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.
Blessing to be recited by the officiant to the new parents at the welcoming ceremony
A new ritual in which the infant is offered something to stimulate each of her senses
A traditional blessing for a girl’s baby naming
God incorporates all future generations into the covenant at Mt. Sinai
A traditional Sephardic blessing for a girl
From a traditional Zeved Habat, with slight modifications
