Welcome:Shalom Brandeis AZA and Sablosky BBG! This project will show you the four steps of the Jewish life cycle: the baby naming, the B’nai Mitzvah, the wedding, and the funeral. Please be respectful and listen closely as there will be prizes at the end to trivia questions.
SIMCHAT BAT(Supplies: Baby Guessing ppt)
Leader-It’s a girl! It’s a boy! When do you name her? When should you throw the party? After eight days, two weeks, a month? There are two types of baby namings for each gender:For a boy, there is a brit, circumcision, of a boy on the eighth day, and for a young girlthere are no explicit rituals for a girl. Instead, there are customs for a Simchat Bat, celebration of a birth of a daughter.The birth of a child is a momentous occasion that we all want to share with everyone around us. That is why we, in modern day times, have created a more formal service of bringing our daughters into the world -- into the covenant with G-d -- the same as what we do for our sons. Since there is no specific format to go by, people have created their own traditions as to when to have a “party” for the baby -- celebrate the Simchat Bat -- and what rituals, if any, are performed at the festivity. Some have a light meal after synagogue the Sabbath in which the father has named the baby, while others invite family and friends to their home or to a hall on a different day to share in their joy (simcha). Others opt to make it into more of a traditional ceremony citing various prayers (such as from the Book of Psalms), saying a special blessing over wine and having a festive meal.
(Choose someone to be the Rabbi and someone to be the baby)
Rabbi- “The one Who blessed (our mothers,) Sarah and Rivkah, Rachel and Leah, and the prophet Miriam and Abigayil and Queen Esther, daughter of Abichayil — may He bless this beloved girl and let her name (in Israel) be ... [insert first name here] with good luck and in a blessed hour; and may she grow up with good health, peace and tranquility; and may her father and her mother see her joy and her wedding, and sons, riches and honour; and may they be healthy into old age; and may this be the [divine] will, and say ye, Amen!”.
"Praised are you, Adonai our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us in the ritual of circumcision." The circumcision is then performed and the father recites a blessing thanking God for bringing the child into the covenant of Abraham: "Blessed are You, Adonai our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to make him enter into the covenant of Abraham our father." Amen
Leader- For our activity, we will be guessing who is the baby! Surely we haven’t changed THAT much since we were babies!
**Play Game**
B’NAI MITZVAH (Supplies: Fruit Roll Ups,Pretzels,writing Icing)
Leader—After a Jewish child goes to Sunday School for a few years, begins middle school, and starts the process of liking girls, the Bar or Bat mitzvah process usually commences for most. Under Jewish Law, children are not obligated to observe the commandments, although they are encouraged to do so as much as possible to learn the obligations they will have as adults. At the age of 13 (12 for girls), children become obligated to observe the commandments. The bar mitzvah ceremony formally and publicly marks the accomplishments of that obligation.
B'nai mitzvot have the right to take part in leading religious services, to count in a minyan (the minimum number of people needed to perform certain parts of religious services), to form binding contracts, to testify before religious courts and to marry.
**PLAY PEPSI/COKE GAME**
Leader-To commemorate the reading of the Torah at your Bar/Bat Mitzvah or anyone’s that you have ever been to… we will be making edible Torahs using pretzels,fruit rollups,and icing. Wrap the frut roll ups around the pretzel sticks and then write something related to your B’nai mitzbah (i.e. Its probably not “kosher” to eat a torah…so don’t write any torah passages on the fruit roll up please!!)
WEDDING(Supplies: sheet for huppah,bag with glass in it, Hora CD, rings)
Do this outside!
Leader- Moving on from the Bat Mitzvah, the next major stop in the Jewish life cycle is your wedding. You have chosen the man or woman (or both) of your choice and have plans to spend the rest of your life with each other. The basic breakdown of a Jewish wedding is:
1.The Ketubah signing- the ketubah is a marriage contract signed by the rabbi, the groom and 2 male witnesses, although the bride usually signs also.
2. Veiling of the Bride. This may only be in Orthodox weddings, but other denominations partake in this tradition also. This tradition stems from the story of Jacob when he was given Leah instead of Rachel.
3. Finally the official wedding begins. The Huppah is the focal point and the couple is married underneath it.
4.Vows- The bride and groom each drink from a cup of wine after the proper blessings are said. ((** Choose a rabbi, a groom,and a bride and 4 people to hold up the chuppah)) Vows:
Rabbi: We praise You G-d, Ruler of the universe, who hallows us with your blessings and consecrates this marriage. We praise You G-d, who sanctifies us through the sacred rite of marriage at the chupa.
Rabbi: And now I ask you, in the presence of G-d and this assembly:
Do you (groom’s name) take (bride’s name) to be your wife, to love, to honor and to cherish?
Rabbi : Do you (bride’s name) take (groom’s name) to be your husband, to love, to honor and to cherish?
(RINGS)
Rabbi :(groom’s name) and (bride’s name), speak the words and exchange the rings that make you husband and wife.
Rabbi: (groom’s name), as you place the ring on the finger of the one you love, recite the words that formally unite you in marriage.
Groom : Be consecrated to me with this ring as my wife: in keeping with the heritage of our faith: and the laws of Moses and Israel.
Rabbi : (bride’s name), as you place the ring on the finger of the one you love, recite the words that formally unite you in marriage.
Bride : Be consecrated to me with this ring as my husband: in keeping with the heritage of our faith: and the laws of Moses and Israel.
Rabbi: May God bless you and keep you. May God’s presence shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God’s presence be with you and give you shalom; peace.
(Place glass in bag near their feet. count to 3)
Break Glass
Everyone: MAZEL TOV!!!
***TEACH HORA DANCE***
FUNERAL(SUPPLIES: TEA CANDLES, POSTER WITH WORD CHAI ON IT WHERE CANDLES ARE PLACED ON, KADDISH PRAYERS)
Leader- We are now 6 or 7 decades down the road. We have a few children, and a lot of grandchildren. We have officially retired from our very successful law firm in east Memphis and we are now living it up in Boca Raton. However, at 80 or 90 years old, we have lost our good health, weakness creeps upon us, and due to the 100% human mortality rate, we pass away.
Judaism does not have much opinion on the afterlife and death, causing much of the analysis to be up to personal opinion.The official name of the afterlife is “Olam Ha-Ba” which means “the world to come.”
When a close friend or family member dies, the custom of “sitting shiva” is practiced by many. It is a seven day mourning period where the mourner does not work or focus on anything but the loss of their family member which was originated from the Book of Isiah.Every year on the anniversary of the death of that person, their family must light a candle in remembrance of that person. This is called a “Yartzeit”.
In honor of last week’s Veteran’s Day, as a group we will dedicate this Kaddish to the fallen heroes of both the American and Israeli military.
Please take a candle, write someone’s name or a group of people on the side that you would like to remember, light the candle, and then place it down on the poster board.
Please join with me as we chant the Mourner’s Kaddish.
**Pass out candles**
Basic Timeline:
7:00-7:15- Talk./eat, wait for everyone to arrive
7:15-7:20- Havdalah
7:20-7:40- Baby Naming/Baby Picture game
7:40-8:00- Bat Mitzvah/ Torah Craft
8:00-8:25- Wedding/Hora
8:25-8:45- Funeral/Candle
Discussion Questions:
Baby Naming:
1)When is the best age to have a baby/start a family?
2)What is the importance of a name, how should the name be decided (take into consideration the Jewish aspect of this project).
3)How many of what gender kids are ideal for a Jewish family?
4)How does one balance Judaism into raising a young child?
B’nai Mitzvah
1)What does being b’nai mitzvahed mean?
2)In your opinion, what are the necessary steps in becoming a true Bar or Bat mitzvah?
3)What role do the other people in your life have in attaining your Bar Mitzvah?
4)Describe the ideal Bar mitzvah party.
Wedding
1)What are the characteristics of the ideal bride or groom?
2)What are the responsibilities of the spouse when one gets married?
3)How was interfaith marriage/dating affected the Jewish faith?
4)Is it religiously acceptable to date/marry someone outside your religion? (look up official view
According to the Torah, Jews should not intermarry because their children will turn to other religions. "You shall not intermarry with them: do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. For you will turn your children away from Me to worship other gods..." (Deuteronomy 7:1-3).
**TRIVIA PRIZES**