Fostering & Adoption

There are many ways to bring children into a family, whether biologically or through fostering and adoption. When a child joins a family through adoption, the moment deserves to be celebrated and marked ritually. Sometimes an adoption does not work out or a foster child re-joins their birth family, a complex and painful experience for the foster family, and rituals can help us acknowledge these difficult times. Sometimes a prayer for becoming a parent through adoption is needed to prepare for this momentous transformation.

Latest Rituals

Until We Held You: Poem for a New Baby

“We have been waiting for you”

baby naming, childbirth, love

closeup of newborn white baby held by adult white hands

A Blessing for Adoption

“May God make you like our adopted ancestors”

adoption, blessing

brown-skinned man and woman sitting in a wheat field with sun shining, holding cute toddler between them

Prayer for Those Yearning for a Child

“We pray that those yearning to conceive, carry, foster or adopt will lead to a joyful outcome”

baby naming, brit milah, family

Prayer for Those Yearning for a Child

Brit Horim: A New Parent Ketubah

“becoming a parent is a significant lifecycle event and merits its own ritual”

baby naming, brit milah, parent

Brit Horim: A New Parent Ketubah

Brit Mishpakhah: Marking the Adoption of an Older Child

“We wrote this ritual to mark the adoption of our son, who was weeks away from his 18th birthday at the time”

Brit Mishpakhah: Marking the Adoption of an Older Child

Ritual of Separating from a Foster Child

Ritual of Separating from a Foster Child

A Mother’s Prayer

A mother’s prayer for her child

mother and baby

Prayer at the Adoption of a Child

Welcoming a child into a new family

mother lifting baby in the air in a field

Questions about Jewish Adoption and Surrogacy

However you find yourself becoming a parent and raising a child you might get a few questions about what makes a Jewish child Jewish

adoption, welcoming

questions about jewish adoption & surrogacy

What is a Mikveh? An Introduction to the Jewish Ritual Bath

What is a Mikveh? An introduction to Jewish ritual bath.

abortion, adoption, anniversary, breastfeeding, cancer, conception, covenant, engagement, get, gomel, loss of a child, miscarriage, name change, sex, stillbirth

What is a Mikveh? An Introduction to the Jewish Ritual Bath