Birth Ceremony Archives

A Jewish Ukrainian Catholic Family’s Pandemic Bris

By Renata Breytman Kersus

An interfaith brit milah (bris) in a pandemic… sounds doable, right? Except for...

Babies, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony, Bris, Jewish Catholic Relationships, Parenting, Parenting Stories

Welcoming New Life with a Virtual Bris

By Nicole Wasilus

Life doesn’t stop for a global pandemic. For couples who are expecting a baby, this is certainly true....

Babies, Birth Ceremony, Bris, Circumcision, Mohel, Parenting Challenges

Brit Bat: Birth Ceremonies for Girls

By 18Doors

Available in on-screen reading friendly (PDF) and printer-friendly, downloadable (PDF) versions. For more booklets,...

Babies, Baby Naming, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony, Booklets

We Made Our Bris Inclusive. Here’s How.

By Sarah Rizzo

At just nine weeks pregnant, my doctor ran a blood test and we waited on the results, full of anticipation....

Babies, Baby Naming, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony, Bris

Naming Our Past, Present & Future

By Craig Cohen

Quinn receiving her Hebrew name Giving your child a Hebrew name is a long-standing tradition in Judaism. Sometimes...

Adoption, Babies, Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Extended Family, Parenting Stories, Young Kids

To Name or Not to Name: That is the Question

By Denise Moser

During a recent baby naming ceremony that Moser officiated, the uncle (left) and father (right) help wrap the...

Babies, Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony

From Baptism to Bar Mitzvah: Navigating a Dual-Faith First Communion

By Sheri Kupres

Sam and Sheri’s father at Sam’s First Communion When my Catholic husband and I decided to participate...

Babies, Birth Ceremony

My Son’s Bris: Why I Was Not Prepared for This

By Anne Goodman

Jack’s Bris: Sam, Anne & baby Jack Before Jack was born, I thought I prepared as much as I could for...

Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Birth Stories, Bris, Circumcision, Extended Family, Growing Up Interfaith, Parenting Stories

I Was the Only Jewish Kid on the Block & Worry My Kid Will Be, Too

By Melissa Henriquez

Growing up in a small, rural town in northern New Jersey in the ’80s, I never had perfect attendance in school....

Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Parenting Stories, Young Kids

A Surprise Announcement (aka a Love Story)

By Amy Beth Starr

Once upon a time, Amy, a divorced Jewish girl from Jersey, met Matt, a divorced Irish Catholic boy from Philly,...

Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Birth Stories, Co-Parenting, Growing Up Interfaith, Parenting Stories

Yes, My Kid Is Jewish Even Though His Name Doesn’t Sound Like It

By Hila Ratzabi

He’s not even 3 months old, but already three people have commented on my newborn’s name: “That’s not very...

Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Parenting Stories

Traditions of a Jewish Baby Naming

By Lindsey Silken

Lifecycle events can feel like giant OMG moments, but we’re here to help! InterfaithFamily has partnered...

Babies, Baby Naming, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony

Patrilineal Descent: Should the Baby be Taken to the Mikveh for Conversion?

By Rabbi Robyn Frisch

Do you know which of the following children would be considered Jewish without going through a conversion according...

Adoption, Babies, Birth Ceremony, Conversion, Identity, Mikveh, Religion

“Belonging” as a Parent with a Jewish Son

By Stacie Garnett-Cook

Stacie, her husband Andrew and Sammy, the day of the aliyah This past weekend, our 5-month-old son was formally...

Birth Ceremony, New Parents, Religion, Synagogue

Approaching a Baby’s Bris as an Interfaith Couple

By Dr. Jeffrey Mazlin

1372 May 9, 2013 printer-friendly, downloadable (PDF) versions. The decision whether to have a bris is...

Babies, Birth Ceremony, Bris, Mohel

Conservative Synagogues: a Step in the Right Direction

By Benjamin Maron

“Is it so outrageous for us to say that someone who is married to a Jew also has a place within the Jewish community?”...

Babies, Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Growing Up Interfaith, New Parents, Parenting Stories

Celebrity Updates: Ivanka and Gwyneth

By Benjamin Maron

Despite the frequency with which I blog about them, I actually have little care about celebrities’ lives....

Babies, Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Fatherhood, New Parents, Parenting Stories

How Two Baby Naming Ceremonies Helped a Jew-By-Choice Come to Terms With Her Catholic Parents

By Marina Williams

656 June 27, 2011 I am a Jew-by-choice. I always felt drawn to Judaism and it was no surprise to anyone...

Baby Naming, Baby Planning, Birth Ceremony, Conversion, Family, Grandparents, New Parents, Parenting Challenges, Parenting Stories, Pregnancy Stories

The Post-Birth Experience I Shouldn’t Have Had

By Laurel Snyder

The hardest part of my son’s birth wasn’t laboring at home for a day, or even delivering my child...

Babies, Birth Ceremony

Adaptations of the Five Senses Ceremony

By 18Doors

Return to the Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families. Covenant of the Five Senses We do not know...

Birth Ceremony

Additional Ideas for Ceremony

By 18Doors

Return to the Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families. It is customary to light candles in the room...

Birth Ceremony

Baby Naming

By 18Doors

Return to the Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families. There are no rules in the Jewish tradition...

Birth Ceremony

Blessings Over Bread and Wine

By 18Doors

Return to the Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families. Hamotzi (Blessing over bread) Blessed are You,...

Birth Ceremony, Blessings, Parenting

Circumcision, Pros and Cons

By 18Doors

Return to the Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families. While most American Jewish boys are circumcised,...

Birth Ceremony, Circumcision

Birth Ceremony

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