Judaism

===Life-cycle events===
Life-cycle events, or [[rites of passage]], occur throughout a Jew's life that serves to strengthen Jewish identity and bind him/her to the entire community:
* {{lang|he|[[Brit milah]]}}&nbsp;– Welcoming male babies into the covenant through the rite of [[circumcision]] on their eighth day of life. The baby boy is also given his Hebrew name in the ceremony. A naming ceremony intended as a parallel ritual for girls, named ''[[zeved habat]]'' or brit bat, enjoys limited popularity.
* [[Bar Mitzvah / Bat Mitzvah|Bar mitzvah and Bat mitzvah]]&nbsp;– This passage from childhood to adulthood takes place when a female Jew is twelve and a male Jew is thirteen years old among Orthodox and some Conservative congregations. In the Reform movement, both girls and boys have their bat/bar mitzvah at age thirteen. This is often commemorated by having the new adults, male only in the Orthodox tradition, lead the congregation in prayer and publicly read a "portion" of the Torah.
* [[Jewish views on marriage|Marriage]]&nbsp;– Marriage is an extremely important lifecycle event and an ideal human state.{{sfn|Jacobs|2003|loc="Marriage"}} A wedding takes place under a ''[[chuppah]]'', or wedding canopy, which symbolizes a happy house. At the end of the ceremony, the groom breaks a glass with his foot, symbolizing the continuous mourning for the destruction of the Temple, and the scattering of the Jewish people. An [[interfaith marriage in Judaism|intermarriage]] is prohibited, except as within Reform Judaism:{{sfn|Berlin|2011|pp=381–2|loc="Intermarriage"}}
[[File:Moshe Rynecki- Le Get (divorce).jpg|thumb|''Le Get'' (The Divorce) by [[Moshe Rynecki]], {{circa|1930}}]]
* [[Divorce]]&nbsp;– Divorce is allowed in accordance with Halakha. The divorce ceremony involves the husband giving the short {{lang|he|[[Get (divorce document)|get]]}} document written in Aramaic into the hand of the wife in rabbinical court, that is all. But, since the 11th century among the Ashkenazim and many Sephardim a divorce became prohibited against will of a wife, than a man had way for [[polygamy]].{{sfn|Berlin|2011|pp=216–7|loc="Divorce"}} The ''get'' contains declaration: "You are hereby permitted to all men."
[[File:תמונת הילולא כט אייר.jpg|thumb|The Bereavement (Yahrtzeit) Hasidic ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|tish]]'', [[Bnei Brak]], Israel]]
* [[Bereavement in Judaism|Death and Mourning]] ({{lang|he|Avelut}})&nbsp;– The ''Torah'' requires burial as soon as possible, even for executed criminals.<ref>[[Deuteronomy]] 21:23</ref> Judaism has a multi-staged [[mourning]] practice. The first stage is called the [[shiva (Judaism)|shiva]] (literally "seven", observed for one week) during which it is traditional to sit at home and be comforted by friends and family, the second is the ''shloshim'' (observed for one month) and for those who have lost one of their parents, there is a third stage, ''avelut yud bet chodesh'', which is observed for eleven months.{{sfn|Berlin|2011|pp=205–6|loc="Death"}} A [[cremation]] within Orthodox Judaism permited only by some leading rabbis in West Europe.{{sfn|Berlin|2011|pp=193–4|loc="Cremation"}}