Teachings: Baby Naming And Brit Bat

Adoption, Ethnicity and Jewish Baby Naming

By: 
Rabbi Goldie Milgram

Adoption adds special considerations to rituals for welcoming a new baby or child. Here is one recent example:

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Guide to Choosing a Jewish Name

By: 
Rabbi Goldie Milgram

This article teaches how to identify the right Jewish name for yourself, or for your child. Just as Abraham’s original name was Avram, and Sarai his wife’s, their journey includes receiving the Hebrew letter hey into their names to reflect their G*d experience. So, too, it became traditional for parents to intuit and ritually bestow a sacred name upon each of their children. It is customary to withhold public and familial knowledge of this name until the communal rituals of welcome take place.

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Baby Naming Ritual for a Single Parent Mom

By: 
Rabbi Goldie Milgram

Mother repeats after the rabbi:

Hineini muhana u’mzumenet l’kayeim et mitzvat asei sheh-tzivanu l'hachnis et ha-bat sheli labrit
Here I am ready and prepared to fulfill the positive mitzvah of entering my daughter into the
covenant of the Jewish people.

Grandfather: In Genesis 17:7 we read: “As is written in Torah: I will establish my covenant
between Me and you and your descendants after you for all their generations, an eternal
covenant, to be your G*d and the G*d of your descendants after you.”

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