Birth Ceremony Archives

Welcoming New Life with a Virtual Bris

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

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

Birth Ceremony, Booklets

Not a Jewish Birth Story

February 28, 2011 The hardest part of my son’s birth wasn’t laboring at home for a day, or even...

Babies, Birth Ceremony

We Made Our Bris Inclusive. Here’s How.

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

Babies, Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Bris

Naming Our Past, Present & Future

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

Hanukkah and Christmas: Getting It “Right”

Elizabeth’s daughter’s first Hanukkah My husband jokes that I only married him so I could finally celebrate...

Babies, Birth Ceremony, Bris, Circumcision, Identity, Religion

To Name or Not to Name: That is the Question

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

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

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

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)

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, 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...

Baby Naming, Birth Ceremony, Parenting Stories

Traditions of a Jewish Baby Naming

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?

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

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

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

“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

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

Adaptations of the Five Senses Ceremony

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

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

Birth Ceremony

Baby Naming

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

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

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

Birth Ceremony, Circumcision

Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families

We compiled the Guide to Birth Ceremonies for Interfaith Families as a way to help interfaith families navigate...

Birth Ceremony, Family, Parenting

Birth Ceremony

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