Acharei Mot / Kedoshim – May 6, 2006
Applestein Baby naming Ceremony
Amy Applestein with twin daughters Tori and Karli
Shabbat Shalom everyone. Welcome guests.
Rabbi Weisblum: Imagine a scene. It is 11 a.m. in the doctor’s office. You are sitting in the waiting room for an appointment that was scheduled for 10 a.m. Everyone seems annoyed and nervous. You read all the magazines and newspapers. People look at each other impatiently and soon you hear the grumbles and complaints... Then…the door opens and a mother with a little baby walks into the waiting room. All of a sudden everyone’s changes their attitudes… all are smiling. "Look, isn’t she a cutie?" "No" the mother replied "She is a he!" "He looks like a girl with his hair…tfu… tfu... Bli ayin harah…" the baby is getting full attention. All forget the time, all the complaints. When the nurse calls, the next patient is already a happy client… exclaiming "looks at this baby... I can’t believe it is a boy…" The sight of a baby can change anyone.
At this time, I would like to call upon Amy and Brian Applestein to the bimah with their adorable twin daughters.
Rabbi Weisblum: Today, my dear friends, at Kneseth Israel, we share in the joy and blessing of welcoming Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah into the world and into our hearts. This is a day of bright expectations, for a child is the very embodiment of everything good and right in the world - full of potential. These children - are the hope of our future.
There are hundreds of blessings in the Jewish tradition. Today we are here for the naming ceremony – of the Applestein children - a sacred ritual to cradle them as they enter the covenant. We celebrate them as heirs to the Jewish nation, potential agents for the world’s redemption. As the parents hold their new daughters in their arms, we witness that life carries promises and dreams not only of a single family, but for the people of Israel and the entire world. The power of a birth ritual creates jubilation. It also evokes awe at the responsibility we have to rear our children to Torah, chuppah, and good deeds. Rituals, such as this ceremony, work when we connect to something beyond ourselves and place us in a community and heritage to which we are accountable and proud. So, too, this baby naming ceremony enables us to envision how the transcendent might move through our body and soul by allowing us to be both ancestors - honoring the tradition we inherit, and descendants - creating the tradition for a new generation.
Amy & Brian: We are blessed with the gift of new lives. We have shared love, pain, and joy in bringing our daughters into the world. By the way we live, we aspire to teach our daughters to become loving and caring people.
Rabbi Weisblum: There are three names by which a person is called:
One that her father and mother call her,
One that people call her,
And one that she earns for herself.
Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah
May you always have –
Enough happiness to keep you sweet,
Enough trials to keep you strong,
Enough hope to keep you happy,
Enough challenges to keep you humble,
Enough success to keep you eager,
Enough friends to give you comfort,
Enough wealth to meet your needs,
Enough enthusiasm to look forward,
Enough determination to make each day better than yesterday
And let us all say: Amen
Rabbi Weisblum: Welcome to the World by Esta Cassway (based on Psalm 98:8)
Welcome to the world,
Little ones.
Miracles are waiting:
Open up your eyes.
See the silver moon,
Smiling down upon you.
Watch as daylight tiptoes in
And paints the sky.
You are our miracle;
You make us complete.
May you dance in sunshine.
May your dreams be sweet.
Welcome to the world,
little ones.
Raindrops on your window
Play a gentle tune
Bees and butterflies
Waving from the flowers
Birds are singing lullabies
To say hello
You are our miracle;
You make us complete.
May you dance in sunshine.
May your dreams be sweet!
Welcome to the world,
Little ones.
Rabbi Weisblum: We are grateful for new beginnings, for the bond of life that links one generation to another. We are thankful for blessings of family that bring meaning and happiness to our lives, and we rejoice with our children at the birth of their firstborn. May we all grow together as a family and a community - in good health and in strength, in harmony, and in love.
Rabbi Weisblum: From their family Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah will learn the beauty of a lifetime of love, hope, and commitment to good deeds. As they give love and guidance, so shall they receive their love and benefit from their new wisdom. Netaniyah Simcha and Alinah Malkah are welcomed into their new home and faith. May their parents, Amy and Brian rear them with a love of Torah, and may they all come to enjoy a life filled with good health, happiness, and peace.
Please everyone stand for the Traditional Blessing over the newly daughters – (first in Hebrew, then in English)
May G-d make you like Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.
May G-d bless you and guard you.
May G-d cause a light to shine on you and be gracious to you.
May G-d lift up his face to you and grant you peace.
Rabbi Weisblum: Our G-d, G-d of our mothers and fathers! Sustain these children through their parents’ loving care. Let them be known among our people Israel by the name Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah bnot [daughters of] Baruch Moshe [Brian] and Aviyah Rivkah [Amy]. May their name be a source of joy, and inspire them to serve our people, and all of humankind. May the parents’ and grandparents’ rejoice in their growth in body and soul! As they brought them into the Covenant, so may they, with wisdom and patience, lead them to G-d’s blessings. And let us all say – AMEN!
Rabbi Weisblum: Imagine a scene. It is 11 a.m. in the doctor’s office. You are sitting in the waiting room for an appointment that was scheduled for 10 a.m. Everyone seems annoyed and nervous. You read all the magazines and newspapers. People look at each other impatiently and soon you hear the grumbles and complaints... Then…the door opens and a mother with a little baby walks into the waiting room. All of a sudden everyone’s changes their attitudes… all are smiling. "Look, isn’t she a cutie?" "No" the mother replied "She is a he!" "He looks like a girl with his hair…tfu… tfu... Bli ayin harah…" the baby is getting full attention. All forget the time, all the complaints. When the nurse calls, the next patient is already a happy client… exclaiming "looks at this baby... I can’t believe it is a boy…" The sight of a baby can change anyone.
At this time, I would like to call upon Amy and Brian Applestein to the bimah with their adorable twin daughters.
Rabbi Weisblum: Today, my dear friends, at Kneseth Israel, we share in the joy and blessing of welcoming Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah into the world and into our hearts. This is a day of bright expectations, for a child is the very embodiment of everything good and right in the world - full of potential. These children - are the hope of our future.
There are hundreds of blessings in the Jewish tradition. Today we are here for the naming ceremony – of the Applestein children - a sacred ritual to cradle them as they enter the covenant. We celebrate them as heirs to the Jewish nation, potential agents for the world’s redemption. As the parents hold their new daughters in their arms, we witness that life carries promises and dreams not only of a single family, but for the people of Israel and the entire world. The power of a birth ritual creates jubilation. It also evokes awe at the responsibility we have to rear our children to Torah, chuppah, and good deeds. Rituals, such as this ceremony, work when we connect to something beyond ourselves and place us in a community and heritage to which we are accountable and proud. So, too, this baby naming ceremony enables us to envision how the transcendent might move through our body and soul by allowing us to be both ancestors - honoring the tradition we inherit, and descendants - creating the tradition for a new generation.
Amy & Brian: We are blessed with the gift of new lives. We have shared love, pain, and joy in bringing our daughters into the world. By the way we live, we aspire to teach our daughters to become loving and caring people.
Rabbi Weisblum: There are three names by which a person is called:
One that her father and mother call her,
One that people call her,
And one that she earns for herself.
Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah
May you always have –
Enough happiness to keep you sweet,
Enough trials to keep you strong,
Enough hope to keep you happy,
Enough challenges to keep you humble,
Enough success to keep you eager,
Enough friends to give you comfort,
Enough wealth to meet your needs,
Enough enthusiasm to look forward,
Enough determination to make each day better than yesterday
And let us all say: Amen
Rabbi Weisblum: Welcome to the World by Esta Cassway (based on Psalm 98:8)
Welcome to the world,
Little ones.
Miracles are waiting:
Open up your eyes.
See the silver moon,
Smiling down upon you.
Watch as daylight tiptoes in
And paints the sky.
You are our miracle;
You make us complete.
May you dance in sunshine.
May your dreams be sweet.
Welcome to the world,
little ones.
Raindrops on your window
Play a gentle tune
Bees and butterflies
Waving from the flowers
Birds are singing lullabies
To say hello
You are our miracle;
You make us complete.
May you dance in sunshine.
May your dreams be sweet!
Welcome to the world,
Little ones.
Rabbi Weisblum: We are grateful for new beginnings, for the bond of life that links one generation to another. We are thankful for blessings of family that bring meaning and happiness to our lives, and we rejoice with our children at the birth of their firstborn. May we all grow together as a family and a community - in good health and in strength, in harmony, and in love.
Rabbi Weisblum: From their family Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah will learn the beauty of a lifetime of love, hope, and commitment to good deeds. As they give love and guidance, so shall they receive their love and benefit from their new wisdom. Netaniyah Simcha and Alinah Malkah are welcomed into their new home and faith. May their parents, Amy and Brian rear them with a love of Torah, and may they all come to enjoy a life filled with good health, happiness, and peace.
Please everyone stand for the Traditional Blessing over the newly daughters – (first in Hebrew, then in English)
May G-d make you like Sara, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah.
May G-d bless you and guard you.
May G-d cause a light to shine on you and be gracious to you.
May G-d lift up his face to you and grant you peace.
Rabbi Weisblum: Our G-d, G-d of our mothers and fathers! Sustain these children through their parents’ loving care. Let them be known among our people Israel by the name Netaniyah Simcha and Elianah Malkah bnot [daughters of] Baruch Moshe [Brian] and Aviyah Rivkah [Amy]. May their name be a source of joy, and inspire them to serve our people, and all of humankind. May the parents’ and grandparents’ rejoice in their growth in body and soul! As they brought them into the Covenant, so may they, with wisdom and patience, lead them to G-d’s blessings. And let us all say – AMEN!
