You are soon to be a parent! A little scary. Very exciting. This is a sacred moment, for you are fulfilling the first commandment in the Torah, “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28) How do you arrange for circumcision if it is a boy? What is the equally important ceremony for girls? We are here to help!
Rabbi Zimmerman will help you create a meaningful ceremony marking your child’s entrance into God’s covenant with the Jewish people, including guidance regarding their Hebrew name and ritual circumcision, called brit milah.
The brit milah or baby naming ceremony can be held in your home, hospital, or at Beth-El. The Rabbi can also discuss mohels and physicians in the area who do circumcisions. The brit is traditionally held on the 8th day (counting the day of birth), but namings can be done at your leisure, perhaps when grandparents or other family members will be visiting. Namings at Beth-El can be stand-alone ceremonies or part of a Shabbat service.
For information regarding scheduling a brit milah or baby naming ceremony, or to ask questions about Jewish traditions relating to the birth or adoption of a baby, please email the Temple office or call 817-332-7141. Also, please let us know when your new family member arrives, we love to share the good news with our community!
What is consecration?
Jews have had a commitment to education for thousands of years. As formal Jewish studies begin, young students in our Religious School each fall learn the Shema and are given blessings by their parents and Rabbi during a Friday night Family Service. This is done each year in conjunction with the festival of Sukkot, the last day of which is Simchat Torah (“Joy of Torah”), when we finish our annual cycle of Torah readings and celebrate the privilege of beginning again. Students are blessed on the bimah, and are each given their own miniature Torah.
What is confirmation?
Just, as we mark the beginning of Religious School with Consecration, we observe the end of formal classes with Confirmation. For nearly 200 years progressive Jewish congregations have marked the festival of Shavuot, which comes towards the end of the school year, with this group ceremony of affirmation. Shavuot recalls the revelation at Sinai, so in the season of Shavuot each year (generally in May) a new generation “confirms” our people’s covenant with God through the Confirmation.
Mazel Tov!
You or someone in your family has found love and wants to formalize that through a ceremony and pledge of lifelong commitment. At Beth-El, we help make your wedding the once-in-a-lifetime simcha it should be. From sessions with Rabbi Zimmerman, to the traditional aufruf Shabbat blessing, to our beautiful sanctuaries and party facilities, Temple provides a number of ways to connect and strengthen your relationship with each other and the community. Please contact Renee Woods to schedule an appointment with the rabbi and to discuss facility rental.
At Beth-El, we want to be there for you in the joyful occasions, as well as in grief and sadness. When you know that a loved one is dying, it is advisable to talk to our rabbi in advance for advice on funeral arrangements (and they also make hospital calls). Jewish funerals may be held at a graveside, funeral home, or elsewhere, but we encourage use of the Temple.
When a death occurs, please call Rabbi Zimmerman. If he is not at the Temple, the office staff will know where to find him, or during off hours, you may call him at home. (If the rabbi is out of town, rest assured that arrangements for emergencies will have been made. When the office is closed, feel free to call the Temple president, who will also know how to get in touch with the rabbi, or who is covering if he is unavailable.) The rabbi or office can help you identify an appropriate funeral home, and the rabbi will want to talk with you to discuss the funeral, or to help with local arrangements and to see how else Beth-El can be supportive of you even if the funeral is to be in another community.
If burial is to be in Fort Worth, we are proud of our lovely section of Greenwood Cemetery, where individual or family plots are available. We also manage Fort Worth’s pioneer Jewish Cemetery, Emanuel Hebrew Rest. The Temple office can help with plots and other arrangements.
Click here for cemetery information.
Many Beth-El families like to have a minyan service in their home following a funeral. The rabbi and volunteers are available to help with this. The Temple is also available for minyan services or as a place where families can greet and be comforted by family and friends following a funeral.
To schedule the unveiling of a grave marker, call Rabbi Zimmerman. Unveilings are not a requirement in Jewish tradition, but many families like to have such a ceremony and, once again, Beth-El is here to be supportive.