CREATING OUR OWN RITUALS

An old Jewish story, which touches me deeply, illustrates the fact that we do not have to depend on existing structure to make powerful ritual expressions:

Once upon a time there was a great traditional ritual for the inner protection and nourishment of the people. The rabbi and all the people of the community went to a particular tree, in a particular forest, in a particular place, on a particular day, and performed a highly prescribed ritual. Then, so the story goes, there were terrible times. A whole generation was scattered and the ritual was forgotten.

When things got better again, someone remembered that there was an old ritual for protection and nourishment, but he could remember only its overall structure. The rabbi and the people went into the forest, but they'd forgotten exactly which tree was the right tree. So they chose a tree and performed the ritual as best they could. And it was sufficient.

More hard times came, and another generation was excluded from the ritual. Somebody remembered that in the old days their ancestors had gone into the forest and done something, so the rabbi and the people went out into the forest and made up a ritual. And it was sufficient.

And then there were more bad times, and much more was lost. The people remembered that in the good old days their ancestors had done something or other, but they didn't know when or what or where. So they just went out and did the best they could. And it was sufficient.

And then there were more hard times, and all that was left was the vague memory that in the olden days somebody had done something. So the new generation went out and improvised and did the best they could, intending their new ritual to be for the protection and nourishment of the people. And it was sufficient.

The moral to this story is clear: No matter what you do, whether you did it "right" or "wrong," it will be sufficient as long as you do it with consciousness and in the best way that you know how. That is the nature of ritual.