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Starting a Family

A happy family of three smiling at the camera, with a child in the center between two adults.
In contemporary homes, starting a family is often a deliberate choice. The experience of pregnancy, the drama of giving birth, and the miracle of adoption are occasions for joy and wonder. These are also experiences that can be fraught with pain and struggle, reflecting the full spectrum of life and death. We offer prayers for those who are trying to conceive, prayers for pregnancy and childbirth, rituals for parents preparing to adopt, mourning ceremonies for miscarriages, blessings for those struggling with infertility, rituals to prepare for or acknowledge an abortion, and much more. 

Latest Rituals

B’sha’ah Tovah (In the Right Hour)

Prayer for parents-to-be and health care providers (i.e., midwives or ObGyn) at the beginning of labor

  • by Donna Tabas, CNM
pregnant woman holding belly

Prayer for Uncertainties in Pregnancy

A prayer for strength and good counsel during a difficult moment in pregnancy

  • by Rabbi Michelle Stern, BCC
pregnant woman in red dress holding leaves

Ritual for Abortion

Bringing a sense of kedushah to the abortion operating table

  • by Deborah Eisenbach-Budner with Rabbi Susan Schnur
abortion
holding hands hospital bed

Interpretive Birkat Ha-Gomel

A prayer of thanksgiving for the goodness, protection, and empowerment in our lives

  • by Kohenet Ahava Lilith EverShine
gomel
A woman in a striped shirt closes her eyes and places her hands on her chest in a peaceful indoor setting.

After Miscarriage, You Are a Father Now

Poem for potential parents who experienced a misacarriage, but are forever changed by the promise of life

  • by Rabbi Patti Haskell
miscarriage
man facing water and forest

Nes Gadol Haya Sham: A Great Miracle Happened There

A reading for a baby naming on Hanukkah

  • by Rabbi Rachel Greengrass
conception, naming
A menorah with nine lit candles, glowing against a dark background.

Bereishit: An Alternative Baby Shower

A ritual that combines making gifts and sharing intentions for the new parents and baby-to-be, as well as making gifts for babies in need of extra support

  • by Rabbis Julie Pelc Adler, Sharon Morton, Rachel Adler, and Laurel Coppersmith
baby shower, shehekheyanu
A woman stands holding a baby in a cozy living room with several seated people watching attentively.

A Meditation: Using the Mikveh when Dealing with Infertility

A prayer for strength and blessings to be recited before entering the mikveh

  • by Rabbi Debbie Young-Somers
mikveh
silhouette of woman under water

Prayer After Loss of Pregnancy or Stillbirth

Praying for healing after the devastating loss of a pregnancy

  • by Rabbi Yael Buechler
miscarriage, stillbirth
man and woman holding hands in the ocean

Prayer for an Expanding Family

Just as God hear the prayers of our matriarchs, so too may God hear our prayers

  • by Rabbi Eleanor Steinman
adoption, conception
family at sunset silhouetted on the beach
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