Zeved habat
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Zeved habat (
The details of the celebration varies somewhat by Jewish community and will typically feature the recitation of specific biblical verses and a prayer to announce the name of the newborn child.The ceremony is also known by other names including Fadas,[4][5] Brit Bat (Hebrew: ברית בת - "Covenant of the Daughter")[2] or Brit Kedusha (Hebrew: ברית קדושה - "Covenant of Holiness").[6] A medieval naming ceremony for girls, according to the custom of some medieval Ashkenazi communities, was known as a Hollekreisch (Yiddish: חול-קרייש),[7][8][9] or Shabbat Hayoledet ("Sabbath of the Birth Mother").[10]
Background
The practice of Zeved Habat is recorded as a custom of
In the mid-20th century, following the development of the
The traditional ceremony
In Jewish legal literature, the Zeved Habat event is cited as either taking place in the synagogue
The custom is for a verse from Song of Songs 2:14 to be recited. And if the newborn is also the firstborn child, the custom is for an added verse of Song of Songs 6:9 to be recited. Following this recitation, a Mi sheberakh blessing is recited (see text below) which includes the namegiving prayer.[22][14] Some communities maintain the custom that the rabbi holds the newborn while reciting the verse(s) from Song of Songs.[3]
The Mi sheberakh prayer
In this ceremony, a
In some versions, the words imoteinu ("our mothers") and beYisrael ("in Israel") are omitted. In other versions, such as those from the Moroccan Jewish community, they are included.[citation needed]
מִי שֶׁבֵּרַךְ אִמּוֹתֵינוּ שָׂרָה וְרִבְקָה. רָחֵל וְלֵאָה. וּמִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה וַאֲבִיגַיִל. וְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה בַּת אֲבִיחַיִל. הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַיַּלְדָּה הַנְּעִימָה הַזּאת. וְיִקָּרֵא שְׁמָהּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל פלונית. בְּמַזַּל טוֹב וּבְשַׁעַת בְּרָכָה. וִיגַדְּלֶהָ בִּבְרִיאוּת שָׁלוֹם וּמְנוּחָה. וִיזַכֶּה לְאָבִיהָ וּלְאִמָּהּ לִרְאוֹת בְּשִׂמְחָתָהּ וּבְחֻפָּתָהּ. בְּבָנִים זְכָרִים. עשֶׁר וְכָבוֹד. דְּשֵׁנִים וְרַעֲנַנִּים יְנוּבוּן בְּשֵׂיבָה. וְכֵן יְהִי רָצוֹן וְנאמַר אָמֵן׃
Related customs
In the
One custom is for the following to be recited:
הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת אֲבִי הַיַּלְדָה וְאִמָּהּ, וְיִזְכּוּ לְגַדְּלָהּ וּלְחַנְּכָהּ וּלְחַכְּמָהּ, לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת לְכָל עַמָּהּ וִיהִי אֲדֹנָ-י אֱ-לֹהֶיהַָ עִמָּהּ. הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַרַכָּה וְהַעֲדִינָה, וְיִהְיוּ יָדֵֶיהָ וְלִבָּהּ לָאֵ-ל אֱמוּנָה, וְתִזְכֶּה לִרְאוֹת פְּנֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה, בְּשׁוּבְךָ לְצִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה. הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַקְּהִלָּה אֲשֶׁר שָׂשׂוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה בְגִילָה, וִישַׁלֵּם פָּעֳלָם וּמַשְׂכֻּרְתָּם כְּפוּלָה, וְיִתְּנֵם לְמַעְלָה לְמָעְלָה. הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יִגְאָלֵנוּ גְאֻלַּת עוֹלָמִים, בִּזְכוּת שׁוֹמְרֵי בְרִיתוֹ הוֹלְכֵי תָמִים, וִיְבַשֵּׂר בְּשׂוֹרוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְנִחוּמִים, לְעַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים. הָרַחֲמָן אֲשֶׁר כּוֹנֵן צַעֲדֵנוּ עַד הֲלוֹם, יְקַדֵשׁ בָּנוּ אֶת שְׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵילוֹם, וְיַאֵר אֲלֵינוּ כַּשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְיָהֲלוֹם, בְּרִיתוֹ תִהְיֶה אִתָּנוּ, הַחַיִּים וְהַשָּׁלוֹם.
One custom is for the father of the newborn to recite a Hebrew poem which begins with Ayuma marayich hareini.[19]
אֲיֻמָּה מַרְאַיִךְ הַרְאִינִי וְנֹעַם קוֹלֵךְ הַשְׁמִיעִינִי בְּעֵינַיִךְ לִבַּבְתִּינִי פִּתְחִי לִי אֲחוֹתִי כַלָּה אֲיֻמָּה רַעְיָתִי יָפָתִי אַחַת הִיא יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי בּוֹאִי נָא אֶל חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי אִתִּי מִלְּבָנוֹן כַּלָּה אֲיֻמָּה דִמִּיתִיךְ לְתָמָר חִכֵּךְ כְּיֵין טוֹב הַמְשֻׁמָּר טַעְמוֹ וְרֵיחוֹ לֹא נָמַר גַּן נָעוּל אֲחוֹתִי כַלָּה אֲיֻמָּה כַּחַמָּה בָרָה רָחוֹק מִפְּנִינִים מִכְרָהּ חוּשִׁי נָא קוּמִי בִּמְהֵרָה נָשִׂישׂ כִּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּה אֲיֻמָּה יָפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ מַה טּוֹבוּ מִיַּיִן דּוֹדַיִךְ כִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים שָׁדַיִךְ צוּף דְּבַשׁ שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ כַּלָּה
A common element of the ceremony is the birth mother's thanksgiving for following the birth. The blesing recited is known as Birkat HaGomel ("Blessing of Deliverance").[20]
The mother recites:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַגּוֹמֵל לְחַיָּבִים טוֹבוֹת שֶׁגְּמָלַנִי כָּל טוֹב
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and who has rewarded me with goodness.
To which the congregation responds:
מִי שֶׁגְּמָלֵךְ כֹּל טוֹב הוּא יִגְמָלֵךְ כֹּל טוֹב סֶלָה
May he who rewarded you with all goodness reward you with all goodness for ever.
Others include a recitation of Psalm 128, and the Priestly Blessing (Birkat kohanim).[citation needed]
Ashkenazi customs
The original Ashkenzai practice does not include a Zeved Habat ceremony and instead involves a minor prayer for name giving. However, in the 20th Century, the Zeved Habat ceremony, often renamed as a Simchat Bat ceremony has become accepted in various Ashkenazi communities.
Many Ashkenazi communities use a prayer for the health of a mother and newborn, recited by someone called up to read from the Torah scroll, as an opportunity to name a baby girl.
The Ashkenz mi sheberach includes the following:
The contemporary Simchat Bat ceremony has become an accepted custom among modern-Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi background as an adaptation of the Zeved Habat ritual. The uniqueness of the ceremony is that it may be presented as non-traditional and female-focused, in which women play a role alongside men. One possibility for this acceptance of the Simchat Bat in modern Orthodox Judaism is that it is a ceremony with no major Jewish legalistic (halakhic) implications and which does not intrude upon male ritual space. In the modern Orthodox ceremony, a number of additional elements are added to the traditional Zeved Habat ceremony including the public sharing of a Torah lesson (dvar Torah) often by the parent or a friend, readings about female biblical figures, and an explanation of the name chosen for the newborn. The child may also be given both an ‘English’ and a ‘Jewish’ name (either a Hebrew or Yiddish name). Additionally, in the Simchat Bat ceremony, there is greater opportunity for women (such as the birth mother) to participate in the ceremony ritual.[18]
A Simchat Bat celebration may consist of a communal welcoming, a naming done over a cup of wine with the quotation of appropriate Biblical verses, and traditional blessings.[
Hollekreisch ceremony
In medieval times, girls were named during shavua habat (lit. 'week of the daughter').[]
New ceremonies
- Conservative Judaism — The rabbi's manual of Conservative Judaism presents a ceremony which includes readings and blessings as well as optional features which parents may choose to perform including lighting of candles, touching a Torah handle, and enfolding in a prayer shawl (tallit). In the candle ceremony, the newborn is carried between rows of guests who hold candles; alternatively, six candles may be lit, symbolizing the six days of creation. In the Torah ceremony, a Torah scroll is taken out of the ark and the baby's hands are placed on the Torah handle. In the tallit ceremony, honorees fold each corner of a tallit over or around the newborn.[2] Other customs include the addition of a special greeting at the start of the ceremony.[29]
- Reconstructionist Judaism — The prayerbook of Reconstructionist Judaism includes both Hebrew prayers of blessing and an English blessing regarding Torah study. The Reconstructionist Rabbi's Manual, however, presents an additional ceremony known as Berit Rihitzah (‘‘Covenant of Washing’’) for girls, along with the welcoming and naming ceremony. The Berit Rihitzah incorporates the washing of the baby's feet in water with readings and blessings related to the symbol of water. The ceremony blessing states that God has ‘‘commanded us to bring her into the covenant of the people of Israel.’’[2] An earlier version of the Reconstructionist ceremony was known as Brit B’not Yisrael ("Covenant of the Daughter of Israel") and was formulated by Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and her husband Rabbi Dennis Sasso in the early 1970s. The ceremony was to take place on Shabbat at the home of the parents of the newborn and includes the following blessing: ‘‘Praised are You, Eternal God, Ruler of the Universe, who sanctified us with Your commandments and commanded us to bring our daughter into the covenant of the people of Israel."[2]
See also
- Bar and bat mitzvah
- Girls Day (Judaism)
- Hollekreisch
References
- ^ a b c Abuhav, Yitzchak (1687). "L'Zeved Habat". Meah Brachot. Amsterdam. pp. 181–182.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Siegel, S. R. (2012). Jewish Welcoming Ceremonies for Newborn Girls: The Modern Development of a Feminist Ritual. Modern Judaism, 32(3), 335-358.
- ^ a b c d Ben Amram, Shmuel ben Shlomo (2015). Chayei Adam. pp. 19–20.
- ^ "Fadas", Bulletin de l'Alliance (Alliance Israélite Universelle), 2 January 1888, page 88.
- ^ Harvey, L. P. (1973). The Alfaqui in la dança general de la muerte. Hispanic Review, 498-510.
- ^ Muchnik, M. (2014). 3 Language, Gender and Religion. In The Gender Challenge of Hebrew (pp. 83-130). Brill.
- ^ a b Hyman, P. E. (1993). Traditionalism and Village Jews in 19th-Century Western and Central Europe: Local Persistence and Urban Nostalgia. The Uses of Tradition,(Cambridge: Harvard 1992).
- ^ a b c Hammer, J. (2005). Holle's Cry: Unearthing a Birth Goddess in a German Jewish Naming Ceremony. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues, (9), 62-87.
- ^ ISBN 9780812218626.
- ^ a b Leissner, O. M. (2001). Jewish Women's Naming Rites and the Rights of Jewish Women. Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues, 4(1), 140-177.
- ^ הסידור המפורש כוונות הלב. מכון שירה חדשה. 2014. p. 508.
- ^ "Simchat Bat". itim.org.il.
- ^ a b c d Marcus, I. G. (2012). The Jewish life cycle: Rites of passage from biblical to modern times. University of Washington Press. Page 39.
- ^ a b c d e Gaguine, Shem Tob (1960). Keter Shem Tov Vol.1-2. p. 581.
- ^ Sassoon, David Solomon (1932). Ohel Dawid: Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts. p. 262.
- ^ Hyman, P. E. (1999). A Feminist Perspective on Jewish Fundamentalism. In Religious Fundamentalisms and the Human Rights of Women (pp. 271-280). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
- ^ Kelner, S. (2012). Cultural Transmission Without Essentialism: A Response to Riv-Ellen Prell. Contemporary Jewry, 32(2), 205-208.
- ^ a b Taylor-Guthartz, Lindsey. Overlapping Worlds: The Religious Lives of Orthodox Jewish Women in Contemporary London. pp. 183–184.
- ^ a b Aburbia, Amram (1940). Sefer Brit Olam. pp. 57–58.
- ^ a b Yisraeli, Shaul (2006). "דין ברכת הגומל לאישה". שו"ת במראה הבזק - חלק ה - ארץ חמדה.
- ^ In the original Hebrew: ותאמר לאה זבדני אלהים אתי זבד טוב
- ^ a b c Yerushalmi, Shmuel (2007). "Zeved habat". מעגלי החיים - א.
- ^ See Psalm 92:15
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89906-654-7.
- ^ "The laws of Jewish names". Chabad.org.
- ^ Ganzfried, Shlomo. "78". Kitzur_Shulchan_Arukh.
- ^ "טקס-החול-קרייש-המסורתי". itim.org.il.
- ^ "Hollekreisch Ceremony". Pregnancy-Info.net. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
- ^ Seder Simhat Bat (PDF). Rabbinical Assembly. 1998.
Further reading
- Herbert C. Dobrinsky: A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs: the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America. Revised edition. Hoboken, NJ (Ktav); New York, NY (Yeshiva Univ. Press), 1988. (Pages 3-29.)
- Book of prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation, London. Volume One: Daily and occasional prayers. Oxford (Oxford Univ. Press, Vivian Ridler), 5725 - 1965. (Page 180.)
- "Namegiving", in A guide to Jewish religious practice, by Isaac Klein. New York (JTS), 1979. (Page 429.)
- "Berit Benot Yisrael", in Hadesh Yameinu = Renew our days: A book of Jewish prayer and meditation, Ronald Aigen. Montreal (Cong. Dorshei Emet), 1996. pages 228-233
- Mothers and Children: Jewish Family Life in Medieval Europe Elisheva Baumgarten, Princeton University Press