Welcoming our twin son and daughter into the Covenant This slideshow will play itself – no need to click. Enjoy!

Welcoming Saul and Mira We strove to welcome our boy/girl twins into the Covenant in an egalitarian, expert, and authentic manner Melissa Puius 2014

Egalitarianism was achieved by designing a ritual for Mira that paralleled Sauls Brit Milah (or, as it worked out, Hatafat Dam Brit). Melissa Puius 2014 Welcoming Saul and Mira

Expertise was demonstrated by calling upon the strengths of the participants (parents are a cantorial student and a physician), and by creating excellent materials for participants and guestsparticipantsguests Melissa Puius 2014 Welcoming Saul and Mira

Jewish Authenticity was achieved by maintaining traditional rituals, innovating in those places where there is no prescribed tradition, and grounding those innovations upon text and precedent Personal Authenticity was achieved by selecting rituals that are meaningful to our family Melissa Puius 2014 Welcoming Saul and Mira

Ceremony Structure Welcome and Entrance Grandparents' Reading Mira's Ritual Miriam's Chair Text – Ezekiel 16:8-12 Foot Washing K'riyat Shem About her name Saul's Ritual Elijah's Chair Hatafat Dam Brit Kiddush K'riyat Shem About his name Birkat HaGomel Parents' Blessings Melissa Puius 2014

Miras Ritual: Miriams Chair We chose to set out chairs for both Elijah and Miriam. Elijahs chair was draped with Yorams talit Miriams was draped with Melissas talit. Melissa Puius 2014

Jewish Authenticity: Invoking Miriam along with Elijah has become common at other times of transition, such as the Passover Seder and Havdalah Melissa Puius 2014 Miras Ritual: Miriams Chair

Personal Authenticity: Melissas Hebrew name is Miriam Batsheva. Yorams Hebrew name is Eliyahu Aharon. (Yes, this is confusing, as Yoram is a Hebrew name.) Melissa Puius 2014 Miras Ritual: Miriams Chair

Miras Ritual: Foot-Washing We chose to do a ritual foot-washing for Mira, using a mixture of water from our respective hometowns, from our current town, and from the Mira River in Nova Scotia, Canada Note on the pronunciation of Mira Melissa Puius 2014 Sounds like clear-cut m ɪ r ə Sounds like spiral majr ə

Miras Ritual: Foot-Washing We chose to do a ritual foot-washing for Mira, using a mixture of water from our respective hometowns, from our current town, and from the Mira River in Nova Scotia, Canada Jewish Authenticity Abraham washed the feet of the visiting angels who announced the future birth of Isaac Leviim washed the feet of the Kohanim in Temple times The mixing of waters is reminiscent of building a chuppah from trees planted at time of birth Melissa Puius 2014

We chose to do a ritual foot-washing for Mira, using a mixture of water from our respective hometowns, from our current town, and from the Mira River in Nova Scotia, Canada Personal Authenticity: Melissa is a bat Levi Miras maternal Great-Great-Great-Grandparents, Abraham and Reza Leah Mirkin, left Lithuania and settled in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, along the Mira River. We were inspired by a ceremony at a friends Catholic wedding, where they drank from a Native American Wedding Vase containing water from the bride and grooms homes. Melissa Puius 2014 Miras Ritual: Foot-Washing

Miras Ritual: Ezekiel 16:8-12 Rather than including a Kiddush both here and during Sauls ritual, we decided to use an alternative text, Ezekiel 16:8-12. These verses appear amidst a cursing of Jerusalem, which is described as a maiden who turns to harlotry. They are, however, quite lovely out of context... Melissa Puius 2014

Miras Ritual: Ezekiel 16:8-12 ח וָאֶעֱבֹר עָלַיִךְ וָאֶרְאֵךְ, וְהִנֵּה עִתֵּךְ עֵת דֹּדִים, וָאֶפְרֹשׂ כְּנָפִי עָלַיִךְ, וָאֲכַסֶּה עֶרְוָתֵךְ ; וָאֶשָּׁבַע לָךְ וָאָבוֹא בִבְרִית אֹתָךְ, נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה -- וַתִּהְיִי - לִי. 8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and, behold, thy time was the time of love, I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; yea, I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest Mine. ט וָאֶרְחָצֵךְ בַּמַּיִם, וָאֶשְׁטֹף דָּמַיִךְ מֵעָלָיִךְ ; וָאֲסֻכֵךְ, בַּשָּׁמֶן. 9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I cleansed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. י וָאַלְבִּישֵׁךְ רִקְמָה, וָאֶנְעֲלֵךְ תָּחַשׁ ; וָאֶחְבְּשֵׁךְ בַּשֵּׁשׁ, וַאֲכַסֵּךְ מֶשִׁי. 10 I clothed thee also with richly woven work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I wound fine linen about thy head, and covered thee with silk. יא וָאֶעְדֵּךְ, עֶדִי ; וָאֶתְּנָה צְמִידִים עַל - יָדַיִךְ, וְרָבִיד עַל - גְּרוֹנֵךְ. 11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. יב וָאֶתֵּן נֶזֶם, עַל - אַפֵּךְ, וַעֲגִילִים, עַל - אָזְנָיִךְ ; וַעֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת, בְּרֹאשֵׁךְ. 12 And I put a ring upon thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. Melissa Puius 2014

Jewish Authenticity: A precedent for using this text for a covenantal ceremony is the inclusion of Ezekiel 16:6 in the traditional liturgy for Brit Milah. That verse is also taken out of context for liturgical purposes. Ezekiel 16:6-7 is also used as a proof text in the Passover Haggadah, however the verses appear inverted (16:7, then 16:6). Again, a precedent for selective editing. Miras Ritual: Ezekiel 16:8-12 Melissa Puius 2014

Personal Authenticity: Melissa (a cantorial student) wanted to use a text that could be chanted in either trop or nusach. As Ezekiel is a prophetic text, Haftarah trop was appropriate. Keeping in mind the need for accessibility to our guests, Melissa chanted just the first verse in Hebrew, and the remainder in English. Miras Ritual: Ezekiel 16:8-12 Melissa Puius 2014

Miras Ritual: Ezekiel 16:8-12 Melissa Puius 2014

Sauls Ritual: Hatafat Dam Brit Because Saul was so small at birth, we were not able to have him circumcised at a traditional brit milah. We chose to have Saul circumcised at the hospital as soon as his health permitted, with the intention of later performing a hatafat dam brit. As we were planning our Simchat Brit, with an eye toward both Jewish and personal authenticity, Yoram (a physician) decided to perform this mitzvah himself. Melissa Puius 2014

About This Presentation Much of the material in this slideshow was originally presented at a Hebrew College School of Jewish Music Community Meeting on April 27, Please contact Cantor Melissa Puius with any questions or comments cantormelissa.wordpress.com Melissa Puius 2014