Connor's naming ceremony

Wow, it's been three weeks.  That's a long lag for me!   Here are lots of pics.

Shula and Mom bringing him into the chapel from the small room where we held the private bris, the circumcision ceremony itself.

From L to R: Mom, Connor, Shula, my dad Billu, the cantor, the rabbi, Jonathan, Ari with his big lip, me and Xander.

Shula and Mom were the kvatterins, bringing the baby to and from the bris, symbolizing l'dor v'dor, literally "from generation to generation."  Shula's sitting in Elijah's chair which is covered by my paternal grandfather Philip's tallit from Romania.  My dad served as sandek, who actually held Connor during the bris itself, and also during part of the naming.

Hi all!

Reading a parent blessing.

Words of wisdom from rabbi to infant.  What was funniest was that right as she was proclaiming something about God, was the moment Connor chose to let loose.  The entire congregation cracked up at the huge sound, and Rabbi Alfi turns to Connor and says, "That's a very Jewish response!"

We're the People of the Book... we read a lot.  :)

Xander lost interest and played with a toy.  Ari switched laps every five minutes.

I love her voice.

Grown-ups are boring.

At this point Jonathan shared the following words about our son's name:

This little boy has a name imbued with love.  His first name, Connor, starts with “C,” the same letter as my grandfather Charlie, who passed away six months after I was born.  Charlie was a man who was fearless, a boy who had such a passion for adventure that at the age of 16 hopped on a train from his home state of Kentucky to go join the Texas Rangers.  Known as the “Kentucky Kid,” family lore tells that he once was ambushed by the men he was chasing, was rescued and nursed back to health by a Native American, and died with 3 bullets left in his body.  He lived life to the fullest, and made the most of every moment.

He met my grandmother in a most unusual way: she had an illegitimate child, and he got to know the baby through her daycare.  He fell in love with the baby first and bought her a crib because she needed one, and only then met and fell in my love with my grandmother.  A man not afraid to show his feelings, he cried when his daughter, my mom, cut off her waist-length hair into a short bob.  And when he watched my siblings, his grandchildren, play, he would laugh and laugh, never bothered by their antics but appreciating them for who they were.

Charlie worked hard all his life, without any education, to provide for his family, and always did so with patience, generosity, and love.  He and that side of my family are all Scottish, and the name Connor means “wise” in Gaelic.  Connor’s Hebrew name is Chaim, or “life,” and Michal and I hope that Connor will be blessed with a life filled with wisdom, and that he will take after his great-grandfather’s passionate, adventurous, and loving spirit.

Then I continued:

Connor’s middle name, Merraro, is my maiden name.  My father was born in Romania, and the family had been there for generations – but the name always sounded Spanish.  The mystery was solved about ten years ago, when a Christian man from Spain contacted my father and showed him a book from the time of the Inquisition.  It listed our family name, spelled the exact same way we spell it today, next to the date 1488.   He told my father that as far as he had known, his ancestry was Christian, yet the women in his family had always lit candles on Friday night and had separate utensils for meat and other foods.

We realized that ever since 1488, our common ancestors had been secret Jews, with a few family members converting and a few others fleeing east, to Russia and then eventually to Romania.  Connor, Ari and Xander all have Merraro as their middle name so that they will forever be connected to their history.  We wish that Connor, named after his paternal great-grandfather with a middle name dating back through the centuries, will know that he never stands alone, but is a link in a very long chain of both Jewish and family tradition.

Family blessing.

The boys presenting their poster to their little brother.  Xander had written "Connor" in cursive and then decorated it.  Xander: "I wish for Connor that we can give him toys and talk with him, even though he's a baby."  Ari:  "MY baby!"

Ari identifying the poster, in case anyone missed it.

Kisses!

All of the family present, including Aunt Lois but excluding Jonathan's mom, who didn't come up, for the final congratulatory song.