What's a baby-naming ceremony?

Many people might be familiar with the traditional Bris, a ceremony performed the 8th day after a baby Jewish boy is born.  However, fewer people are familiar with notion of a baby-naming ceremony. This ceremony is typically held in honor of a baby girl being born and while it can certainly happen the 8th day after birth, there are no real time strictures around this one. The object of a baby-naming ceremony is to officially present the child with a Hebrew name, usually honoring a loved one who has passed on. In this touching ceremony, a new Hebrew name is affectionately given to the baby in its parent's arms, along with ecumenical ceremonial input from grandparents. Parents may offer some sentimental, loving comments and memories about the person for whom their baby is named. Typically you would only give your child the name of a relative who has departed, rather than one that's living - just so you know!

Gorgeous cupcakes for your next celebration

Shhh... don't tell my mother-in-law, but we want to have a baby naming ceremony once the wee one is born (she doesn't want to know what the sex is). I absolutely love parties and whenever there's a cause for celebration, I always have cupcakes!
When we lived in The City, we'd get cupcakes from Crumbs or Magnolia Bakery, but now that we've moved to the burbs, this little shiksa needed a local cupcake guru. Enter Martine's Bakery down at 10 Fisher Street in Tuckahoe, NY. Martine's is family owned and operated and the partners are always there, whether it's Tal behind the counter or Yuval baking up the gorgeous concoctions in the back. In addition to these fantastic cupcakes, Martine's also makes the best croissants, and you can't eat one of their delicious Boston Cream Pie donuts without leaving a chocolate mess. Come the high holidays they have a wonderful selection of kosher goodies. As far as those cupcakes go though - this little baby of ours can't come soon enough!

10 Fisher Ave
Tuckahoe, NY
914-346-8650
Martine’s is open seven days a week from at 6:45 am.

Fun Bar / Bat Mitzvah Favors

Remember when we were little kids and we went to birthday parties and as great as the party was, the goody bag that we got at the end helped us keep it alive just a little longer. Bar and Bat Mitzvahs aren't any different. Check out some of these great favors!


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Great looking Ketubahs

If you're getting married - and getting married by a Rabbi - you'll likely have a Ketubah signing ceremony as part of your nuptials. Kind of like going to the court house to get your marriage license, this is actually in the eyes of Jewish law, when the marriage is legal. The Ketubah is the contract that you and your spouse sign and it's actually quite a lovely idea. It's one thing to write your vow and say them the day of, it's quite something else to have your 'vows' scribed as a gorgeous work of art. There are a number of different Ketubah texts and you should be able to customize your Ketubah to your liking. But whatever you do, make it something that the two of you really like. Ours is currently hanging on the wall in our den and it makes me smile every time I walk by it.

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Some other good Ketubah resources:
The Ketubah Company - A unique resource for all your ketubah needs. A range of exclusive original artwork and variety of texts for your exceptional wedding or anniversary celebration.

www.ketubah.com

1-800ketubah.com

MPArtworks

Reform? Orthodox? Conservative? What's the Difference?

My old roommate in New York City was Orthodox. My husband's family is Conservative and since my husband and I are thinking about becoming members of a synagogue, we're looking at Reform. So, what's the real difference between all three? It's really about the degree to which they interpret Jewish law, where Orthodox Judaism has the strictest interpretation and Reform Judaism is the least strict. In the Reform synagogue, inter-faith marriage is acceptable and so are female rabbis for that matter. It's kind of like Orthodox = Catholic, Conservative = Southern Baptist and Reform = Methodist. Here's a wikipedia link for some more basica intel.