Yes, this is a baby lying on the Torah! Isn’t she beautiful!! Her name is Brielle and she is two months old in this picture. She recently attended her first Friday evening service, (outside her mother’s tummy that is!)  and we were all blessed to welcome her into our Shirat Shalom family!

 

Rabbi David and I knew that we would be calling up the baby and parents for a special blessing but we didn’t have a plan to place her on the Torah.  Our tradition dictates that we don’t even touch the Hebrew letters with our hands. So to put a baby on the sacred scroll?

 But it seems G-d had other ideas. You see several times throughout the day I was shown the same vision. You probably can guess what it is! Yes, the baby on the Torah! Each time I thought I would speak to Rabbi David about this. But you know how these things go… I would get involved with my activities and would forget.

 In the evening when the parents brought Baby Brielle into the sanctuary I could feel the energy in the whole room change. “Wow!” I thought!  “This baby is pretty powerful!” I was again shown the vision of the baby on the Torah.  I knew I needed to give this message to Rabbi David but we were just about to begin the service.

 When we called up the parents and the baby for a special blessing it seems G-d gave Rabbi David the same message! As soon as he put the baby on the Torah, I began to cry.... I looked out in the room and it felt as though time had stopped.... There were tears streaming down faces, smiles of love, looks of wonder…I could feel the power of this baby, that every heart was being pierced open!  

 Afterwards there were a couple of people with questions such as, “Weren’t you worried that the baby would soil her diaper while on the Torah!”  I just smiled and answered, “No, I knew G-d wanted us to do this.  I had absolutely no worries!”

 I asked Rabbi David later why he put the baby on the Torah. He answered, “We have talked about this many times. You know I am often told to say or do things…”

 Baby Brielle will be receiving her Hebrew name soon, Shoshana Bracha. Shoshana means Rose and Bracha means Blessing.  Her English name, Brielle is actually a shortened form of Gabrielle, who is one of the archangels. Gabrielle in Hebrew means G-d is my strength. Perhaps that explains the power Baby Brielle has.

 What a gift for all of us to have this beautiful Rose as a Blessing in our lives! And now in Shirat Shalom we also have a new tradition for welcoming babies!

 May we all be strengthened by the power of our traditions, and may we continue to create new ones…