My speech at my son’s Bris, 9 years ago:

Thank you all for being here - Rabbis, family, friends- to welcome our son to the world on his 8th day. Like all Jewish events in history, the bris starts with a severe dose of pain…and ends of course with a severe dose of food.

Welcome to the tribe, son!

We wanted to briefly share the origin of our son's name, Steven Nesta Levi Bakalarz. There is so much in a name. Shaim, the hebrew word for “name" means “there”, the “destination" - so a name not just represents what we call him, but what we hope he aspires to. Einstein and Speiberg were on our list, but that was too much pressure :)

So first with his first name Steven, after his great uncle who passed away just a week before he was born. Steven had a warmth, a smile, and a dignity towards all people. No matter how small the deed he’d thank every waiter, every driver. He embodied gratitude and true selflessness. Steven taught us that before you can be wise, you need to be kind. Naming our son in his memory is our testament to him that his legacy is a part of who our son is, and man are there a lot of character traits that we hope our little man will inherit from his great uncle.

Our son shares a middle name, Nesta, with Bob Marley. We chose this name because, well, Daniel and I both love reggae. But more importantly, the name symbolizes peace and purity. Bob Marley not only possessed musical genius, but an insatiable ability to inspire and a chutzpah that we want to bestow on our son.

The final name, Levi, somehow captured many of the feelings that are important to Daniel and I. There is only one Levi in the Old Testament, the third son of Jacob with Leah who gave rise to the priestly caste of the Levites. In an absolute sense, the name Levi means “attached". The Levites were people who promoted social cohesion. They had no land of their own and were dispersed but somehow managed to maintain a unified religious identity. We hope our son lives a life attached to his family values, regardless of what path he chooses to take.

May he be good-natured and gracious like his grandmother Tania, generous and devoted to faith like his grandmother Margie, tolerant and hungry for knowledge like his grandfather Sammy, and disciplined and committed to family like his grandfather Teddy.

We feel so blessed to have a new light in our hearts and in our home and we know that our son, Steven Nesta Levi Bakalarz, true to his namesake, will bring light to the world.

Sublime

Elisa Parhad

Ron

Ezgi Aktug

Atakan YILMAZ

Sari Azout

Cleave the Sparrow

Moshe Kidron

Yoni Balkind