A child becomes a Bar/Bat Mitzvah — a daughter or son of the commandment — when s/he turns thirteen. It has become customary to celebrate this “coming of age” with a communal ceremony. By preparing our children for Bar/Bat Mitzvah, we are creating a community, and the ceremony is a child’s way of saying “I am ready to be an adult in this Jewish community.” In secular society, we clearly know that 13 year olds are not adults. Through our Bar/Bat mitzvah program, we will strive to understand how, through Jewish terms, this milestone is experienced in our Jewish community
Each Bar/Bat mitzvah ceremony will be crafted especially for and by the students and their families. All students will read some Torah and some Haftorah, give a D’var Torah (a speech about the Torah portion) and commit to a social action project. However, the other Jewish focal points of the ceremony will vary from child to child and will reflect the interests and priorities of each family. Each Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony will include certain milestone achievements, and yet also speak clearly to the distinct interests and personality of each child. In preparation, each child will work directly with our Rabbi and with our Cantor, in a supportive and interactive manner. You will also receive start-to-finish assistance in creating your child ’s Bat Mitzvah book by our local graphic artist (the graphic artist charges a fee for her services) and a Temple member who will interface with the graphic artist. Additionally, your child will be able to participate in a joint Bnai Mitzvah project with other B'nei Mitzvah children, and/or we can invite the synagogue community to support their individual B'nei Mitzvah project. Also, your family will be recognized at the preceding Friday night Shabbat service, invited to the Bima to light the Shabbat candles, and may opt to sponsor the Oneg Shabbat in honor of your child's B'nei Mitzvah.
Our B'nei Mitzvah handbook is being revised and will be re-posted here shortly. The handbook is in PDF format. If you do not have a PDF reader installed on your computer, you can download one for free here.
For families wishing to make a Torah contribution, you may do so by sending your check to Temple Shalom, 1818 Monterey Blvd., Hermosa Beach CA 90254, or by paying online with your Master Card, Visa or Discover Card here.
Are you planing a B'nei Mitzvah ceremony or celebration? We can help. We conduct periodic meetings of the parents of our B'nei Mitzvah children to provide information on the ceremonies and on the training leading up to your big day. Watch your e-mail for announcements of these events. We also have a large and increasing number of parents who have been through the process of planning the event, and we will be glad to put you in touch with them - just drop us a note if you want our help. Finally, we are gathering a list ofB'nei Mitzvah vendors - florists, photographers, etc. - and making it available to you. Temple Shalom neither audits these vendors nor encourages or discourages their use - these listings are provided solely as an "assist" to you; please make up your own mind about them. The sources can be seen here.
B'nei Mitzvah training includes extensive work above and beyond traditional religious school classes and will be subject to an additional charge of $600, payable when the B'nei Mitzvah date is selected or when the training begins, whichever comes first. This charge is nonrefundable once training has begun.
Top of page