EVENT
PHOTOS
B'rit Milah and B'rit Bat, the binding of the covenant for boys and girls coming into the world, is a sacred ceremony symbolizing the agreement between the Jewish people and God established in Torah, where God commands Abraham, "you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep my covenant. Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you” (Genesis 17:9-11). There was, for thousands of years, no method to also welcome women into the covenant with God, until the arrival of the B’rit Bat, also known as the Bat Simcha or Simcha HaBat. More commonly this ceremony has been referred to as the Baby Naming in North America.
BAR / BAT MITZVAH
B'RIT MILAH/ B'RIT BAT
Bar and Bat Mitzvah has become known to being the coming of age to where a person may be responsible for fulfilling Mitzvot or commandments. In the progressive Jewish world, we are increasingly more concerned with fulfilling Mitzvot by means of social justice and acts of Tikkun Olam. By the age of 13, this expectation of reading from the Torah and leading a Shabbat morning service along with a Mitzvot-focused project has become a modern Jewish tradition worldwide. The Daniel Centers are committed to providing progressive solutions for those seeking B’nei Mitzvot services. These services are available for both Israelis and Americans seeking a ceremony in Israel. Are you an adult woman and not yet a Bat Mitzvah? At any age, the opportunity to be welcomed through this beautiful ceremony into the world of responsibility in Mitzvot is available. If you and your child wish to share a Bat Mitzvah together, Beit Daniel also offers a collaborative option.
FUNERALS
“It is a fearful thing to love
what death can touch.
A fearful thing to love,
hope, dream: to be —
to be, and oh! to lose.”
(Mishkan Tefillah 290)
The loss of those we loved is undoubtedly one of the most difficult events in our lives. Abraham wails over the death of his wife Sarah, whom he loved, and seeks to bury her properly- paying four hundred shekels of silver to give to her a proper resting place in Hebron. There are no certain terms to describe the impact of loss, but rather many to try and express it for each individual. As such, there are no certain conditions for the mourning of a loved one, and Beit Daniel is here to provide clergy services as needed in the event that it is needed.
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WEDDINGS
The Jewish wedding ceremony has it’s roots in Tanakh, although many of the modern traditions that we are familiar with emerged after the period of antiquity and during medieval times while Jews were under Muslim and Christian rule. The Ketubah, which acts as a central prenuptial agreement between two loving people entering marriage, has its origins from the biblical mohar- which was the price that the groom literally paid for his bride. Luckily, of course, this has evolved from what we in modernity would deem to be a sexist practice to become a beautiful embodiment of the marital agreement in the form of a piece of artwork. Judaism’s impact on marital ceremonies is timeless, especially the symbolic inclusion of the veil, which originated from the story Isaac and Rebekah, where she covers herself before she marries him. At the Daniel Centers, not only are our clergy services beautiful, but also inclusive, offering same-sex marriage ceremonies to couples who seek it.