One of the great surprises for me after my niece converted to Judaism and married a great Jewish guy was how much I enjoy being invited to participate in celebrations with her new family.

Today was a baby naming service at her shul.  It was a long service being part of Shabbat.  There were many things I didn’t understand and many things that felt ritualistic as well.  In the midst of it though it seems like the divisons between sacred and secular are not the same as in my evangelical Christian culture.  At her wedding blessing were said throughout the reception. We tend to have the religious service and then the reception after the ‘religious’ part is over.

Today at the meal following the service people would grab a piece of bread and just pray a special blessing with someone or on their own and then eat.  It happens without missing a beat.

The service itself had an informality with the formality.  Lots of greeting when people arrived (and people seemed to arrive all the way through it). Lots of talking back and forth and turning around to look at other people, etc.

What I really loved though was how the whole family is involved.  During the baby naming (our equivalent to a baby dedication) all the other children in the family are present and even the grandparents are up at the front with this group of people who are singing and praying together.  After the name is pronounced the whole congregation sings Mazel Tov!

Maybe it is just because it is so different from what I’m used to but at every Jewish meal or wedding I’m invited to I leave with an understanding of how special this culture is and how important family is within it.  The next time we have a baby dedication at our church I’d like to see all the friends and family up at the front – not just the parents.  And then how about a little back slapping and cheering after?  Let’s try and blur those lines between the sacred and secular.