Welcoming Elijah

Baby namings are always special events for me in the life of Temple Micah.  Today was no exception.

Last week I got the first glimpse of baby Elijah as he slept in the arms of one of his two fathers, his dark skin quite a contrast to their whiteness.  They beamed as they told me how he had come into their lives just weeks before with only 4 days notice.  How does anyone prepare for a baby with so little time?

But he settled right in with them at one week of age, sleeping through the night almost from the beginning.  Their smiles conveyed the love that is now enveloping their family of three.

After the rabbi had blessed the baby, his dads explained the origin of his four names.  His given name Elijah comes from the old testament prophet.  They quoted from Malachi 4:6 which speaks of Elijah:  “And he shall return the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers.”  It is Elijah we invite each year to our Passover seder, with the thought that he will bring us into the Messianic Age.

They concluded by noting how many barriers had already been broken, such that two gay men (one of whom was not Jewish) could proudly stand before our congregation and introduce to us their black baby Elijah.

It was definitely a mazel tov occasion.  We sang and clapped and shed a few tears of happiness.