Baby Naming Ceremony
I will happily come to your home or other location to officiate at a Baby Naming ceremony for your daughter or son. Your entire family will participate in a meaningful ritual in which the child's Jewish name will be given.
I will consult with you first so you will understand what name would be most appropriate to name your child, based on your family history. And I will provide a certificate containing all the pertinent information you will need for your records- including the Hebrew name and date of his or her birth.
Often baby boys are circumcised in Hospital without a Mohel (a Jew trained medically and ritually to perform the brit milah, the covenant of circumcision) and therefore it is appropriate to give a Jewish name to your son at a later celebration. In this scenario, families sometimes choose to have the naming ceremony on the eighth day after birth to coincide with the day a traditional Brit Milah ceremony would occur.
In the traditional Ashkenazi community, name giving ceremonies for newborn girls were not widespread and often limited to the father announcing the baby's name in the synagogue on the Shabbat, Monday, Thursday or other occasion when the Torah would be read following the birth.There is no explicit source in the Mishnah or Talmud specifying when girls should be named.
In the 20th century, interest in naming ceremonies for welcoming baby girls evolved. These ceremonies are often known under the newly coined terms Simchat Bat or a Brit Bat. The Simchat Bat ("Celebration of the daughter") or Brit Bat (loosely, welcoming the new daughter into the covenant) are now very common and the celebration consists of a communal welcoming, a naming done over a cup of wine with the quotation of appropriate Biblical verses, and traditional blessings.
Testimonials:
Hi Rabbi Steve,
Many apologies for the delayed response. Not sure where this week has gone!
My family and I were absolutely thrilled with the naming -- it was exactly what we wanted. I would be delighted to leave feedback on your blog!! I'll do so this wknd. I should also get some pics/video soon and will try to send or post those as well.Thank you again for sharing such a special day with us!!
Hi Rabbi Blane: Thank you for everything! You exceeded our expectations in all regards. Truly, everyone was very pleased; you found just the right tone for making the baby naming ceremony a very special occasion for my darling granddaughter. I look forward to seeing you again at a ceremony for her baby brother. Warmest regards, Naomi
