Life Cycle Events

Kol Shalom celebrates all stages of the Jewish life cycle and provides religious direction and services for the events listed above and others. If you will be celebrating a life cycle event or commemorating a loved one, please send an email to the synagogue office so that we can provide support and help guide you through your life cycle event.

B’nai Mitzvah

B'nai Mitzvah celebrations are a treasured part of the Jewish life cycle. Our students work with the Rabbi and our Hebrew school teachers to prepare them for this most important event. Students who have completed the required course of study in our Hebrew School are called to the Torah for Aliyah, participate extensively in the service and prepare to accept the commandments of the Torah.

Brit Milah – Baby Naming

The birth of a child is a blessing and a miracle of life. The addition of a newborn child into one’s family can be celebrated with a brit milah for boys and a baby naming for girls. The Rabbi will provide guidance and assistance with planning the ceremony and sacraments that are included in these life cycle events.

Weddings

For couples engaged to be married, they can celebrate with an Auf Ruf a sometime before or after their wedding day. The groom and/or bride receive an aliyah, and both will receive a blessing by the Rabbi. This is a wonderful ceremony that can be shared with family and friends as an expression of the couple's devotion to each other.

Bereavement

Kol Shalom offers its members spiritual support in times of bereavement. Traditionally, the preparation of the dead for burial is considered one of the most sacred obligations any Jewish community can take upon itself. Kol Shalom has established both a traditional burial society and a cemetery. The burial society consists of members of the synagogue who form a Hevra Kadisha, a Sacred Society that serves bereaved families as they prepare for the burial of a late family member. The Hevra Kadisha performs these duties through a deep and abiding desire to serve our congregants in their time of need.

Hillcrest Memorial Gardens is a small Jewish cemetery located off of Forest Drive in Annapolis, Maryland that serves members of Kol Shalom. Please email the synagogue office if you would like more information regarding the availability and purchase of cemetery plots.