Welcoming & Raising Children

We greet each child with affection and joy. Every baby comes to us full of promise and potential. As parents, we are privileged to welcome them into our families, our communities, and the embrace of the Jewish people. Raising children to adulthood, we encounter many milestones along the way. Children are weaned, lose their teeth, and start school. Some get their driver’s licenses and eventually leave home for good. Here are rituals for welcoming children and for celebrating the milestones on their paths to adulthood.

Latest Rituals

Ritual & Prayers for Breastfeeding Mothers

This ritual guides you through the moment you choose to stop breastfeeding, packing up your breast pump and for your new relationship with your baby/child.

babies, breastfeeding, motherhood, mothers, weaning

Close-up of an adult hand gently holding a babys hand, both resting on a soft, fluffy surface. Black and white.

How to Create Bris Dam Doros/Covenantal Ritual with the Blood of Parent

Bris Dam Doros means a Covenant with the Blood of Generations. In this form of bris, blood is spilled to seal the covenant—but not the blood of the child, but rather the blood of the parent/s…

baby naming, blood, brit milah, covenant, generations, intergenerational, welcoming

baby hand holding adult finger

My Baby’s Kippah

“In this moment, though, I felt triumphant. Not only had I given birth and become a mother in my late 40s, but I had figured out a way to truly honor my father’s memory and wishes…”

baby naming, birth, family, interfaith, names, parenting, pregnancy

a small white kippah with white strings

A Placenta-Planting Ritual

A complete ritual for a family to bury the new child’s placenta under a plant in the garden.

childbirth, community, garden, tree planting

People handling a potted plant with small succulents and gardening tools nearby.

Prayer for bringing a child to overnight summer camp

“I’m proud of you, my child, for the courage to step away from family and familiarity / For venturing out to meet new people, try new things, discover a new You.”

camp, parent, travel

teen jumping into a lake

Gratitude and Appreciation for Our Beloveds and Allies

A short reading of gratitude for those who support the Jewish people.

antisemitism, interfaith

people holding lit candles at night

Shadayim: A Blessing and Ritual of/for Breast Self Examination

A complete ritual for monthly exams for all people with breasts

feminism, health care, Shekhinah

hand holding one apple blossom

Circumcision or Hatafat Dam Brit Ritual Using the Heel

brit milah, lekh lekha

bare feet walking in the sand

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

Blessing for Concluding Breastfeeding

“my body has been a source of sustenance and nourishment for my little one”

blessing, breastfeeding, weaning

woman shown from afar sitting under tree with red leaves breastfeeding a baby. The woman is white with soft blond wavy hair.