Parents will recite a prayer for their child: the Blessing of Independence. Our sages taught that a parent is responsible for their child’s deeds (taking on their merit or sins) until the age of mitzvot; thereafter they must say “Praised are you, Adonai our God, Who rules the universe, Who has freed us of some responsibilities, and conferred new ones upon our child.” Parents are invited to recite a short English reading and the Hebrew form of this prayer following the mitzvah aliyah.
It can be customized to fit your family’s specific parental format, as well as gender(s) and number of children. Should the parents wish to share an entirely different prayer, it must be discussed with clergy and approved 2 weeks in advance of the simchah.
The most common ones* can be downloaded in PDF format using these links:
Two-Parent Blessing for a single child
Two-Parent Blessing for siblings
One-Parent Blessing for a single child
One-Parent Blessing for siblings
*We would be happy to customize the prayer further for those who identify as non-binary or who would prefer gender-neutral language. Please speak with Cantor Green about this (cantor@kehillatbethisrael.com).