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Zeved habat (Hebrew:זֶבֶד הַבָּת -Gift of the Daughter) orSimchat Bat (Hebrew:שמחת בת -Celebration of the Daughter)[2] is theJewishnaming ceremony fornewborngirls.[1][3] The details of the celebration varies somewhat by Jewish community and will typically feature the recitation of specific biblical verses and a prayer to announce the name of the newborn child.
The ceremony is also known by other names includingFadas,[4][5]Brit Bat (Hebrew:ברית בת - "Covenant of the Daughter")[2] orBrit Kedusha (Hebrew:ברית קדושה - "Covenant of Holiness").[6] A medieval naming ceremony for girls, according to the custom of some medieval Ashkenazi communities, was known as aHollekreisch (Yiddish:חול-קרייש),[7][8][9] orShabbat Hayoledet ("Sabbath of the Birth Mother").[10]
The practice ofZeved Habat is recorded as a custom ofSephardi andMizrahi Jews in various communities[11][12] includingMoroccan Jews,[13]Syrian Jews,[13] theSephardic community in England[14] and ofCochin Jews of India.[15] The ceremony is listed in a book of prayers published in 1687 associated with thePortugueseJews of Amsterdam.[1]
In the mid-20th century, following the development of theHavurah movement and the rise ofJewish feminism, American Jews took a renewed interest in both new and traditional ceremonies for welcoming baby girls.[16][2] For American Jews who did not previously maintain the tradition of a naming ceremony for newborn girls, one strategy has been to recover older Jewish traditions to meet the present ritual needs of the community.[17] It is likely that the first such ceremony to be formulated for Jews outside of the Sephardi and Mizrahi communities was a ceremony developed by rabbis inReconstructionist Judaism in the 1970s. However, in the 1970s and 1980s, other American Jews from various denominations, including individual Orthodox families, also formulated various ceremonies often referred to as aSimchat Bat. At the same time, some Orthodox scholars, includingMoshe Meiselman andJudith Bleich, raised opposition to new ceremonies, while RabbiShlomo Riskin at theLincoln Square Synagogue supported the incorporation of the ceremony as Orthodox custom.[2] In the case of Anglo-speaking Orthodox communities, a modified version of theZeved Habat ceremony has been added to established Orthodox prayerbooks (alongside the standard Ashkenazimi sheberach) since the early 2000s with the support of UK Chief RabbiJonathan Sacks.[2][18]
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In Jewish legal literature, theZeved Habat event is cited as either taking place in the synagogue[13] during the Torah reading of the Shabbat service, when the father receives analiya, or the ceremony may take place at the home[13][14] in the course of a festive meal.[19] Some Jewish communities have the custom of waiting until the mother has recovered and can enter the synagogue for the ceremony to take place.[14] The event is also treated as an appropriate occasion for the mother of the newborn to recite the traditional blessing of thanksgiving, known asHagomel.[20] Some Jews have the custom to hold theZeved Habat ceremony on the first Shabbat from the birth.[3] The Hebrew wordzeved is understood to be a somewhat rare word and appears just once in thePentateuch inGenesis 30:20[21] whereLeah offers thanks to God for the birth ofZebulon. The Hebrew word used in the verse may mean "gift" or "dwelling".[22][14]
The custom is for a verse fromSong of Songs2:14 to be recited. And if the newborn is also the firstborn child, the custom is for an added verse of Song of Songs6:9 to be recited. Following this recitation, aMi sheberakh blessing is recited (see text below) which includes the namegiving prayer.[22][14] Some communities maintain the custom that the rabbi holds the newborn while reciting the verse(s) from Song of Songs.[3]
In this ceremony, aMi sheberakh prayer (below) is used to announce the name of the child. The wording to the prayer varies somewhat by Jewish community. For some, the prayer begins withMi sheberakh imoteinu hakedoshot ("The one Who blesses our Holy Mothers"). Additionally, the prayer ends with added verses relating to the matriarchRebekah.[3] Other versions include the phrasev'kol hakehilot hakedushot v'hatehorot ("and all the holy and pure congregations") following the mention of the prophetesses. Additionally, some editions specify that the child be named with mention of her mother's name ([name of the newborn] bat [name of the mother]).[22]
In some versions, the wordsimoteinu ("our mothers") andbeYisrael ("in Israel") are omitted. In other versions, such as those from theMoroccan Jewish community, they are included.[citation needed]
מִישֶׁבֵּרַךְאִמּוֹתֵינוּשָׂרָהוְרִבְקָה.רָחֵלוְלֵאָה.וּמִרְיָםהַנְּבִיאָהוַאֲבִיגַיִל.וְאֶסְתֵּרהַמַּלְכָּהבַּתאֲבִיחַיִל.הוּאיְבָרֵךְאֶתהַיַּלְדָּההַנְּעִימָההַזּאת.וְיִקָּרֵאשְׁמָהּבְּיִשְׂרָאֵלפלונית.בְּמַזַּלטוֹבוּבְשַׁעַתבְּרָכָה.וִיגַדְּלֶהָבִּבְרִיאוּתשָׁלוֹםוּמְנוּחָה.וִיזַכֶּהלְאָבִיהָוּלְאִמָּהּלִרְאוֹתבְּשִׂמְחָתָהּוּבְחֻפָּתָהּ.בְּבָנִיםזְכָרִים.עשֶׁרוְכָבוֹד.דְּשֵׁנִיםוְרַעֲנַנִּיםיְנוּבוּןבְּשֵׂיבָה.וְכֵןיְהִירָצוֹןוְנאמַראָמֵן׃
In theSephardi community, theZeved habat is usually celebrated within the first month of the birth. It is held privately in thesynagogue or at a party at home. It is often led by theḥakhám (rabbinic sage) orhazzan (cantor).[citation needed]
One custom is for the following to be recited:
הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת אֲבִי הַיַּלְדָה וְאִמָּהּ, וְיִזְכּוּ לְגַדְּלָהּ וּלְחַנְּכָהּ וּלְחַכְּמָהּ,לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת לְכָל עַמָּהּ וִיהִי אֲדֹנָ-י אֱ-לֹהֶיהַָ עִמָּהּ.הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַרַכָּה וְהַעֲדִינָה, וְיִהְיוּ יָדֵֶיהָ וְלִבָּהּ לָאֵ-ל אֱמוּנָה,וְתִזְכֶּה לִרְאוֹת פְּנֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה, בְּשׁוּבְךָ לְצִיּוֹן בְּרִנָּה.הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַקְּהִלָּה אֲשֶׁר שָׂשׂוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה בְגִילָה,וִישַׁלֵּם פָּעֳלָם וּמַשְׂכֻּרְתָּם כְּפוּלָה, וְיִתְּנֵם לְמַעְלָה לְמָעְלָה.הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יִגְאָלֵנוּ גְאֻלַּת עוֹלָמִים, בִּזְכוּת שׁוֹמְרֵי בְרִיתוֹ הוֹלְכֵי תָמִים,וִיְבַשֵּׂר בְּשׂוֹרוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְנִחוּמִים, לְעַם אֶחָד מְפֻזָּר וּמְפֹרָד בֵּין הָעַמִּים.הָרַחֲמָן אֲשֶׁר כּוֹנֵן צַעֲדֵנוּ עַד הֲלוֹם, יְקַדֵשׁ בָּנוּ אֶת שְׁמוֹ אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵילוֹם,וְיַאֵר אֲלֵינוּ כַּשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְיָהֲלוֹם, בְּרִיתוֹ תִהְיֶה אִתָּנוּ, הַחַיִּים וְהַשָּׁלוֹם.
One custom is for the father of the newborn to recite a Hebrew poem which begins withAyuma marayich hareini.[19]
אֲיֻמָּה מַרְאַיִךְ הַרְאִינִי וְנֹעַם קוֹלֵךְ הַשְׁמִיעִינִיבְּעֵינַיִךְ לִבַּבְתִּינִי פִּתְחִי לִי אֲחוֹתִי כַלָּהאֲיֻמָּה רַעְיָתִי יָפָתִי אַחַת הִיא יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִיבּוֹאִי נָא אֶל חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי אִתִּי מִלְּבָנוֹן כַּלָּהאֲיֻמָּה דִמִּיתִיךְ לְתָמָר חִכֵּךְ כְּיֵין טוֹב הַמְשֻׁמָּרטַעְמוֹ וְרֵיחוֹ לֹא נָמַר גַּן נָעוּל אֲחוֹתִי כַלָּהאֲיֻמָּה כַּחַמָּה בָרָה רָחוֹק מִפְּנִינִים מִכְרָהּחוּשִׁי נָא קוּמִי בִּמְהֵרָה נָשִׂישׂ כִּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּהאֲיֻמָּה יָפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ מַה טּוֹבוּ מִיַּיִן דּוֹדַיִךְכִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים שָׁדַיִךְ צוּף דְּבַשׁ שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ כַּלָּה
A common element of the ceremony is the birth mother's thanksgiving for following the birth. The blesing recited is known asBirkat HaGomel ("Blessing of Deliverance").[20]
The mother recites:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַגּוֹמֵל לְחַיָּבִים טוֹבוֹת שֶׁגְּמָלַנִי כָּל טוֹב
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and who has rewarded me with goodness.
To which the congregation responds:
מִי שֶׁגְּמָלֵךְ כֹּל טוֹב הוּא יִגְמָלֵךְ כֹּל טוֹב סֶלָה
May he who rewarded you with all goodness reward you with all goodness for ever.
Others include a recitation ofPsalm 128, and thePriestly Blessing (Birkat kohanim).[citation needed]
The original Ashkenazi practice does not include aZeved Habat ceremony and instead involves a minor prayer for name giving. However, in the 20th Century, theZeved Habat ceremony, often renamed as a Simchat Bat ceremony has become accepted in various Ashkenazi communities.
Many Ashkenazi communities use a prayer for the health of a mother and newborn, recited by someone called up to read from the Torah scroll, as an opportunity to name a baby girl.[24] According to theChabadHasidic custom, it is preferable for the newborn girl to be named at the earliest possible Torah reading in the synagogue (whether on Monday, Thursday, Shabbat or other day which include a public Torah reading), however, other customs are also cited such as those who wait until the Shabbat when a greater celebration may occur and the Sephardi custom ofZeved Habat.[25] According to RabbiShlomo Ganzfried (1804-1886), in terms of thealiyah for the father of a newborn girl, preference is given to the one whose wife (the mother of the newborn) comes to the synagogue.[26]
The Ashkenzmi sheberach includes the following:
The contemporarySimchat Bat ceremony has become an accepted custom amongmodern-Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazi background as an adaptation of theZeved Habat ritual. The uniqueness of the ceremony is that it may be presented as non-traditional and female-focused, in which women play a role alongside men. One possibility for this acceptance of theSimchat Bat in modern Orthodox Judaism is that it is a ceremony with no major Jewish legalistic (halakhic) implications and which does not intrude upon male ritual space. In the modern Orthodox ceremony, a number of additional elements are added to the traditionalZeved Habat ceremony including the public sharing of a Torah lesson (dvar Torah) often by the parent or a friend, readings about female biblical figures, and an explanation of the name chosen for the newborn. The child may also be given both an ‘English’ and a ‘Jewish’ name (either a Hebrew or Yiddish name). Additionally, in theSimchat Bat ceremony, there is greater opportunity for women (such as the birth mother) to participate in the ceremony ritual.[18]
ASimchat Bat celebration may consist of a communal welcoming, a naming done over a cup of wine with the quotation of appropriate Biblical verses, and traditional blessings.[citation needed] In theAshkenazi community,name ceremonies for newborn girls were not widespread[citation needed] and often limited to the father announcing the baby's name in the synagogue on theShabbat, Monday, Thursday or other occasion when theTorah would beread following the birth. Sometimes akiddush will be held at the synagogue for family and friends. Although ceremonies can be found in Ashkenazic sources. RabbiYacov Emden includes a text in his famous prayer book.[specify]
In medieval times, girls were named duringshavua habat (lit. 'week of the daughter').[clarification needed] In early German Jewish communities, a baby naming ceremony was developed for both girls and boys called aHollekreisch[27] (possibly meaning 'secular shout',[28] or relating to the mythicalFrau Holle[8]), in which the infant's crib was raised and the newborn received their secular names.[8][7] The date of the ritual varied, either on the first Shabbat following the birth when the mother of the newborn could visit the synagogue (known asShabbat Hayoledet), or the fourth Shabbat from the date of the birth.[10] The ritual took place after Shabbat lunch. The babies were dressed up, and boys were draped in atallit. The book ofVayikra (Leviticus) was placed in the crib. The crib would then be lifted up and the following recited inGerman: "Hollekreisch! How shall the baby be called? So-and-so So-and-so So-and-so (i.e. his or her name three times)." Nuts, sweets and fruits were then distributed to the guests. The custom applied to both boys (who had already received their Hebrew names at theirbrit mila) and girls. This ceremony was widely observed in Jewish circles inGermany as early as the 14th century.[9] In the 17th century this custom was observed in naming boys and girls only inSouth Germany, while inAustria,Bohemia,Moravia andPoland it was not used for boys, and only rarely for girls.[9][clarification needed]
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