Baby Steps
When a Jewish baby receives a Hebrew name, what might the parents being doing?
A. Honoring a family member
B. Choosing a meaningful name
C. Both A and B
C. Both A and B.
Hebrew names may honor people, traditions, or values.
What does becoming bar or bat mitzvah mean?
A. A big party
B. Age of Jewish responsibility
C. Graduation
B. the age of Jewish responsibility
When you become bar or bat mitzvah, you are responsible for your actions and to keep the mitzvot
What is the canopy used at a Jewish wedding called?
A. Sukkah
B. Chuppah
C. Bimah
B. Chuppah
The chuppah is the canopy under which the couple stands during a Jewish wedding.
What does the Hebrew word shiva?
A. Seven
B. Thirty
C. Remember
A. Seven.
Shiva refers to the traditional seven-day mourning period following a burial.
At some Jewish weddings, a glass is broken.
At some Jewish funerals, mourners tear a piece of clothing or a ribbon.
What do these Jewish traditions have in common?
Both traditions use a physical action to express something difficult to put into words.
Breaking the glass can remind us of sorrow and loss even during a joyful celebration.
Tearing clothing or a ribbon, called keriah, expresses grief when someone dies.
What does brit mean in Hebrew?
A. Celebration
B. Covenant
C. Birthday
B. Covenant
Traditionally, at what age does a person become B'Mitzvah?
A. Everyone at 13
B. Boys at 13; girls at 12
C. Everyone at 16
B. Boys at 13, girls at 12.
But Reform communities commonly use 13 for everyone.
What is a ketubah?
A. A Jewish marriage document
B A traditional wedding cake
C. A musical instrument
A. A Jewish marriage document
The ketubah describes commitments and responsibilities within a Jewish marriage.
Which of these is an appropriate was to support someone who is sitting shiva?
A. Bring the family a meal
B. Tell them to cheer up
C. Expect them to entertain visitors
A. Bring the family a meal.
Judaism teaches us to support people who are grieving through our presence and practical help.
Which is a Jewish way to welcome a baby?
A. Brit milah
B. Brit bat or naming ceremony
C. Both
C. Both.
Jewish families use different welcoming ceremonies.
Which is required to become bat or bar mitzvah?
A. A Torah reading
B. Party
C. Reaching the correct age
C. You become bar/bat mitzvah when you turn 13.
The status comes with age, not the ceremony.
What does the chuppah symbolize?
A. the requirement that Jewish weddings take place outdoors
B. A place to hide from wedding guests
C. The new home the couple will build together
C. The new home the couple will build together.
The chuppah represents the home and shared life the couple is creating.
What is the Mourner's Kaddish?
A. A prayer associated with mourning
B. A traditional wedding prayer
C. A birthday blessing
A. A prayer associated with mourning.
Interestingly, the Mourner's Kaddish doesn't directly mention death. It praises G-d and is recited as part of Jewish mourning and remembrance.
Some Jewish families name babies after relatives. Which is true?
A. only living relatives
B. only deceased relatives
C. both
C. Both
Many Ashkenazi families honor deceased relatives; many Sephardi families honor living relatives.
At a bar or bat mitzvah service, people are called to the Torah for an aliyah. What does the Hewbrew word aliyah literally mean?
A. Blessing
B. Going Up
C. Reading
B. Going Up
An aliyah means "going up," referring to being called up to the Torah to recite the blessings. The same Hebrew word is used when someone moves to Israel.
Why is a glass traditionally broken at the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony?
A. To signal that everyone should start dancing
B. To remember the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temples, even during a joyful occasion
C. To test the couple's strength
B. To remember Jerusalem and the Temples.
One traditional interpretation is that even during our happiest moments, we remember the suffering and losses of the Jewish people.
What is a yahrzeit?
A. A wedding anniversary
B. The anniversary of someone's death
C. The anniversary of a baby's naming ceremony.
B. The anniversary of someone's death.
Many Jewish families observe a yahrzeit by lighting a memorial candle, saying Kaddish, and remembering the person who died.
At a traditional brit milah, a special chair is reserved for whom?
A. Moses
B. Elijah the Prophet
C. Abraham
B. Elijah the Prophet
A Jewish adult who have had a bat or bar mitzvah ceremony decides to have one at age 65. Is that possible?
A. No, the ceremony must happen at 12 or 13.
B. Yes, adults can celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah.
C. Only if they convert to Judaism first.
B. Yes, adults can celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah.
Some adults celebrate a bat or bar mitzvah later in life. There is even a tradition of celebrating a second bar or bat mitzvah at age 83, as the rabbis of the Talmud identifies a lifetime as 70 years.
What are the seven blessings recited during a traditional Jewish wedding called?
A. Sheva Brachot
B. Kiddush
C. Havdalah
A. Sheva Brachot
Sheva means seven, and brachot means blessings. They celebrate creation, love, companionship, and joy.
Why do Jewish visitors place small stones on graves?
A. As a sign of remembrance and respect.
B. To mark graves that need to be removed.
C. As part of a traditional game.
A. A sign of remembrance and respect.
Placing a stone is a traditional way to show that someone has visited and remembered the person buried there.