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Breastfeeding & Weaning

A woman in a pink shirt breastfeeding a baby wrapped in a white blanket on a grassy area.

When we nurse our babies, we have the satisfaction of providing nourishment from our own bodies. This can feed our souls as much as it feeds our babies’ hunger. Weaning means physical separation, a first step toward launching our children—with all the joy and sadness that entails.

Latest Rituals

A complete ritual for monthly exams for all people with breasts
hand holding one apple blossom
“my body has been a source of sustenance and nourishment for my little one”
woman shown from afar sitting under tree with red leaves breastfeeding a baby. The woman is white with soft blond wavy hair.

Poem on parenting new baby struggling to feed 

Adult hand gently holding a babys hand, both resting on a soft, patterned blanket.

“Blessings of the breasts and the womb. / So that you may nurse, and be satisfied”

baby bottles

A weaning ritual to allow child to transition to next phase of independence

woman helping toddler drink from cup

A breastfeeding blessing based on “Asher Yatzar,” which honors the body’s miraculous workings, but with an emphasis on the feminine aspects of the Divine

woman breastfeeding baby under a tree

Excerpted from an original babynaming ceremony in which the baby is welcomed into the covenant by anointing her with breast milk

womans hands touching baby
The author realizes that in a religion imbued with the idea of making ordinary moments sacred through blessing, there was no blessing for the moment of her first period. She explores how that moment would have been different had it been blessed.
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A ceremony to celebrate the weaning of a child

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The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

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