Transitions are awkward, and are often accompanied by hesitation, fear and a need to establish meaning and comfort.

These feelings often emerge out of a sense of loss, loss of a person, of a role, or of one's standing in a society. The collective wisdom of humanity over the ages has created ways of constructively marking these stages and establishing enough meaning or comfort to ease the transition.

Religions have honed this technique in the form of rituals that have a common structure: Gather people who have been through the transition and survived/thrived, provide meaningful scripts that help facilitate closure and uplift of spirit, and suggest behaviors and props that symbolize values to bring lasting meaning and comfort.

It can be heard in the declaration, "May this child grow into Torah, marriage, and good deeds," shouted by the supportive, intergenerational crowd of extended family at a baby naming. It can be seen as a bride and groom exchange vows of loyal support under the chuppah symbolizing their new home together.

As the life expectancy for human beings increases, even more transitions will be encountered. How may we apply Judaism's wisdom to new life-cycle events or to new life circumstances?

June is here, and for many students it is the time to celebrate their graduation from a particular course of study. The occasion may be marked by parties, proms, family gatherings and the bittersweet emotion of knowing that you are moving on to the next chapter of your life.

Judaism can provide a few rituals, borrowed or adapted from similar transitions with parallel challenges. The traditional framework in the history of Jewish learning is called a siyyum, or completion (for further history and sources see www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=S&artid=844). The feature of a Jewish siyyum/graduation is the way one gives thanks for completing one course of study and immediately begins the next one. This is echoed in the practice of completing the weekly Torah reading from Deuteronomy on Simchat Torah, and immediately "scrolling down" to begin the first chapter of Genesis. The graduate (and tuition-paying parents) may also invoke the Shehecheyanu blessing, acknowledging the precious gift of time and the sacred use of time spent in study.

Graduations are not new, but some of the transition challenges posed by economic and social conditions are unique to our times. With jobs scarce in many markets, new markets may be created with the risk of startups, or graduates will decide to avoid the job search crunch and remain in graduate programs. Adult children may delay their full independence, returning home as students or care givers to older parents with financial difficulties. Graduation may well be a transition with lowered expectations, frustrations, lack of closure and narrow horizons. It is a transition in need of new helping rituals.

The eating of round foods (bagels, eggs, lentils) signifies that life is filled with cycles, some that repeat themselves. Over comfort food like a bagel and shmear, the conversation can delicately touch on how learning is, indeed, cyclical; that b'nai mitzvah and confirmation ceremonies are not an end, but a benchmark along a lifelong journey; that when the job hunting gets tough, the tough keep acquiring skills; that a return to the nest can make economic sense, but the returning adult child and parents need a new "covenant" to define their relationship.

From the Ethics of the Sages comes the advice to "Select a master teacher for yourself, and acquire a colleague for study." To meet the challenge of contemporary conditions, a fitting graduation gift may be a gift certificate for a life-coach or career counseling service.

In Judaism, the craft of "meaning making" is cumulative and associative. We can borrow rituals familiar to us from life cycle and holiday celebrations. Traditions that have effectively transmitted the values and lessons from generations of experiences may be renewed for our unique situations. After all, what "reality check" conversation wouldn't go better with some challah and honey or a warm blintz?

Avi West directs the Shulamith Reich Elster Resource Center at the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning.