Upon completing a course of study, our students become candidates for Bar/Bat
Mitzvah. Our B’nai Mitzvah program is comprised of preparatory coursework
integrated into the Religious School curriculum and includes attendance at
Shabbat services, private tutorials, and a series of study sessions with the
Rabbi. Study focuses on the process of Torah, the meaning of B’nai Mitzvah, an
analysis of the student’s Torah and Haftara portions, and mastering the Shabbat
liturgy.

Bar Mitzvah (son or child of the Commandments) is a very old ceremony. Its origins are
lost in time. In the early Middle Ages, when a young person reached a certain
level of maturity, ready to take on serious religious and family
responsibilities, he was called to read a section of the Torah as a demonstration
of his new status in life. By the time Bar Mitzvah became a ceremony of record
in the late Middle Ages, festivities were added to accompany the religious
service. While there are isolated instances of young women being called to read
from the Torah in nineteenth century Europe, Bat Mitzvah (daughter of the
Commandments) is an innovation of American Progressive Judaism. In our
Congregation, our young men and women prepare equally for this special life cycle event.

On the Shabbat of the B’nai Mitzvah, the student joins the Rabbi on the Bimah to
lead the Congregation in Hebrew and English prayers. At the center of the B’nai
Mitzvah ceremony is the Torah service, the reading of a portion from the first
five books of the Bible known as the Five Books of Moses or in Hebrew, the Torah.
On Shabbat morning, the Torah is removed from the Ark and a different portion is
read and studied until the entire scroll is read: it takes an entire year. By
sharing the same Shabbat Torah portion, Jews all over the world are linked to one
another.

At one point in our service, the Congregation showers the B’nai Mitzvah with
Mazel Tov congratulations using candy guests received upon entering the
synagogue. We shower the B’nai Mitzvah with sweets, symbolizing our hope
that a life of sweetness and happiness will be granted.

At Congregation Beth Sholom, the B’nai Mitzvah is a community as well as a family
celebration. All are invited to join us for Shabbat evening and morning services
and to enjoy our traditional Shabbat evening Oneg Shabbat reception and Shabbat
lunch following morning services.