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Life Cycle and Life Changing Celebrations and Ceremonies

Celebration is a human need. Celebrations dramatize our commitments to people and ideas. Community festivals reinforce group solidarity. Because ancient peoples deemed supernatural power essential to human welfare, prayer, worship and divination accompanied traditional festivals. A festival with worship rituals was a holyday, or holiday.

Priestly and rabbinic Judaism promoted rituals, both for holidays and for daily living that reinforced Jewish solidarity and sought to guarantee divine support for group survival. Humanistic Jews recognize the value of celebration as a vehicle for group togetherness. Humanistic celebrations dramatize the accomplishments of people, the importance of community and the natural phenomena that exist to support it. Humanistic Jews observe Jewish holidays and life cycles, drawing on the full spectrum of Jewish tradition and culture to create meaningful ceremonies that enrich our lives and connect us to our history and our future as one people.

Our Madrikh, Barry A. Swan performs life cycle and life changing ceremonies not only for our congregants, but for others interested in a Humanistic approach to life. These ceremonies include, but are not limited, to the following:

• Baby Namings

• Weddings

• Bat and Bar Mitzvahs

• Funerals

Bringing in Shabbat
Shabbat is the only Jewish holiday celebrated weekly. Congregation Beth Haskalah brings in Shabbat usually with a family potluck dinner and family service. It is a wonderful time to join with family, friends and the Jewish community and to affirm our connection to Humanistic Judaism. 

Candlelighting
Humanistic Jews find in candlelight a reflection of the human spirit. In lighting candles we seek connection with the past, with each other and with ourselves. Candles, at their brightest, communicate strength, vitality, vision and warmth. As they burn down to nothingness, they demonstrate the fragility of life. Humanistic candle blessings are blessings of peace and light in the world.

Wine (or Grape Juice)
Wine is as familiar in Jewish ceremonies as are candles. Since the beginning of the rabbinic period, the blessing of wine has been a part of the Jewish celebration in addition to weddings and birth ceremonies. 

Wine is the fruit of the vine, the symbol of earth’s bounty. It is symbolic of prosperity and joy. Wine is a perfect symbol for Humanistic Judaism because it takes from the natural world and adds to it "Human Ingenuity" to create something an even more wonderful affirmation of life.

Bread
We bless the bread in the same spirit as the wine. It is a symbol of the fullness of the earth and the labor of humankind in bringing it to our tables. We are thankful that we are sitting with family, friends and members from the community, enjoying the peace and joy of our celebration.

Rosh Hashanah
Humanistic Jews see Rosh Hashanah as a time for renewal, reflection and new beginnings. Our focus is on the affirmation of human power and human dignity. Rosh Hashanah is a time to consider the possibilities for change, improvement and happiness we can create for ourselves as human beings. Through acknowledging human courage and independence we can achieve human dignity.

As the first day of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah marks a turning point, a separation between what was and what can be. It offers a time for Humanistic Jews to pause in their daily lives and reflect on their behavior and renew their commitment to their highest values. The creative liturgies used by Humanistic Jewish communities on Rosh Hashanah reflect these themes.

Yom Kippur
Congregation Beth Haskalah views Yom Kippur as a time for continued introspection, a time to examine human behavior and contemplate beneficial change. Yom Kippur is a time to learn from our past actions and make better choices in the future. 

Adapting the form of our meditations to the context of our message, Humanistic Jews make Yom Kippur a celebration of inner strength and a time for self- forgiveness.

Passover
Passover, which begins on the first day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, is the great spring celebration of the Jewish people. Passover is our celebration of freedom and national unity. Many times in our history Jews have struggled for freedom or have sought escape from persecution. Passover is the time to celebrate the modern as well as the ancient quest for freedom. Congregation Beth Haskalah has a tradition of holding a community seder with a special Haggadah, meaningful music and festivity, on the second night of Passover. It is a great time to celebrate with family, friends, both old and new.

Other Holidays
Congregation Beth Haskalah also enjoys celebrating Sukkot, Hanukkah, Purim and Tu B’Shevat with family celebrations.