The celebration of Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah at Congregation Emanu-El is a joyous, community event filled with meaning and promise.  Visitors and out-of-town family members constantly speak of how beautiful the services are and how well-prepared the Bar or Bat Mitzvah is.  At the same time, we know that, important as it is, the ceremony is just one step in a person’s Jewish education. 

The Bar/Bat Mitzvah journey begins in Religious School and kicks into high gear approximately two years before the date of the ceremony.  This is when they begin their religious and Hebrew studies specifically directed toward the ceremony, both one-on-one with the rabbi as well as in class with their peers. 

At their Bat/Bar Mitzvah celebration, the boy or girl will lead the Erev Shabbat and Shacharit services (Friday night and Saturday morning).  They will chant from the Torah and the haftarah (the reading from the Prophets) and deliver an original d’var torah (an interpretive sermon based on the text). 

By the time family and friends are congratulating the bar/bat mitzvah and their family, it will be clear that it was an experience filled with inspiration and significance, and that this young person is ready to begin to assume the responsibilities that fall on Jewish adults. 

Please contact our office in the Spring of your child’s 5th grade to arrange a date for this important simcha.