What I Do Each life-cycle event requires its own unique ceremony, but there is one common denominator - you want the individual who officiates at your ceremony to know you, as a couple or as a family. Elaine promises to do just that. To learn more about services offered, click the categories to your right. Let Elaine be a part of your life-cycle celebration. If you would like to schedule a consultation or would like to learn more, please contact Elaine today!   For your wedding: Elaine will spend time getting to know you, as individuals and as a couple. She will create a personalized wedding ceremony that will be both inspirational and meaningful. To read more about Elaine's wedding services, click here. Back to top For your same-sex wedding ceremony: Elaine will work with you in the same way that she does for all of her wedding couples, helping you create a personalized ceremony that reflects the integrity of your relationship and the depth of your love for each other. Back to top For your baby-naming or Brit Shalom: Elaine will spend time learning about you and your family and your hopes and dreams for your new child. She will create a beautiful, personalized ceremony that may include siblings and grandparents as members of your family’s circle of life. Back to top For your Bar/Bat Mitzvah: Elaine will tutor you or your child in preparation for the ceremony. Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvahs have become an important way of exploring one’s Jewish identity for those who did not have the opportunity at the traditional age of 13. As a Madrikha/Humanistic Jewish Clergy, Elaine takes a different approach to the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony and training than that of traditional rabbis. Students may or may not read from the Torah. It is their choice. But they are expected to do an in-depth study of a role model or topic of their choice, along with a community service project which is presented during their ceremony. Students need two years of Jewish study prior to their preparation for their Bar/Bat Mitzvah.. They are not required to learn Hebrew, although it is encouraged. Elaine can provide tutoring in Hebrew as well as in Judaic studies. The actual Bar or Bat Mitzvah preparation time is 9 – 12 months. Elaine will work with you, the parents, in creating a service that is personal and reflects the meaning of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony for you and your family. Back to top For your Confirmation: Elaine will tutor your teen (sixteen and older), who may or may not have had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, but wants the opportunity to explore a topic of significance to him or her at a more mature level. As with the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, your child should have at least two years of Jewish study prior to the preparation for Confirmation. Back to top For your Memorial or Graveside Service: Elaine will spend time with your family, learning about the unique qualities of the family member who has died. Working with the family, Elaine will create a service that may include members of the family who wish to speak about his/her relationship to the person who has died. The service is not a prayer service, but rather a service that honors the spirit of the deceased in all of his or her humanity. Elaine compassionately creates a service that honors the deceased and explores his/her life with dignity and integrity. Back to top For Creative Celebrations in honor of special occasions: Elaine will help you renew your vows, or create a ceremony in honor of your retirement, “The Ceremony of the Wise Person.” As we mature, life has broadened our understanding of the world we live in, given us a new appreciation for the vitality of the retired, and the recognition that we have learned much in our passage towards elderhood. Let Elaine help you reflect on that transition and create a beautiful ceremony to share with family and friends. Back to top Home | About Elaine | What I Do | Weddings | Links | Events | Contact Me

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