Life Cycle Events

To make arrangements for any of your significant life cycle events, please call the Temple Shalom office at 239-455-3030 or send an email to Rabbi Miller or Cantor Azu. We are so pleased to share these events with you and our One Family.

If you would like to sponsor an oneg, bimah flowers, mitzvah baskets or the Saturday morning Kiddush in honor of a special occasion, birthday, anniversary, or yahrzeit, please contact the Temple Shalom office at 239-455-3030.

Consider commemorating your loved one or special milestone with a brick in the Temple Shalom Tribute Garden, a Leaf on the Tree of Life in the Sanctuary, or a dedication in our Illustrated Torah. You can also make donations to one of Temple Shalom's Funds. A notice of your gift will be sent to your honoree, and acknowledgment will be published in The Voice.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Bar/Bat Mitzvah students are moving from childhood to adulthood, from learning to be responsible to being responsible. As son or daughter of the commandments, you commit yourself to proud membership in our ancient people.

Our goal is to have the Bar/Bat Mitzvah program strengthen your relationship and your child’s relationship to the synagogue and to the teachings of Judaism. We are deeply committed and will do everything in our power to support you throughout the process. We will work with all children based upon their unique abilities and needs. 

Learn more about the Bar/Bat Mitzvah program.

Wedding

Rabbi Miller or Cantor Azu can help you prepare for this wonderful, joyous occasion, by teaching bride and groom the meaning of the ceremony, from Ketubah (marriage document), to Kiddushin (Engagement), to Chuppah (Marriage Canopy), to Nissuin (marriage ceremony), to breaking the glass. We also counsel you, offering Jewish wisdom in preparation for a life dedicated to love and companionship. We can also work with you in designing the ceremony, providing our knowledge and experience.

Contact us as soon as you become engaged as we can assist you in selecting a wedding date. There are a few dates on the Hebrew calendar where weddings are not permitted (some holidays, fast days, and days of mourning) and we can help you navigate around those. 
 

Brit Milah

The Torah commands us to circumcise our newborn sons on the eighth day of their new lives. This powerful ceremony celebrates new life, and also brings our sons into Judaism’s sacred covenant. Rabbi Miller or Cantor Azu can put you in touch with a Mohel (ritual circumciser), help the parents understand the ceremony, and co-officiate, along with the Mohel. We will work with you to craft the occasion to suit your family's needs.

Baby Naming/Simchat Bat

We celebrate the great blessing of a newborn daughter with a ceremony that brings her into the covenant, and confers upon her a Hebrew name. Rabbi Miller or Cantor Azu can help you think through and design this ceremony, which can take place either at home, or at the synagogue, on a Shabbat, or any day the Torah is read (Monday, Thursday, Festivals, Rosh Chodesh).

Death and Mourning

Our tradition offers several powerful end of life rituals – Kriah (tearing of a garment), Levayah (funeral procession), Hesped (eulogy), Kevurah (burial) and Shivah (seven days of mourning). Rabbi Miller and Cantor Azu will instruct you on these and other rituals. We can also perform the funeral ceremony, and help you understand and implement other meaningful Jewish mourning practices. 

Funeral services can be held in the sanctuary. Graveside services are generally held at Naples Memorial Garden or Palm Royale Cemetery. We work with Hodges and Fuller Funeral Homes. If your family member is buried up north, you might consider holding a memorial service at the Temple.

If you've just suffered a loss, please call the Temple at 239-455-3030. If we're outside business hours, you'll be able to connect with the emergency line to contact the clergy.

Yahrzeit plaques are a permanent memorial to a loved one. Located in our Sanctuary, the plaques are engraved with the name of the deceased a date of their passing. A light next to the plaque is lit during the week of their yahrzeit, on the High Holy Days and other occasions when Yizkor is recited.