Lifecycles
General Lifecycle Resources
Local congregations, individual rabbis, agencies and organizations provide support, advice, counseling and services to assist individuals and families during various lifecycle events. Congregations and additional religious organizations are listed in Chapter 4, Religious Life.
Resource for interfaith couples exploring Jewish life, providing in-depth, easy-to-access resources that empower couples to make Jewish choices and help their families embrace the choices they make.
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Hosts and guests can share a personalized and heartfelt event through a warm, welcoming style. Interdenominational, multicultural, traditional or nontraditional ceremonies throughout the Bay Area.
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Supporting your Jewish Journey with compassionate lifecycle guidance and creative ritual. Conservative Rabbi in Silicon Valley. Founder of Makom Yoga, integrating mindful movement with Torah wisdom.
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General Resources
Resource for interfaith couples exploring Jewish life, providing in-depth, easy-to-access resources that empower couples to make Jewish choices and help their families embrace the choices they make.
Learn More
Hosts and guests can share a personalized and heartfelt event through a warm, welcoming style. Interdenominational, multicultural, traditional or nontraditional ceremonies throughout the Bay Area.
Learn More
Supporting your Jewish Journey with compassionate lifecycle guidance and creative ritual. Conservative Rabbi in Silicon Valley. Founder of Makom Yoga, integrating mindful movement with Torah wisdom.
Learn More
Birth, Adoption & Circumcision
Voice of hope and compassion raising awareness of infertility; connecting people to support; helping to reduce financial barriers to treatment in the Jewish community.
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Diversity sensitive, personalized brit milah ceremonies serving entire Bay Area. Interfaith education. 40+ years experience. Questions welcome; references available. Also officiates at brit bat/simchat bat.
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Certified traditional mohel, trained by expert mohelim including Rabbi Chanan Feld z"l. Caring and professional, services Jewish families of varied observance levels.
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Performs spiritual, meaningful brit milah ceremonies for all affiliations and interfaith couples. Board certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine with over 25 years experience performing circumcisions with anesthesia/pain control.
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Egg donor and surrogate search service that help Jewish parents find Jewish egg donors and surrogate mothers.
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Northern California's only full-time mohel. More than 5000 brissim have been performed. Interfaith and all family types welcome. Modern pain control, unmatched speed and precision.
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Provides support and services to adoptive parents and birth mothers during and after pregnancy. Full-service, non-profit, licensed adoption agency and open adoption leader has assisted with over 3,000 adoptions since 1985.
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Certified mohel and board-certified pediatrician performing traditional, personalized and enriching brit milah ceremonies. Inclusive of all affiliations. Pain control/local anesthetic used.
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In partnership with the Sprout initiative of Jewish Federation of the East Bay, the Brit Shalom Families Project offers support and guidance to families opting out of circumcision.
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Practicing Bay Area urologist/hand surgeon; husband/wife mohelim team, trained and certified by Hebrew Union College; performing personalized, spiritually enlightening brit milah and hatafat dam brit (for previously circumcised converts) since 1991.
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San Francisco, Marin, Peninsula, and East Bay regions. Families with babies and toddlers connect, share and celebrate together. Open to everyone. Free events held at parks, JCCs and synagogues. No affiliation required.
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Rabbi walks families through the ceremony and explains the advantages of using a mohel regardless of one's affiliation and background.
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Brit Shalom is a non-cutting naming ceremony for newborn Jewish boys whose parents wish to forego circumcision. It is similar to the naming ceremony for baby girls.
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Board certified OB/GYN, as well as a board-certified Reform mohel practicing in San Francisco for over 20 years. Personalizes each brit milah ceremony to joyfully celebrate life.
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Provides interest-free loans up to $20,000 to help Jewish residents of Northern California cover the costs of fertility treatments or international or domestic adoption.
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Adoption & Infertility
Voice of hope and compassion raising awareness of infertility; connecting people to support; helping to reduce financial barriers to treatment in the Jewish community.
Learn More
Egg donor and surrogate search service that help Jewish parents find Jewish egg donors and surrogate mothers.
Learn More
Provides support and services to adoptive parents and birth mothers during and after pregnancy. Full-service, non-profit, licensed adoption agency and open adoption leader has assisted with over 3,000 adoptions since 1985.
Learn More
Provides interest-free loans up to $20,000 to help Jewish residents of Northern California cover the costs of fertility treatments or international or domestic adoption.
Learn More
Brit Milah (Circumcision)
The ritual of brit milah is performed to symbolize the covenant between God and the people of Israel. The brit (or bris) takes place on the eighth day of a male baby's life (provided there are no health problems). Traditionally, the brit is performed by a mohel, a ritual circumciser familiar with the relevant laws and customs.
Diversity sensitive, personalized brit milah ceremonies serving entire Bay Area. Interfaith education. 40+ years experience. Questions welcome; references available. Also officiates at brit bat/simchat bat.
Learn More
Certified traditional mohel, trained by expert mohelim including Rabbi Chanan Feld z"l. Caring and professional, services Jewish families of varied observance levels.
Learn More
Performs spiritual, meaningful brit milah ceremonies for all affiliations and interfaith couples. Board certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Hospital Medicine with over 25 years experience performing circumcisions with anesthesia/pain control.
Learn More
Northern California's only full-time mohel. More than 5000 brissim have been performed. Interfaith and all family types welcome. Modern pain control, unmatched speed and precision.
Learn More
Certified mohel and board-certified pediatrician performing traditional, personalized and enriching brit milah ceremonies. Inclusive of all affiliations. Pain control/local anesthetic used.
Learn More
In partnership with the Sprout initiative of Jewish Federation of the East Bay, the Brit Shalom Families Project offers support and guidance to families opting out of circumcision.
Learn More
Practicing Bay Area urologist/hand surgeon; husband/wife mohelim team, trained and certified by Hebrew Union College; performing personalized, spiritually enlightening brit milah and hatafat dam brit (for previously circumcised converts) since 1991.
Learn More
Rabbi walks families through the ceremony and explains the advantages of using a mohel regardless of one's affiliation and background.
Learn More
Brit Shalom is a non-cutting naming ceremony for newborn Jewish boys whose parents wish to forego circumcision. It is similar to the naming ceremony for baby girls.
Learn More
Board certified OB/GYN, as well as a board-certified Reform mohel practicing in San Francisco for over 20 years. Personalizes each brit milah ceremony to joyfully celebrate life.
Learn More
Brit Bat/Simchat Bat (Rejoicing for Daughter
The birth of a baby girl is traditionally marked in the synagogue when her father or parents are called to the Torah on
the Sabbath to give the newborn her Hebrew name. The past decade has seen the development of various naming ceremonies for girls. In fact, there is a growing liturgy around the brit bat, and various alternative rituals have been proposed. This ritual is frequently performed on the eighth day of a baby girl’s life.
Pidyon Haben (First-born Redemption)
A pidyon haben, redemption of a son, takes place 30 days after the birth of a first-born baby boy. The tradition is based on the belief that first-born sons were to serve God in the Temple. To redeem them from that obligation, five shekels were given to the Temple priests, who then served in the Temple instead. The ceremony today usually involves a symbolic charitable donation.
Circumcision Alternatives
Bar & Bat Mitzvah
Typically celebrated in the synagogue, the bar/bat mitzvah marks a young person becoming an adult member of the community. Traditionally, the 13-yearold is called upon to recite the Torah blessings and to read a Haftorah, a selection from the prophets. Variations on the ceremony exist. Study programs are also available throughout the community for adult men or women who missed the opportunity to celebrate a bar/bat mitzvah as a teenager. Synagogues provide bar and bat mitzvah training. See "Religious Life
& Organizations."
Individualized instruction for all ages and learning styles, including special needs, in bar/bat mitzvah, Hebrew and Jewish studies; for the affiliated and unaffiliated; in person or online.
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Confirmation
For Reform and some Conservative Jews, the confirmation year (10th or 11th grade) represents a special time of celebration and commitment. It includes study and meetings with the rabbi, culminating in a special service, often held during the Shavuot holiday, which commemorates the receiving of the Torah by the Jewish people.
Chanukat Habayit
In the traditional ceremony of “dedicating the home,” a mezuzah is put up within 30 days of moving into a new home. A mezuzah is a small container that holds
a handwritten scroll of parchment with Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 on the front side and the word Shaddai (Almighty) on the back. The passages contain
the Shema, considered the watchword of Jewish faith, proclaiming the oneness of God. The mezuzah is placed on the upper third of the doorpost, on the right side as one enters.
Mikvah
A ritual pool of fresh "living" water, the mikvah is used for spiritual purification. For some Jews, married life involves laws of taharat hamishpacha (family purity), which require a wife's monthly immersion in a mikvah after menstruation before she reunites with her husband. The mikvah is used today by some brides and grooms before their wedding. Jews-by-choice traditionally visit the mikvah as part of their conversion process.
Nightly women's appointments, available by phone or online.
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No attendant on duty. Please call for an appointment.
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By appointment. Call Guila 415-610-6202.
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The Levy Family Campus welcomes the use of its mikvah for all Jewish religious and spiritual life transitions and passages.
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Nightly mikvah appointments for married women from all Jewish backgrounds. Tours available by appointment. Groups welcome. Classes for brides and beginners.
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By appointment only. Women, please call three days in advance. $20 donation requested. Extra charge for same-day appts. Men's hours: Friday and/or Erev Yom Tov mornings only; $5 donation requested.
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By appointment only, at least two days in advance. International callers, please leave an email contact.
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Marriage
Marriage within the Jewish community is packed with familial, social and religious considerations. Jewish weddings are often a joining not only of two individuals
and their families, but also of different parts of the community. Above all, a wedding is a simcha, a commandment in which the bride and groom rejoice. The main elements of a wedding are kiddushin and erusin (sanctification of betrothal), the betrothal blessing, presentation of the ring, reading of the
ketubah (marriage contract) and its presentation to the bride, recitation of the seven marriage blessings, drinking of wine to sanctify the marriage, and breaking of the glass (to remember the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem even on joyous occasions). Additional traditions are the bedeken, in which the
groom places the veil over his bride’s face, and the encircling of the groom by the bride. Although a Jewish wedding need not take place in a synagogue,
most Jews planning to marry turn to a rabbi or synagogue for some aspect of the wedding. For information about synagogues and rituals, see Chapter
4, Religious Life & Congregations.
Marriage preparation classes are offered in many branches of Jewish Family & Children’s Services, listed in Chapter 6, Social Services.
Hosts and guests can share a personalized and heartfelt event through a warm, welcoming style. Interdenominational, multicultural, traditional or nontraditional ceremonies throughout the Bay Area.
Learn More
Marriage Officiating
Also see Chapter 4, Religious Life & Congregations.
Hosts and guests can share a personalized and heartfelt event through a warm, welcoming style. Interdenominational, multicultural, traditional or nontraditional ceremonies throughout the Bay Area.
Learn More
Divorce
Couples contemplating divorce are urged to consult with a rabbi regarding the advisability of obtaining a religious divorce
in addition to a civil divorce.
The Rabbinical Court arranges for the get, the halachic divorce document, to be executed in a manner recognized as legitimate throughout the world, including by the Rabbanut in Israel.
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Death
The Jewish traditions related to death and mourning are intended to recognize death as a part of life. Burial takes place as soon after death as possible. Traditional caskets are of plain wood, embalming and viewing of the body are shunned, and flowers are discouraged. Rabbis should be consulted for specific questions about burial and mourning practices such as the observance of shiva, recitation of the Kaddish, yahrzeit observance and attending yizkor services. Funeral homes and chevra kadishas (burial societies) can also answer questions.
Counseling and support in a warm, Jewish context for those coping with grief after the death of a loved one.
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Orthodox burial society and cemetery.
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The only full-service Jewish funeral home and chevra kadisha serving the entire Jewish community for 115 years. A community-owned, not-for-profit membership organization.
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The only exclusively Jewish cemetery in the East Bay serving all denominations. Affiliated, unaffiliated and intermarried all welcome.
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Historic cemetery in the Piedmont-Oakland area serving the entire Jewish community. Burial, cremation and mausoleum options. In the midst of a major renovation. Helpful information provided on pre-need or at-need services.
Learn More
Orthodox cemetery and burial society administered by Beth Jacob Congregation.
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Endowed-care cemetery developed in 1868 with a romantic past and a park-like setting. Many of Hayward’s best-known and remembered pioneer families are buried here including the city’s founder, William Hayward.
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Guidance and spiritual support provided by clergy who counsels the family to find a meaningful observance for them when a loved one dies; ritual cleansing provided by the Chevra Kadisha group.
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Consecrated cemetery owned by Congregation Beth Israel.
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Burials take place in one of two attractive cemeteries: Home of Peace Cemetery on Meder Street or Beit Olam Cemetery in Soquel.
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Oldest Jewish cemetery in Sonoma County dating back to 1868. Includes an interfaith section; call for details.
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Oversees seven pioneer cemeteries in the California Gold Country dating to the 1850's: Sonora, Mokelumne Hill, Jackson, Placerville, Nevada City, Grass Valley and Marysville.
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To Honor the Dead and Strengthen the Living~
Community-based, the Chevra Kadisha is available to all Sonoma County Jews, regardless of affiliation or level of Jewish observance.
Learn More
Natural burial at Fernwood uses no embalming, no grave liners or vaults. A simple, dignified burial in a shroud or plain wood box.
Learn More
Picturesque Jewish cemetery in Marin County serving affiliated and non-affiliated Jews who want to be buried in an all-inclusive Jewish cemetery.
Learn More
North Bay cemetery is located in the scenic 160-year-old St. Helena Cemetery. Community cemetery open to Jews and their families regardless of affiliation.
Learn More
Nature's beauty provides a tranquil resting place.
Learn More
Weekend for bereaved individuals and all types of families to explore tools and techniques to help mourners. Co-sponsored by Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, Jewish LearningWorks and Sinai Memorial Chapel.
Learn More
Comprehensive grief and bereavement services for those coping with loss, including individual counseling, grief support groups, and information and referrals.
Learn More
Compassionate and professional grief support. Personalized outreach and aftercare for mourners, community education and consultation. Services provided free of charge.
Learn More
Attractively landscaped memorial garden located in San Jose is preserved as sacred ground. Offers Jewish burial sites and pastoral solitude to mourners.
Learn More
Volunteers prepare any Jewish deceased in the South Bay for burial at request of family. Tax-deductible donations help cover expenses and funerals for indigent Jews.
Learn More
Newly expanded and landscaped cemetery serving the needs of the South Bay Jewish community. Unaffiliated welcome. Single and double-depth burials, cremation options. Natural setting.
Learn More
Serving the Jewish community of the Peninsula. One of Northern California's most picturesque memorial parks, overlooking the coastal hills. Maintained by Peninsula Temple Beth El.
Learn More
Jewish-owned cemetery, mausoleum and columbarium, serving the entire Jewish community since 1853.
Learn More
Honoring the Jewish community's traditions with attractive, affordable space available in Shalom Garden. Burial, cremation and a wide variety of permanent memorialization options available.
Learn More
The only full-service Jewish funeral home and chevra kadisha serving the entire Jewish community for over 118 years. Community-owned, not-for-profit membership organization.
Learn More
Granite and marble memorials. Bronze plaques. Cemetery lettering, cleaning and repairing.
Learn More
Serves the entire Jewish community, offering burial to all religious streams, the unaffiliated and the intermarried. Dedicated Orthodox section.
Learn More
Serving the Bay Area's Jewish community since 1850.
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Serving the Bay Area's Jewish community since 1850.
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Serving the Bay Area's Jewish community since 1877.
Learn More
The only full-service Jewish funeral home and chevra kadisha serving the entire Jewish community for 114 years. Community-owned, not-for-profit membership organization.
Learn More
Cemetery in beautiful Pleasant Hills Memorial Park in Sebastopol. Available to entire Jewish community: members and non-members, Jewish or non-Jewish spouses and family members. Sites for both full-body and cremated remains.
Learn More
Cemeteries
The only exclusively Jewish cemetery in the East Bay serving all denominations. Affiliated, unaffiliated and intermarried all welcome.
Learn More
Historic cemetery in the Piedmont-Oakland area serving the entire Jewish community. Burial, cremation and mausoleum options. In the midst of a major renovation. Helpful information provided on pre-need or at-need services.
Learn More
Orthodox cemetery and burial society administered by Beth Jacob Congregation.
Learn More
Endowed-care cemetery developed in 1868 with a romantic past and a park-like setting. Many of Hayward’s best-known and remembered pioneer families are buried here including the city’s founder, William Hayward.
Learn More
Consecrated cemetery owned by Congregation Beth Israel.
Learn More
Burials take place in one of two attractive cemeteries: Home of Peace Cemetery on Meder Street or Beit Olam Cemetery in Soquel.
Learn More
Oldest Jewish cemetery in Sonoma County dating back to 1868. Includes an interfaith section; call for details.
Learn More
Oversees seven pioneer cemeteries in the California Gold Country dating to the 1850's: Sonora, Mokelumne Hill, Jackson, Placerville, Nevada City, Grass Valley and Marysville.
Learn More
Natural burial at Fernwood uses no embalming, no grave liners or vaults. A simple, dignified burial in a shroud or plain wood box.
Learn More
Picturesque Jewish cemetery in Marin County serving affiliated and non-affiliated Jews who want to be buried in an all-inclusive Jewish cemetery.
Learn More
North Bay cemetery is located in the scenic 160-year-old St. Helena Cemetery. Community cemetery open to Jews and their families regardless of affiliation.
Learn More
Nature's beauty provides a tranquil resting place.
Learn More
Attractively landscaped memorial garden located in San Jose is preserved as sacred ground. Offers Jewish burial sites and pastoral solitude to mourners.
Learn More
Newly expanded and landscaped cemetery serving the needs of the South Bay Jewish community. Unaffiliated welcome. Single and double-depth burials, cremation options. Natural setting.
Learn More
Serving the Jewish community of the Peninsula. One of Northern California's most picturesque memorial parks, overlooking the coastal hills. Maintained by Peninsula Temple Beth El.
Learn More
Jewish-owned cemetery, mausoleum and columbarium, serving the entire Jewish community since 1853.
Learn More
Honoring the Jewish community's traditions with attractive, affordable space available in Shalom Garden. Burial, cremation and a wide variety of permanent memorialization options available.
Learn More
Serves the entire Jewish community, offering burial to all religious streams, the unaffiliated and the intermarried. Dedicated Orthodox section.
Learn More
Serving the Bay Area's Jewish community since 1850.
Learn More
Serving the Bay Area's Jewish community since 1850.
Learn More
Serving the Bay Area's Jewish community since 1877.
Learn More
Cemetery in beautiful Pleasant Hills Memorial Park in Sebastopol. Available to entire Jewish community: members and non-members, Jewish or non-Jewish spouses and family members. Sites for both full-body and cremated remains.
Learn More
Bereavement
Counseling and support in a warm, Jewish context for those coping with grief after the death of a loved one.
Learn More
Weekend for bereaved individuals and all types of families to explore tools and techniques to help mourners. Co-sponsored by Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, Jewish LearningWorks and Sinai Memorial Chapel.
Learn More
Comprehensive grief and bereavement services for those coping with loss, including individual counseling, grief support groups, and information and referrals.
Learn More
Compassionate and professional grief support. Personalized outreach and aftercare for mourners, community education and consultation. Services provided free of charge.
Learn More
Funerals
Orthodox burial society and cemetery.
Learn More
The only full-service Jewish funeral home and chevra kadisha serving the entire Jewish community for 115 years. A community-owned, not-for-profit membership organization.
Learn More
Guidance and spiritual support provided by clergy who counsels the family to find a meaningful observance for them when a loved one dies; ritual cleansing provided by the Chevra Kadisha group.
Learn More
To Honor the Dead and Strengthen the Living~
Community-based, the Chevra Kadisha is available to all Sonoma County Jews, regardless of affiliation or level of Jewish observance.
Learn More
Volunteers prepare any Jewish deceased in the South Bay for burial at request of family. Tax-deductible donations help cover expenses and funerals for indigent Jews.
Learn More
The only full-service Jewish funeral home and chevra kadisha serving the entire Jewish community for over 118 years. Community-owned, not-for-profit membership organization.
Learn More
The only full-service Jewish funeral home and chevra kadisha serving the entire Jewish community for 114 years. Community-owned, not-for-profit membership organization.
Learn More
Monuments
Granite and marble memorials. Bronze plaques. Cemetery lettering, cleaning and repairing.
Learn More
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