Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Mazel Tov! A Jewish boy or girl becomes an adult in the eyes of the Jewish community when they become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. This important lifecycle transitions them from being passive observers of mitzvot to active participants in tikkun olam, repairing our world.  Our program gives a young person not only the tools they need to fully participate in the Shabbat morning service but also gives them an opportunity to explore and participate in social justice issues.

Please contact Debby Lewis at 773-868-5113 immediately for scheduling a bar/bat mitzvah.  For more information on the bar/bat mitzvah process at Anshe Emet please click here for our Parent Handbook. If your child has a bar or bat mitzvah in the near future, click here for a checklist of what you can expect in the near future, and here for a list of important phone numbers. Click here for commonly asked questions and answers.
 
Again, mazel tov on reaching this point in your life. We look forward to celebrating with you!

For Guests

Are you attending a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah at Anshe Emet?  Please see below for more information and click here [internal link to etiquette] for Synagogue Etiquette.

Becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah is not a “graduation” or end of study, but a rite of passage to greater privilege and responsibility. When a young person becomes a Bar/Bat Mitzvah (Son/Daughter of the Commandments), s/he reaches an important milestone in his/her spiritual growth. It signifies that the child has reached maturity in the eyes of the Jewish community and has accepted the religious obligations of Judaism. A Jewish girl becomes an adult at age twelve, and a Jewish boy at age thirteen.

S/he does not need a ceremony to be considered a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, however, in celebration of the occasion, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah exercises his/her religious adulthood for the first time with a significant honor: receiving an aliyah (literally being called up to the Torah), and chanting Haftarah (a selection from the prophets). The Bar/Bat Mitzvah may also participate in other ways such as introducing the Torah and Haftarah readings and conducting parts of the service. The young person will generally speak about the significance of fulfilling the commandments, now as an adult, in a short speech delivered during the service.

Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah

If parents or caretakers have not celebrated their own bnai mitzvah, please consider our Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah program. Our Gesher program was designed to help those people, whether Jews by Choice or Jews by Birth, have the experience of becoming a Bar/Bat Mitzvah at any age.  They will learn to participate in the Shabbat morning service, including reading from the Torah and chanting Haftarah, will become our teachers that morning and will design and implement a mitzvah project to reinforce our commitment to tikkun olam, repairing the world.  For more information on Gesher, please contact Debby Lewis at 773-868-5113 or click here.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah Institute

The Bar/Bat Mitzvah Institute began in memory of Felicia Levy as a tribute to her love and concern for Jewish family education. The purpose of the Institute is to assist our B’nai Mitzvah students and families in becoming full participants in adult Jewish life. Tentative Dates for 2011-2012/ 5772 are Sundays: November 20th, December 4th, January 22nd, January 29th, February 12th, and February 26th.

Our goals are:

1. To create a sense of community between and among the Bar/Bat Mitzvah families and to facilitate relationship building between students and parents from Anshe Emet Synagogue’s various communities.
2. To study the nature and structure of prayer and ritual, and to provide a comfort level through practical instruction and experience.
3. To emphasize our Jewish commitment to improving the world (Tikkun Olam) through social action/social justice work.
4. To develop a sense of pride and connection to Judaism that will last for many years to come.
5. To encourage serious Torah study by helping students to grapple with commentaries thatenrich our sacred texts and the Bar/Bat Mitzvah experience.

The BBMI Curriculum is anchored by the three pillars of Judaism that rest upon full participation in
adult Jewish Life: God, Torah and Israel.  Sixth grade students and parents will consider the role of God and Torah in Jewish life. The program will explore personal responsibility and individual connection to God, ritual responsibility, Jewish learning and involvement in synagogue life. Why am I a Jew? What does it mean to me to be Jewish? How am I a Jew? How do Jews act? How do Jews pray? How do we relate to God?

For more information about BBMI, please contact  Rabbi Matthew Futterman at 773-868-5116.