Category: Lifecycles

It is a Boy! How Do We Prepare for his Brit Milah

It is a Boy! How Do We Prepare for his Brit Milah?

You've had a boy and its time for a Brit Milah (or Bris). What do you do? Who do you call? What questions do you ...
December 3, 2024 Brit Milah Lifecycles
What to expect when going to a B-Mitzvah?

What to expect when going to a B-Mitzvah?

A B-Mitzvah is the Jewish celebration and ritual of coming of age, and it is celebrated at about the age of 13. Here's what you ...
November 29, 2024 B-Mitzvah Lifecycles
Ketubah: The Contract of Your Life

Ketubah: The Contract of Your Life

Ketubah might be the most important contract of all. The document that guards the most important treasure in the world - our marriage.
November 14, 2024 Lifecycles Living
How to Get the Get (A Jewish Divorce) and Why It Matters

How to Get the Get (A Jewish Divorce) and Why It Matters

The Get or “decree of divorce,” plays a fundamental role in the Jewish life cycle of a couple whose marriage has come to an end ...
November 3, 2024 Divorce Halakhah
Reflections on Death (1973)

Reflections on Death (1973)

Heschel writes in 1973 in "Reflections on Death": Life here and now is the task. Every moment can be an achievement.
September 22, 2024 CJ Journal - 1945-1959 Confronting Death
Introduction to the Kaddish: For Those who Died in the Israeli War (1957)

Introduction to the Kaddish: For Those who Died in the Israeli War (1957)

Written by S.Y. Agnon in the Conservative Judaism Journal for those who died in the War of 1948, these words are especially fitting today.
September 20, 2024 CJ Journal - 1945-1959 Conservative Judaism Journal
A Yizkor for the Victims of October 7th

A Yizkor for the Victims of October 7th

May God remember all the women, men, and children of Israel who were brutally murdered on the 7th of October.
September 20, 2024 Death and Dying High Holidays
Yizkor for the Victims of October 7th

Yizkor for the Victims of October 7th

This Yizkor, for the victims of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, attempts to capture the personal details of the people killed on this ...
September 20, 2024 Death and Dying High Holidays

Why We Study Mishnah To Grieve Someone Who Has Died

There is a custom of learning and reciting chapters of Mishnah as part of the mourning process. Where does this come from? How does this ...
, September 3, 2024 Death and Dying Learning
List of Mishnah Chapters by Hebrew letter

List of Mishnah Chapters by First Letter

One mourning practice is to use the first letters of chapters of Mishnah to spell out the name of the deceased. Here is a list ...
September 3, 2024 Death and Dying Lifecycles
The Jewish Status of a Child Born Using a Gestational Carrier

The Jewish Status of a Child Born Using a Gestational Carrier

In a recent teshuvah, the CJLS answers the question, "what is the Jewish status of a child born using a gestational carrier?"
July 5, 2024 Child Birth CJLS
When Can a Jewish Wedding Happen?

When Can a Jewish Wedding Happen?

There are times when a Jewish wedding can happen and times when weddings cannot, either according to laws or customs.
, June 26, 2024 Holidays Lifecycles
Marriage As Mitzvah

Marriage As Mitzvah

Jews see marriage as mitzvah based on biblical and rabbinic texts. Marriage is seen as important for spirituality and closeness with God.
, June 26, 2024 Learning Lifecycles
Mourning a Miscarriage

Mourning a Miscarriage

While there are no specific rituals for mourning a miscarriage, there are practices and rituals to use in that time that can help healing.
June 19, 2024 Children Death and Dying

Shavuot 5784: Tiny Tikkun

Shavuot is often considered a holiday of converts. Our Tiny Tikkun collects some texts on conversion to study with a friend or on your own.
May 30, 2024 Conversion Holidays
On Passover, We Are All Jews-By-Choice

On Passover, We Are All Jews-By-Choice

On Passover, we are all Jews-by-Choice when we choose to remember what it is that brings us together for the holiday.
March 27, 2024 Conversion Holidays
How Mourning Changes You

How Mourning Changes You

Pulling on a conversation between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper about mourning, learn about how mourning can change you.
February 19, 2024 Death and Dying Lifecycles
What is a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, B-Mitzvah?

What is a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, B-Mitzvah?

The B-Mitzvah is a transitional moment when one becomes responsible to the mitzvot, Traditionally celebrated with an aliyah to the Torah.
, December 26, 2023 B-Mitzvah Children
Talking to Kids About Israel (October 2023)

Talking to Kids About Israel (October 2023)

Rabbi Rebecca Rosenthal offers some wisdom on how to talk to children of all ages about what is happening in Israel in an appropriate way.
October 13, 2023 Children Israel
Remembering Our Loved Ones Before Us

Remembering Our Loved Ones Before Us

When our loved ones die, who remembers those they remembered? Here's a way to remember all of those that came before us.
September 21, 2023 Death and Dying Family
Mourning: A Rabbi's Own Perspective

Mourning: A Rabbi’s Own Perspective

A rabbi, familiar with leading others through the process of mourning, goes through the same. Rabbi David Baum remembers his mother.
August 25, 2023 Death and Dying Holidays
Fatherhood as a Jewish Stay-at-Home Dad

Fatherhood as a Jewish Stay-at-Home Dad

Fatherhood has been a journey of obligation, an exploration of identity, and an opportunity to experience life through my child's eyes.
June 12, 2023 Father's Day Holidays

Re-writing the Wedding Ceremony: A Jewish LGBTQ+ Tradition 

"We were learning what being married Jewishly means and what's important to us as a couple, then inscribing that into the wedding ceremony."
May 29, 2023 LGBTQ+ Lifecycles
What do I do if I can't go to minyan when saying kaddish?

What do I do if I can’t go to minyan when saying kaddish?

Saying Kaddish for a loved one is a cherished and prized custom, but it is not the only way to remember and honor the lives ...
May 19, 2023 Death and Dying Every Day
We Reclaimed Two Jewish Wedding Customs and You Can Too

We Reclaimed Two Jewish Wedding Customs and You Can Too

There are many Jewish wedding customs out there, finding the right ones for you can help you explore the more subtle emotions of the event. ...
May 15, 2023 LGBTQ+ Lifecycles
Planning my Queer Halakhic Jewish Wedding

Planning my Queer Halakhic Jewish Wedding

Making the choices for our queer wedding ceremony including the ceremony, ketubah, sheva berachot, circling, and breaking the glass.
May 15, 2023 LGBTQ+ Lifecycles

What Does the Month of Iyar Have to Do with Healing?

Iyar and healing refer not just to a named ailment, but overall wellness and health both internally and externally.
May 14, 2023 Health Illness

Fasting While Ill

It is considered forbidden to fast on fast days if injurious to one’s health, for the sake of performing positive commandments.
, May 10, 2023 Fasting on Tisha B'av Health

Jewish Viewpoints on Serious Illness

We give thanks to God every day for the gift of life, but recognize that we are mortal and that illness and death will come.
, May 10, 2023 Health Illness

Jewish Customs Showing Care for People who are Ill

Visiting the sick is counted as one of the mitzvot that is rewarded both in this world and also in the World to Come. 
, May 10, 2023 Health Illness

Mourning Practices for the Loss of a Parent

The period of mourning for one’s parents is a full twelve months, and serves a deeply therapeutic function for the mourner.
, May 8, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles
death

When Death is Imminent

Judaism does not recognize any gray area between life and death. Whenever possible, a dying person should not be left alone.
, May 8, 2023 Confronting Death Death and Dying

Yahrzeit: The Jewish Anniversary of Someone’s Death

Yahrzeit should be a day given over to remembering and honoring an individual for whom one once sat shivah and is learning to live without.
, May 8, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles
A New Egalitarian Divorce

A New Egalitarian Divorce

Rabbi Barmash's new teshuvah empowers women and infuses the rites of marriage and divorce with more equality and dignity for both partners.
May 8, 2023 CJLS Divorce

What is Yizkor?

Yizkor consists of a collection of readings and recitations revolving around two central prayers: Yizkor prayers, and the El Malei Rachamim.
, May 4, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

Bar, Bat and B. Mitzvah – Where did it Come From and Where is it Going?

B'nei Mitzvah are one of today’s best known Jewish milestones, marking coming of age as an “adult” and responsibility for one’s own actions. 
May 1, 2023 B-Mitzvah Lifecycles

Tombstone Customs in Judaism

Tombstone customs in Judaism stem from the religious obligation to mark a grave. This is traditionally done with tombstones or stone markers.
, February 28, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

What Does Jewish Law Say About Autopsies and Organ Donation?

The halakhah does not generally permit autopsies, due to honoring the dead. However, there are two important exceptions to that rule.
, February 28, 2023 Confronting Death Death and Dying

Kohanim and Funerals

Kohanim were forbidden to come into contact or share indoor space with the bodies of the dead, apart from their closest of relatives.
, February 28, 2023 Death and Dying Funerals
Mourners torn clothing

Aninut: What Should Mourners Do Until Burial

The period from the time of death until burial is known as aninut - the customs of the mourners during the initial stages of bereavement. ...
, February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

How to Comfort Mourners During Shivah

What do I do when I go to a shivah? Remember that conversation should be about the deceased, not the mourners or the visitors.
, February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles

Jewish Laws and Rituals for Funerals

What are the Jewish laws and rituals regarding funerals? Generally, a ritual washing, burial, and a funeral, each with their own customs.
, February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Funerals

What is Sheloshim?

Shloshim are the thirty days that follows the week of shivah and is considered a period of reduced mourning.
, February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles
Floating candle

What is Shivah?

The word shivah refers to the seven days of mourning that follow the burial of a parent, child, sibling, or spouse.
, February 26, 2023 Death and Dying Lifecycles
Mikveh - Not just for niddah anymore

Mikveh: Not Just for Niddah Anymore

Moving well beyond niddah, mikveh is now used to mark any and all transitional and transformative moments.
December 27, 2022 Every Day Lifecycles
What is the jewish afterlife

What is the Jewish Afterlife?

What does Judaism say about the afterlife? Exploring the inherent conflicts between the different ideas and why that's a good thing.
December 25, 2022 Death and Dying Every Day
What does it take to feel Jewish

What does it take to feel Jewish?

Collecting experiences helps us feel like we belong. By doing ‘Jewish,’ we create meaningful Jewish lives where spirituality feels less contrived.
November 16, 2022 Conversion Jewish Identity
How do Jews Celebrate the Birth of a Daughter?

How do Jews Celebrate the Birth of a Daughter?

There are several ceremonies that families use to welcome and name a newborn girl in the synagogue or in the home.
, June 21, 2022 Baby Naming Lifecycles
What is a Brit Milah, Jewish Ritual Circumcision?

What is a Brit Milah: Jewish Ritual Circumcision?

Brit Milah refers to the covenant of circumcision, both the ritual act and the festive occasion surrounding a baby boy’s circumcision.
, June 20, 2022 Baby Naming Brit Milah
Your Tween Doesn’t Want a B-Mitzvah? That’s OK.

Your Tween Doesn’t Want a B-Mitzvah? That’s OK.

By empowering children to own this decision, we’re helping them to develop into young adults, and isn’t that what a B-Mitzvah is all about?
June 20, 2022 B-Mitzvah Lifecycles
How to See and Be Seen: Choosing Judaism

How to See and Be Seen: Choosing Judaism

Shavuot is all about choosing Judaism. We choose to see the beauty of the tradition and be seen holding it with full hearts and hands.
May 20, 2022 Conversion Shavuot
Learning about Mental Illness from Ruth

Learning about Mental Illness from Ruth

Risa Sugarman teaches that comparing Ruth's strengths to owning our own positive attributes as primary instead of our mental illness.
May 20, 2022 Illness Shavuot
Mountain with fog and the words: Revelation: A Poem

Revelation: A Poem

Yakira Keshet offers a poem to commemorate Shavuot, her journey to Judaism, and the presence of our souls at Mount Sinai.
May 12, 2022 Conversion LGBTQ+
The Four Questions and Living with Mental Illness

The Four Questions and Living with Mental Illness

We have the opportunity to help teens create long-lasting positive connections to the very traditions they are appropriately questioning.
March 31, 2022 Health Illness

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