’s name in Hebrew or your native tongue]
As she / he sets out on this new life.
Keep her / him safe under the canopy of peace.
And lead her / him back home to me often
With stories of marvelous moments and amazing discovery.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d,
Who watches over the lives of our children.

© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Postscript: This is a prayer of affluence. I must remember the difference between American 18-year-olds and Israelis: our children, if they can, go to college; Israeli children, because they must, go into the Army. And in other places throughout the world, children go into slavery, stay bound in poverty or may be kidnapped into the sex trade. Yes, this prayer is a prayer of affluence. Just being able to say it is a blessing.

Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.