Life Cycle Events

Learn more about the Jewish Life Cycle

Still have questions? Email the Rabbinic Assistants for more information:

Rabbi Rooks and Rapport: Matthewd@thetemplelouky.org

Birth

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Confirmation

As you await the arrival of a beautiful baby into your life and home, be sure to contact The Temple to have a rabbi help you in planning the b’ris (circumcision) or baby naming and timing according to Jewish custom. You may also want to involve our clergy as you plan the venue for the ceremony and choose a mohel (circumciser) for this very special occasion. A b’ris is traditionally held on the eighth day of a baby boy's life. A baby naming for a daughter is often held on the eighth day, as well, but may be scheduled any time, as may a baby naming for a boy. A baby naming may also be scheduled to take place during a Friday evening Shabbat service, with the approval of a rabbi.

Bar or Bat Mitzvah is a title a Jew earns at the age of 13. The title indicates a new status in the Jewish community with accompanying privileges and responsibilities.

The Bat/Bar Mitzvah at The Temple leads part of the Shabbat morning service and reads or chants the Torah and Haftarah portion and blessings for that particular Shabbat. Some families opt to have a Saturday evening Havdalah service. Reading the Torah and Haftarah is an honor and a privilege, but it is also a challenge. It requires a knowledge of the Hebrew language and an understanding of sections of our sacred texts. It also affords the students an opportunity to take an adult role in the synagogue and the Jewish community.

Click to learn more about the B'nai Mitzvah program -->

Marriage

Confirmation is a beautiful and inspiring ceremony held in conjunction with the holiday of Shavuot, when young men and women in the tenth grade of high school, having completed a course of study through the High School of Jewish Studies and with Rabbi Joe Rapport, affirm their faith in Judaism.

Knowing that a certain amount of maturity is required for the proper understanding of our faith, the leaders of Reform Judaism introduced the ceremony of Confirmation. It was regarded as a ritual marking a period of study beyond the Bar/Bat Mitzvah age. In almost all Reform congregations, including ours, Confirmation takes place at the end of the 10th grade in religious school.

Confirmation was widely adopted in our country because the ceremony captured the spirit of American Democracy as it provided for the religious equality of young men and women. The ceremony takes place in conjunction with Shavuot, the festival that traditionally celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. When the Confirmands affirm their faith in Judaism, they symbolically re-enact the acceptance of the Torah by our people.

Our rabbis delight in officiating at wedding ceremonies for members, their children, or couples wishing to join The Temple.

The wedding process includes meetings with the officiating rabbi prior to the ceremony. Those meetings include discussions including the ceremony and the couple's future life together.

Weddings can be scheduled at The Temple, or other appropriate local venues on days other than Shabbat (Friday night and Saturday day time) or during High Holy Days or major festivals.

In America, interfaith marriages are common. We believe that we serve our members’ needs best by supporting their decisions and helping them to have the opportunity for a meaningful religious ceremony during important times in their lives. Both Rabbi Gaylia Rooks and Rabbi David Ariel-Joel will perform interfaith weddings. If you are planning an interfaith wedding, please call The Temple at 423.1818 to arrange for an appointment with one of them.

Pastoral Care for the Ill

Our rabbis visit area hospitals several times each week in order to provide comfort, to visit, and to offer prayers for Temple members who are hospitalized.

Because of medical privacy laws, however, our rabbis are not informed by hospitals when someone is a patient there. We therefore encourage family members and friends, or even patients themselves, to contact our rabbis to inform us of a Temple member who is ill, so that our rabbis may visit that person.

For more information, please fill out this confidential form or email caringrabbi@gmail.com:

End of Life/Burial

Temple families receive support that recognizes the sanctity and dignity of human life in all its stages. When a life nears its end, our rabbis console and guide the ill, the aged, and their loved ones.

If you have a loved one who is ill, please contact us so that our rabbis can visit and offer warmth and support in the face of difficult life challenges. To those nearing death and their loved ones, our rabbis provide comfort and can offer spiritual guidance for difficult end-of-life decisions.

Our rabbis are also honored to officiate at funerals or memorial services, as well an unveiling ceremonies when a monument/marker is established.

In addition, we read aloud the names of all yahrzeits (anniversary of the death) of our member's loved ones each year. If you have not provided that information to The Temple, please do so, so that we might help you to honor a loved one's memory in this meaningful traditional manner.

Click here for more information about The Temple Cemetery -->

The Temple also recommends Shiva Connect - "a website to help Jewish mourners, family & friends at a time of loss"

The Mishkan T'filah is also available for the iPad. You can find the app here: iT'filah