Revolutionizing B’Nai Mitzvah
As a congregational rabbi, I am still surprised at the number of parents who have rushed up to me after a bar or bat mitzvah service and expressed this revelation. They are shocked at their sense of euphoria.
As a congregational rabbi, I am still surprised at the number of parents who have rushed up to me after a bar or bat mitzvah service and expressed this revelation. They are shocked at their sense of euphoria.
Pitfalls abound in trying to put together the perfect guest list, but don’t lose hope.
While b’nai mitzvah parties have long featured DJs to mix tunes and rouse the crowd, some celebrants are choosing something else: teen bands.
When Amanda Melpolder began planning her wedding to Jeff Greenberg, she hoped the ceremony would be unlike others.
Rabbi Julia Weisz found herself in a bit of a conundrum when she became an expectant mother.
For interfaith couples who choose a Jewish identity for their families — even ones who have shared holidays with their extended families and answered questions for years — a bar or bat mitzvah raises new questions.
For many teens, a bar or bat mitzvah is not just a rite of passage and an embrace of a community’s Jewish values; it also is an opportunity to make a mark socially by inviting BFFs and other classmates.
When Isa Aron considers b’nai mitzvah today, she gets the impression that parents — and sometimes synagogues — care more about their son or daughter performing flawlessly when on the bimah than they do about their forming lasting connections to Judaism.
It all started with a wedding cake. When Duff Goldman — the now-famous star of the former Food Network reality series “Ace of Cakes” — was working as a hotel pastry chef in Vail, Colo., a friend asked him to make a cake for his nuptials on the side. It was the amazed reaction of the venue owner more than anything that led him to change career paths.
Robert Leeds’ bar mitzvah party last February was something special. During the cocktail hour, Cirque du Soleil entertainers roller-skated on a half-pipe. The celebration — which had a British invasion theme with English guards, a teahouse and traditional pub food — also featured Leeds playing electric guitar with a Beatles tribute band and participating in a breakdance routine with his brothers, Jonathan and Andrew, and an ensemble of dancers.