Subject Guide: Jewish Life Cycle

The events honored and rites practiced throughout the various stages of the Jewish lifecycle serve to strengthen individual Jewish identity and bring individuals closer to their chosen Jewish community. Celebrating life's milestones and accomplishments encourages greater fulfillment in life, love, and participation with family members, loved ones, and neighbors. 

Birth and the First Month of Life

The arrival of a new child is a welcoming to another generation of love and hope. Notable rites surrounding new family additions include the naming of a child and the circumcision of male children. 

Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation

Bar/Bat Mitzvahs usually occur between the ages of 12 and 13, and traditionally have signified a coming-of-age for Jewish children. In the last three decades, bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies have also embraced Jewish adults who wish to present an affirmation of Jewish identity and for those who did not have bar/bat mitzvahs as children. 

Confirmation is a Reform-originated ceremony for teens that is tied to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. It constitutes an individual and group affirmation of commitment to the Jewish people. Confirmation, one of the youngest Jewish lifecycle ceremonies, began less than 200 years ago. At its inception, confirmation reflected a graduation motif. After a specified period of study, students were subject to a public examination. The following day, in the rabbi’s presence, students uttered personal confessions of faith. The rabbi addressed the class, recited a prayer, and then blessed them. It was a simple service with no fixed ritual. As confirmation moved into the synagogue and as its ties to Shavuot strengthened, the ceremony became more elaborate.

Marriage

Just like other marriages, Jewish marriage celebrates the union of two people in love, interested in spending their lives together. Many Jewish weddings also include several specific traditions including the signing of the ketubah (marriage contract), a ceremony under a covering called the chuppah, symbolizing the couple's home together, a breaking of a glass reminding everyone gathered that even at a joyous event there is also sorrow, and a celebratory post-wedding meal with dancing and merriment. 

Divorce

A "get" or "gett", is an official Jewish document in which a man agrees to divorce his wife. This document is typically in Aramaic and is overseen by a Beit Din. If a couple only receives a civil court divorce, they are still considered to be married under Jewish law.

Death and Mourning

There are traditionally five stages of mourning in Judiasm: 

Aninut: The period from death to burial
Shiva: The first seven days of mourning.
Sheloshim: The first thirty days of mourning beginning with the day of burial; the complete mourning period for all, except for a parent
Yud-bet chodesh: The twelve Hebrew months following the day of death; the mourning period for a parent
Yahrzeit: The anniversary date of the death per the Jewish calendar