Lifecyle Events

Weddings

Contact us for your Simchas (joyous occasions) to officiate at your wedding celebrations and help you design the perfect memorable and spiritual Jewish ceremony.

B’nai/B’not Mitzvah

Congregation P’nai Tikvah welcomes you or your child’s journey of becoming a full-fledged member of our community through the ritual of B’nai/B’not Mitzvah. Classes and tutoring are available along with assistance in planning a memorable celebration.

Brit Milah and B’not Simchah

Welcoming your new little one into your family and into our community is a special joy for Congregation P’nai Tikvah! We are happy to provide meaningful guidance and support for the special Jewish rituals that celebrate the birth of that new addition to your family.

Chanukkat Bayit

Mazel tov on your move into your new home or apartment. Chanukkat Bayit – the dedication of your home, is a wonderful ceremonial celebration in which the mezzuzah (parchment scroll containing the Shema) is affixed to the doorpost and blessings are expressed. Call us to lead and preside at this happy occasion along with invited friends.

Funerals & Yahrzeits

During your times of sadness, Congregation P’nai Tikvah clergy and lay leaders are here to support you through your grieving process.

Interfaith Participation

Congregation P’nai Tikvah welcomes all who wish to participate in Jewish life. We welcome interfaith families and support those who make efforts to create Jewish home environments for themselves and their children. Such non-Jews are viewed as gerei–toshav, the biblical category of resident aliens who enjoy virtually all rights of Jews, although they are not quite part of the Jewish people.

Congregation P’nai Tikvah encourages its non-Jewish members to participate actively within our congregation’s religious, social, educational, and organizational life. Where Jewish rituals are observed, non-Jews may participate as fully as desired. When the tradition limits the non-Jews’ involvement, the community will seek ways of involving them through alternative practices.

Gay & Lesbian Jews

Congregation P’nai Tikvah welcomes all Jews, regardless of sexual orientation, as full participants in the religious practices of the congregation. Same gender couples who adopt or give birth to children are encouraged to bring their children into the Jewish covenant through public rites of Brit Milah for boys, Simchat Bat for girls, and public covenant ceremonies during Shabbat service for both boys and girls. In the same way that heterosexual couples may seek to celebrate milestones in their married life by a joint aliyah, we welcome similar life passage rituals for same-sex couples.

We welcome same-gender couples to sanctify their union. Our Congregation recognizes the universality of love and the creation of all people in God’s image. As with heterosexual couples, our clergy offers pre-marital counseling and joyfully officiates at same-gender unions. A same-gender couple is entitled to the same access to all congregational resources made available to heterosexual couples getting married or for any other life-cycle event.