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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

“We praise you, Shekhinah, / who has given us life”
purple flowers with a banner reading brucha at bayta diamond
“We all have a name / given by the mountains we climb”
person standing on mountain in front of sea of clouds and sunshine
Baby naming tradition matching Hebrew letters of child’s name to biblical verses
A couple smiles at a sleeping baby wrapped in a white blanket with stars, standing together by a window.
“May you grow to be a strong woman”
Smiling couple standing close, holding their newborn baby together.

“We pray that those yearning to conceive, carry, foster or adopt will lead to a joyful outcome”

Sunlight creating bokeh effect over dewy grass, with a warm and dreamy atmosphere.

“Our tradition teaches that the birth of a child brings with it a new possibility for redemption, for transformative justice, for peace and wholeness.” 

Close-up of a babys feet cradled in an adults hands, wrapped in a soft blue blanket with warm lighting.

This ritual can be woven into an aliyah, another part of a Torah service or can stand alone

A newborn baby peacefully sleeping, wrapped in a cream-colored blanket against a soft gray background.

To be performed on the 8th day or another day

Hands gently cradling a newborn babys head, viewed from above.

Poem on parenting new baby struggling to feed 

Adult hand gently holding a babys hand, both resting on a soft, patterned blanket.

A blessing for a baby girl 

Sleeping newborn wearing a headband with a bow, resting peacefully against a soft blanket in a dark setting.

The Reconstructionist Network

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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The Reconstructionist Network