Judaism involves a number of commandments and rituals connected to central life events. After birth, for example, girls are given their names in the subsequent Shabbat service, while boys are officially named when they are circumcised (in the brit milah ceremony) on the eighth day of life. When boys and girls reach the ages of 13 and 12 respectively, they come of age and become fully-fledged members of the Jewish community (at the bar/bat mitzvah). Another significant religious event is a person’s wedding, at which a ketubah (marriage contract) is signed. In orthodox Judaism, this contract stipulates the husband's duties to his wife, while marriage contracts in liberal Judaism contain mutual promises.

Judaism also has several ritual commandments and customs regarding death and mourning, for example burial as soon as possible, the traditional washing of the dead, prayers, phases of mourning and remembrance of the dead.