House Blessing Ceremony

Need someone for Buddhist or Jewish house blessing

Sept 2010

My wife and I recently moved into a house in Berkeley and we'd love to find someone who can provide a Buddhist or Jewish 'new house blessing' ceremony. It's actually an old house (1920s) but it's new to us! Traditional or non- traditional ceremonies are fine, we're just looking for a ceremony from either of our traditions that can help us mark the transition to a new home. Thanks for any advice or recommendations you can offer! New Berkeley Homeowner

I've got two good choices for you:

Rabbi Avram Davis, organic farmer and teacher of Jewish Meditation, is a great presence for ceremonies and probably knows Buddhist blessings, too. When our daughter was in the NICU, Avram helped us do a meaningful baby naming in the NICU garden. He lives on a farm somewhere North of San Francisco, but always seems available for East Bay events. Rabbi Avram Davis moretorah2 [at] gmail.com (707) 226-1525

Daniel Lev is the rabbi who married us. It was a great ceremony that people are still talking about. Daniel is spiritual, kind, musical, and funny. He lives in south Berkeley Rabbi Daniel Lev doctorfeelbetter [at] gmail.com 510-684-4950 Both are great teachers, and I recommend them equally. . . Scott

You can go to Afikomen and buy a little booklet that has the blessing for hanging a mezzuzah on your doorpost. It costs a couple of bucks and you can use it or modify it as you like. happy new home

For personalized, warm, sensitive help with any degree and any kind of Jewish ritual, contact Jewish Milestones! They recently helped us conduct our DIY, Athiest/Jewish/Hippie Rite of Passage Bar Mitzvah (Torah and all), and it was perfect. ''Responding to changes that have taken place in Judaism and in the lives of modern Jews, we enable people to refresh their perspective on what Judaism has to offer at life's most critical junctures.'' We are so lucky to have them right here in Berkeley, though they are an excellent resource for a variety of needs. Do check out the website and visit them. http://www.jewishmilestones.org/ Ruth