Naming Daughters

Jewish parents use their
chuppa, creativity in
ceremony to welcome
baby girl.

RONELLE GRIER

cial to SourceBook

he hand-crocheted chuppa (wedding
canopy) that Leslie and Gordon Oliva
used for their wedding held so much
beauty and meaning they couldn't bear to
pack it away, so they found a new way to
use it — at baby-naming ceremonies for
their two daughters.
The Ferndale couple used their
chuppa when oldest daughter, Sydney
Mitchell Oliva, now 5, was named. A
rabbi conducted the naming ceremony
at her Aunt Barb's home using tradi-
tional prayers and readings.
When their second daughter, Chloe
Mitchell Oliva, was born Aug. 18,
1998, the Olivas decided they wanted
a naming ceremony that would incor-
porate those traditional prayers while
being unique to their family. Leslie
Oliva went on the Internet and did
extensive research into baby namings.
Because a baby-naming ceremony
for a Jewish girl is not prescribed in
the Torah, she found a lot of room for
creativity.
She and Gordon read hundreds of
selections culled from namings per-
formed all over the country. What
they couldn't find in other ceremonies,
they wrote themselves.
"We took the best parts from all the
namings, the parts that were appropri-
ate for us," she said. "We brought our
whole family into it."
Chloe was named for her uncle
Richard (Rick) Oliva, Gordon's broth-
er, who passed away in 1996. Her
Hebrew name is Rafaela Israel.
"Rafaela is the Hebrew word for
`angel,'" explained Gordon's mother,
Geraldine (Gere) Oliva, "so her name
has a very special meaning."
Chloe was carried into the room to
the tune of one of Rick's favorite Elton

John songs. Then Gordon Oliva
explained the meaning of Chloe's
name to her:
"You are named after your Uncle
Rick. This name has a very special
meaning in Hebrew; it means 'heal-
ing.' And since Rick's death, we are a
family that is healing. Your name is
not only significant because of what it
means, but also [for] who it honors."
Each family member took a turn
holding the baby while reciting a
poem, prayer or blessing. The main
participants in the ceremony were
Leslie Oliva's sister and her husband,
Sharon and Dave Berry of St. Louis,
who were honored as Chloe's godpar-
ents, and paternal grandparents Leo
and Gere Oliva of Southfield.
Chloe's maternal grandparents, Lee
and Bill Mitchell of St. Louis, were
unable to attend but were mentioned
in the naming ceremony.
"I took the role of clergy since we
were not affiliated with a synagogue at
the time, and we wanted it to be per-
sonal," Gordon Oliva said.
"Afterwards, we got so many corn-
ments about how warm, friendly and
informal the ceremony was."
About 52 friends and family mem-
bers attended the naming, which was
held in the Olivas' home. The ceremo-
ny was followed by a traditional
bagels-and-lox brunch.
"We wanted it to be like a brit,
without the circumcision," he said.
"We welcomed Chloe as a human
being, not as a male or female."
Lee Mitchell crocheted the heirloom
chuppa for her daughter and son-in-
law's wedding. After the wedding, the
Olivas decided to let other family
members use it for their own simchas.