Celebration Collaborating
Every moment is unique. Whether welcoming a child into your family, celebrating and committing to a lifelong relationship, or mourning the passing of a loved one, there is no one-size-fits-all ceremony. Yet the Jewish tradition offers us a deep and rich framework to mark these moments as sacred and profoundly special.
I enjoy helping individuals and couples bring Jewish language and tradition to these most sacred moments.
I work with couples to create unique wedding ceremonies, including writing a personal wedding contract or Ketubah. I help families welcome a child into their specific family and context—with all the hopes and dreams they carry. When I help individuals say goodbye to a loved one, I encourage them to be fully present to this specific loss and the unique blessings left behind.
As a rabbi with 25 years of experience and having officiated at hundreds of lifecycle ceremonies, I am always amazed at the variety, uniqueness, and individuality of everyone I work with. Every ceremony is always different!
I will take the time to get to know you and your loved ones, share the wisdom and insights of the Jewish tradition, and co-create a ceremony or ritual that reflects who you are and what you want to say at this most sacred moment of your life.
I am available for child-welcoming ceremonies, weddings and commitment ceremonies, life-transition rituals, funerals, memorials and more.
I offer this professional service on a sliding scale. Please contact me for questions about fees.
Testimonials
"We often mention how the ceremony was our favorite part of our wedding day. Even though the rain ruined our plans for an outdoor wedding, Rabbi Elyse’s decision to have everyone stand in a circle around us made the ceremony feel extra special. It was a great feeling to have everyone we love so immersed in one of the best days of our lives. Rabbi Elyse really took the time to get to know us, and we still have our ketubah framed and hanging in our dining room." -Jay and Jessica A.
Rabbi Elyse's influence on our wedding was profound. Having been my Rabbi for many years, I was overjoyed when she agreed to officiate our wedding. Her guidance in writing our ketubah, her ideas on creating a personal chuppah, and her support in crafting a Jewish wedding that respected our interfaith union were invaluable. Without her, our wedding would not have been complete. -Jae and Chris B.
"Rabbi Elyse had been my Rabbi growing up, and she was the Rabbi at my Bat Mitzvah. I knew she would be the perfect choice to officiate our wedding. Thankfully, she accepted, and she, graciously, was willing to travel during Covid for it. We really enjoyed working with her. We met with her several times in preparation for our wedding, and she was incredibly thoughtful in her guidance. She made sure we thought about all the things that go into a successful partnership, and ultimately how to document them on our Ketubah. On the wedding day, she incorporated our wishes into the signing of our Ketubah and our ceremony. We highly recommend Rabbi Elyse!" -Rachel & Adi H.
"We worked with Rabbi Elyse in 2023 in preparation for our wedding. Leading up to the event, we met several times to discuss why having the ceremony was important, to customize the ceremony to our personal relationship, and to outline what the commitment we were making to each other means. She helped us draft our Ketubah and helped us navigate a wedding as an interfaith couple. She was incredible during this process - always working with our busy schedules and accommodating for the fact we lived out of state to make these meetings possible for us.
On the day of the ceremony, she guided us through the event seamlessly. She coordinated with the venue staff to make sure everything we needed was there and spoke to family members to make sure everyone was in place and understood their role. The ceremony was beautiful - exactly what we wanted and more. She truly made it a wonderful, stress-free day for us. We feel so blessed to have had her be a part of our special day." -Chelsea and Chris
