So on Shalvah's New Hampshire campaign tour, her Northern kinfolks welcomed her with a "Simchat Bat," or "Daughter Celebration" ceremony. If you haven't heard of this, no worries; it's a recent addition to Jewish tradition. The scriptures are explicit, so to speak, regarding the initiation rites that accompany the birth of a son, but provide no such detailed instructions for initiating a daughter into the community. Maybe it's better this way; not only were we relieved from performing any anatomical/surgical commandments, we got to invent our own traditions for celebrating a baby, who is, after all, one of a kind. We did start out like proper monotheists, with a melodious incantation of Shalvah's name by Great Uncle Dan, followed by blessings from the tribal elders...
But when her grandma broke out the Navajo chants, things got out of hand and we ended up dancing in the forest like a bunch of pagans...
I did hear that it's Jewish tradition to plant a tree when a child is born; for Shalvah, we found a sapling growing by the water of the Great Bay at the edge of her grandparents' land...
...And her grandfather carved her initial in the tree...
...so Shalvah can sit by her tree, and watch the tides go in and out, and watch her tree grow and change with her every year.
