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Ritual and Lifecycle Events

At CBH we believe strongly in the power of ritual to mark the seasons and the important moments of our lives. We rely on the bedrock of tradition crafted in wisdom by our ancestors and passed down throughout the generations. We also depend on contemporary insights to create new traditions and rituals with an infusion of carefully chosen words and actions.
 
We believe that ritual can transform people and shape our experiences of the world. It has been a lifeline for the Jewish people in marking their lives. 
 
Today we recognize there are times in our contemporary lives that our ancestors could not imagine—and so there are no traditional prayers or rituals. At CBH, not only do we reconstruct ancient ritual to speak to us in this moment in history, but we also construct new ritual when there is a void. We have found that Judaism and its rich wisdom can speak to us and help us shape these new practices and observances even for circumstances which would have been beyond our ancestor's comprehension.
 
Our clergy, including our Director of Music and Spiritual Arts, and lay leaders are here to work with you to craft and share Jewish rituals for the seasons of the year and the cycles of your life. Please call the office if you would like to discuss a common or unique life-cycle ritual (wedding, naming ceremony, conversion, healing, coming out, etc.)
 

Weddings

Wedding and commitment ceremonies work with the beauty of Jewish tradition and connect it to the individuality of each couple. Below you will find some general information regarding CBH policies, requirements and fees.

• It is important for the clergy to meet with each couple three or four times before the ceremony in order to get to know you, plan the ceremony and provide some basic counseling.

• We welcome interfaith couples who wish to have a Jewish home and who are committed to raising their children Jewish.

• We like to create an environment where the non-Jewish partner and their family are an integral part of the service.

• The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association prevents our clergy from co-officiating a ceremony with a clergy member of another religion. We welcome conversation on this matter and will refer you to other rabbis when possible. Please be aware that we do not perform ceremonies on the Sabbath or on most Jewish holidays.

• If you are committed to having our clergy perform your ceremony, we would appreciate as much flexibility around the date as possible, due to our clergy's busy schedules.

Finances and Logistics

For non-members and those who have been members of CBH for less than one year, there is a fee for the clergy's services. Please contact the office for more information. As with most things at CBH, in cases of financial hardship, fees can be negotiated. Payment in full is appreciated at the time of services.

There is no fee for members of more than one year; it is customary, however, for congregants to make a donation to CBH to show their appreciation for the work of our clergy.

Anyone being married by our clergy is welcome to borrow our community's chuppah for a nominal fee. Please contact the office for more information.

funerals

We are so very sorry for the loss that has brought you to this page.

Both staff and CBH members are eager to offer our support in any way that we can when a member of our community passes away or experiences a death in his or her family.

Should a death occur over the weekend, CBH members may send an email or may leave a message on the Clergy, Executive Director, or President's personal phone. The clergy will make arrangements to visit the family as soon as they are able.

Please know that you are always welcome at our Friday night or Saturday morning Shabbat services if you seek a minyan in which to say kaddish. Please see the calendar or call the office for more information about times and locations for those services.

If you are not a member of CBH or you are a member who is looking for rabbinical services for a friend or more distant relation, please contact the Atlanta Jewish community chaplain, Rabbi Judith Beiner, by clicking here

conversions

We honor your desire to learn more about Judaism and about the possibility of seeking conversion.

Like any life journey, people arrive at this place of inquiry in many different ways and for many different reasons.  It is our intention at CBH to honor all people, and we hope to be a safe and welcoming place to explore your interest in Judaism without causing you to feel pressured to undergo conversion at any point along the way.

It is usually helpful for individuals to have some foundation in Jewish learning and community life before they embark on an individualized course of study or conversion process. If you are coming to this page fairly early in your journey, there are several ways to begin to learn more.

  • You are always welcome at our services! We have many visitors each week and people have widely divergent levels of Jewish literacy. Please feel free to ask someone else at the service - either the greeter for the evening or another person at the service - for help navigating the prayerbook or the service in general. If you feel anxious about it, feel free to call the office in advance to let us know you are coming, and we can try to have someone meet you and welcome you.
  • There are several good Introduction to Judaism classes in Atlanta that you might consider. Please call the office for current offerings.
  • Here are some introductory books we like:

When you feel you have a basic foundation and are ready to begin having individual conversations with a rabbi, please call the office and speak with the rabbi's assistant. 

This conversion process is special; each person expresses their spirituality and religious identities differently and our goal is to match your uniqueness with a structure that has integrity and meaning so that your conversion will honor both you as the individual and the community that you may be joining.

Wishing you a wonderful journey of learning!

Welcoming babies

Baby Naming

The Jewish naming ceremony is a way of welcoming a new baby into the world.

The baby naming ceremony is not only an opportunity to celebrate the birth and introduce the child to the community, but it is also a chance for the community to show their support and commitment to the physical and spiritual well being of the child.

It also allows the parents to explain why a particular name was chosen.

Typically, Jewish parents give their baby a secular name as well as a Hebrew name to express their child’s individuality and unique personality while also enforcing the connection to previous generations and their place within the community. It is this name that will be used at his/her Bar/Bat Mitzvah, religious rituals and ceremonies, marriage, and is the one that will ultimately be passed down to future generations.

For a baby boy, the naming ceremony is referred to as Bris or Brit Milah and usually takes place at a private home eight days following birth as part of the Jewish Ritual Circumcision Naming Ceremony.

The bris milah is simultaneously a performance of the mitzvah of circumcision and a celebration of the newborn child’s entrance into the divine covenant and the Jewish community. The ceremony welcomes the newborn child into the community and the covenant  As the mitzvah is incumbent upon the parents, it is recommended that parents lead as much of the ceremony as they feel comfortable with.

Brit Mitzvah

In Jewish tradition, one does not have a Brit Mitzvah; one becomes a Brit Mitzvah. The traditional term Bar/bat Mitzvah literally means "son/daughter of the commandment.” BRIT Mitzvah, a gender-inclusive term, means, [entering] the covenant of Mitzvah/commandment. In becoming brit mitzvah, a Jewish person of at least 13 years of age accepts their part in the Jewish people’s covenant (agreement) through observing the mitzvot (commandments); they thus become an adult in the eyes of the Jewish community. Our Brit Mitzvah students and their families work to create a unique and meaningful expression of this rite of passage. The process leading up to the event is the key to making the experience meaningful. The Brit Mitzvah experience offers not only the child, but also the whole family a rewarding journey of growth and study. 

Our requirements for Jewish education are intended to set the stage for meaningful Jewish learning. We require a minimum three-year education commitment designed to empower young adults with knowledge of our sacred texts and worship traditions infused with community values. For children and adults with specific and diverse learning needs, CBH offers the opportunity to individualize a process that will sufficiently challenge but not act as a barrier. This can be easily designed with the guidance of clergy and the approval of the Education Committee CBH encourages all members to consider preparing for a Brit Mitzvah. Adults who would like to participate in a Brit Mitzvah ceremony may arrange a course of study with our clergy.

Click here for the Brit Mitzvah Handbook.

 

Thu, December 12 2024 11 Kislev 5785