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

A ceremony celebrating a child’s first day of kindergarten
wooden spoon full of honey

Shifting the focus away from the circumcision and toward welcoming

sleeping newborn baby

A prayer in English and Yiddish to be recited on the occasion of a son’s bris

woman holding newborn baby

Awakening a child’s senses by anointing with oil and sharing inspirational verses

closeup baby face

Prayer for Jewish parents as they name, welcome, and make first decisions about gender for their child

Children joyfully blowing bubbles outdoors near a wooden fence, surrounded by trees.

Welcoming a baby girl while marking her with the letters of “Shadai” as a sign of the covenant

baby being tapped on nose

A blessing for a son, drawing inspiration from our forefathers

teenaged boy in cardigan, dress shirt, and tie

An upbeat and funky melody for this popular song from Pslam 133

A woman plays guitar in front of a collage, smiling. Text: Hinay Ma Tov, includes bonus music video DVD.

Invoking the prophetess Devorah and symbolically wrapping tzitzit to welcome a baby girl

baby girl in white headband and red dress
The ceremonial first haircut for a child at the age of three.
toddler boy with curly hair running

The Reconstructionist Network

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