Welcoming & Raising Children

Close-up of adult hands with rings holding a childs hand, symbolizing family and unity.

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

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

family at sunset silhouetted on the beach

Recalls the concept of the Sheva Berakhot used in a wedding ceremony

newborn girl

Excerpt from an original babynaming ceremony in which the baby is welcomed into the covenant by perfuming her ears with myrtle

face of newborn baby

Lighting a candle, symbolic of the new soul born into the world. Can also be used like a yahrzeit candle to recall the departed soul for whom the baby is named. Also a covenantal symbol.

A lit white candle on a wooden table, with a blurred background.

Some couples wrap the baby in a tallit, perhaps the one used as their huppah, as a symbol of covenant or welcome

Hands in a purple-patterned fabric holding knotted white cords, showcasing intricate details.

A symbol of life, love, and renewal at a baby naming ceremony

cinnamon and star anise

With Hebrew, a traditional blessing

newborn baby with dark hair

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

Celebrating the gift of life through faith, love, and courage

mother snuggling baby

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