The B'rit Shalom naming ceremony

On his 8th day of life, we held a B'rit Shalom (covenant of peace) Jewish naming ceremony for Mateo at our house. The same rabbi who married us presided over the ceremony, which was attended by a small group of close friends and family. His Hebrew name is:

Matityahu Nadav
Son of Yishai Akiva and Anita Maria
Born on the 19th of Elul 5767

During the ceremony, Jesse and Anita read letters to little Matityahu, and here are a few excerpts:

Today, on the eighth day of your life, we have gathered together here in our home to bless you as you enter into a sacred covenant with God. Your Hebrew name Matityahu, means “gift from God”, and what an incredible gift you are to us all. I send my sincere thanks out to that infinite presence we call “Adonai”, whose powerful and mysterious guiding force weaves together all things in this vast universe, living and non-living, in a masterfully crafted fabric of balance and harmony.

Your middle name, Nadav, means “generous”, and we will raise you to be a kind and caring person, who goes out of his way to help those in need, to share his good fortunes, and to practice and live the values of “tikkun olam”, striving to help repair the world by working to protect and heal the fragile environment in which we live and working to bring social justice where it is lacking...

...We love you so very much, and we want you to know that we will always protect you and never do anything to inflict unnecessary harm upon you. We have thus chosen to bring you into this sacred covenant with love, and not pain, leaving your perfect little body exactly as it was intended to be, so exquisitely crafted, with every tiny part fulfilling its designated function. We do not believe that your entry into this holy covenant requires any physical alteration of your precious little body, but rather only a spiritual commitment to raise you in accordance with Jewish values, teaching you the customs and traditions of your ancestors, many of whom went through great hardships and persecution in order to practice their beliefs and pass them along to their children...

...You are wrapped in the chuppah under which we began our life journey together, and now we welcome you to join that road with us. You begin your life with us carrying you down this road, but soon you will be crawling and then walking on it. We want you to know that we will always be here to hold your hand on the journey. We love you.