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.
Traditional liturgical poem (piyut) for welcoming a baby
“May your eyes sparkle with the light of Torah and your ears hear the music of its words” — a prayer for our children based on a talmudic passage
A mother’s prayer on the occasion of her daughter becoming Bat Mitzvah
An article about the meaning of birthdays in Jewish tradition and how to make birthdays more meaningful, Jewishly
Various rituals for the first day of school, going back to school, the end of the school year, and playing hookey
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
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