RABBI TSIPORA GABAI

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Life Cycle Rituals

Rabbi Gabai weaves a rich tapestry, combining ancient rituals and traditions with today's contributions. Bringing together both participants and guests, with song, midrash stories, good humor and wit, she makes the lifecycle rituals become life-transforming, communal, uplifting events.

Bris/Baby Naming

The Bris/Baby Naming ritual brings each child into the covenant of Abraham, the bond of our people. It is important to create each family's special link in this chain of nearly four millennia. Oftentimes, the child's name gives us special insights that make this welcoming ritual even more meaningful.  Rabbi Gabai works with the family to create a unique ceremony that also brings in relatives and friends as active participants in beginning each child's journey of Jewish life.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Rabbi Gabai believes that it is a special privilege to prepare a child for his or her entry into full, adult responsibility and participation in the community of the Jewish people. She works with each child's unique personality and needs, not only on the technical material and rituals, but more importantly on what it means to him or to her to be a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. In addition, Rabbi Gabai works with each child on the content of the Torah portion and the Haftorah reading, so that they can prepare their Drasha (sermon), bringing together commentaries of our predecessors with each child’s own, personal contribution to understanding what he or she is chanting. Together the old is joined with the new, creating a joyous celebration, bringing in family and friends to take part in welcoming the Bar or Bat Mitzvah into their new status as active, responsible adult members of the Jewish people.

Marriage

To create a unique, meaningful Marriage ceremony that melds together two lives and two families, Rabbi Gabai begins by getting to know the couple and their wishes and needs. She then joins the ancient rituals and traditions together with today's, and engages the guests as joyful participants in celebrating this new beginning created in love and commitment. Rabbi Gabai explains each part of the rituals and ceremony and uses these, along with singing, midrash stories and good humor, to fulfill the great mitzvah of "making the bride and the groom joyous" on their special day!

Rituals for the Deceased

When Rabbi Gabai works on rituals dealing with death, it is not just the rituals of burial and funeral and mourning that are the focus. The focus is the living and their anguish, bewilderment and often helplessness in the face of a loved-one's passing. Rabbi Gabai works with the family in order to understand their needs and who their loved one was, as well as to help clarify for them the first, difficult days ahead, both ritually and emotionally. She makes herself fully available to family and friends in whatever capacity is needed, doing all that is possible to help them learn to live with a loss that does not go away with time, but rather needs to find its special, quiet place within our continuing lives.
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