BAR AND BAT MITZVAH
SUPPLEMENT
How to Have an Israeli Bar or Bat Mitzvah
Growing numbers of Jews from around the
world are coming to Israel to celebrate bar and bat mitzvot. In response
to requests from our readers, ERETZ presents this special supplement
with tips on how and where to plan a meaningful bar or bat mitzvah,
along with some intriguing background information and sightseeing and
shopping recommendations. by Heidi J. Gleit
For countless
generations, the Jewish people have been celebrating their sons’ coming
of age with bar mitzvah ceremonies and festivities. The past few
generations have often extended the celebration to their daughters with
the bat mitzvah. In most cases today, a bar or bat mitzvah includes
reading part of the weekly Torah portion on Sabbath morning, giving a
short speech about the Torah portion, leading part of the Sabbath prayer
service, throwing a lavish party, receiving extravagant presents, and/or
making a contribution to charity.
For many, a trip to
Israel, with a second ceremony and party, also has become an integral
part of the event.
“A lot of people say
that if you haven’t had a bar mitzvah in Israel then you haven’t really
had one,” Adam Katz, 13, of Seattle, said in December during a trip to
Israel to celebrate his bar mitzvah.
Pupils at the Ayanot
school prepare for their bar mitvot. (Danny Levinson)
Some History
The bar mitzvah was
not always such a major production, says Rabbi Benjamin Lau, a lecturer
in Talmud at Bar-Ilan University and the rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue
in Jerusalem. ...
Lau notes that there
is no requirement as to what a youth should do to mark this occasion.
Today’s ceremonies evolved from the desire to take a symbolic action to
mark the fact that the youth is now old enough to be responsible for
fulfilling the commandments on his own. The action can be whatever the
youth is capable of and interested in doing, from being called upon to
say a short blessing during the Torah reading to leading an entire
service.
Traveling to Israel
to celebrate a bar or bat mitzvah is also a modern development, Lau
says, adding that he considers it a constructive one. A visit to Israel
can be very positive, both educationally and experientially, and enhance
a youth’s appreciation for and understanding of both Judaism and the bar
or bat mitzvah.
The Israeli Option
“From the viewpoint
of every Jew living in the world, Israel is the spiritual center and so
they want to mark their bar or bat mitzvah in Israel,” said Conrad
Giles, who cochaired a family mission to Israel in December with 80
youths of bar and bat mitzvah age. Their visit, organized by the Jewish
Federation in Detroit, included several ceremonies held by the
synagogues participating in the mission, as well as a huge bar and bat
mitzvah party, complete with jugglers and arts and crafts activities.
...
“I’ve always wanted
to have my bat mitzvah here,” said mission participant Lisa Surnow, 12.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, and this is the place to celebrate it.
It’s a holy place.” She noted that she and her friends were most
impressed by their visit to the Western Wall.
...
Some Advice
Rabbi David Ebstein,
a Conservative rabbi who immigrated to Israel from Chicago a decade ago,
frequently performs bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies in Israel for
American and Canadian Jews. “Some had a ceremony in America and want to
do it again here because they feel it somehow sanctifies the ceremony,”
he explained. “You get a lot of people who don’t want to spend money on
a big party in the U.S. – they would rather spend it on coming to
Israel. That is a better indication of the values they want their kids
to grow up with.”
Rabbi Yehoram Mazor,
executive director of Maram – Israel Council of Progressive Rabbis and
the rabbi of Darchei Noam, the Reform synagogue in Ramat Hasharon, has
been officiating at bar and bat mitzvot in Israel for Jews from around
the world for 25 years. He also has learned that many American families
he has worked with have found a trip to Israel a more meaningful and
less costly alternative to making a huge celebration at home. ...
Many arrangements
for a bar or bat mitzvah trip to Israel can be made online. For example,
flight and hotel reservations can be made on the
Israir website.
...
The full article on
bar and bat mitzvot appears in ERETZ Magazine 102.
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