Mazal tov on your child becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah!
This is an incredibly special time in the life of your family and we are honored to celebrate with you. In these unusual circumstances, Temple Shalom is proud to provide personal support and care for every family in crafting a meaningful Bar and Bat Mitzvah experience.
At Temple Shalom, students typically become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah close to their 13th birthday in the context of a Shabbat (Saturday) morning service. This service is currently broadcast to the Temple Shalom community and the family’s invited guests online using our Live Stream. In addition to the Saturday morning service, students usually participate in the Friday evening service the night before their Bar/Bat Mitzvah by leading the community in the blessing over the wine.
Our B’nei Mitzvah team works closely with each family to match students with an appropriate tutor and to create a meaningful experience that will encourage students to grow and stretch while feeling supported. We believe that celebrating this milestone has three main components:
+ Torah: Learning and sharing insights with the community
+ Avodah: Leading the congregation in prayer
+ Gemilut Hasadim: Acts of loving-kindness. In the context of your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah, this means designing and implementing a mitzvah (service) project.
We are committed to crafting an experience that recognizes the uniqueness of each of our students. Inclusion is a core value of Temple Shalom and this is shown in how we care for all of our families. Each young person’s journey is unique, and we are honored to act as guides in this process.
Reflections from Recent B'nei Mitzvah Families
The day was just as emotionally moving and extraordinary as it would have been otherwise. I cried through most of it and was just as proud of our son!
We may have all been in separate locations (across the globe!) but it felt like we were all very present in the moment together.
After having two bar mitzvahs with Temple Shalom, I was a little worried this wouldn't feel as special. I am happy to report our son’s bar mitzvah felt equally as special as the first two just in different ways. Rabbi Abrasley and Cantor Shafritz continued to officiate a personal and meaningful service.
It is very special to go back and watch the live stream, which captures the emotions of family members during the Bar Mitzvah, something that you could never do with a traditional ceremony.
As a parent you have to adjust your expectations. The loss of physical communal elements was significant. You can't all be in the same room for the joyous occasion but the tradition continues and we adapt and make lemonade out of lemons.
There were a lot of ways we brought in new traditions and meaning to a ritual that has been an important one for Jewish families. We embraced thinking creatively while keeping our values at the core.
We couldn't have done this without Ellie, Erin, Rabbi Abrasley, Rabbi Berry, and Cantor Shafritz. Their attention to detail and flexibility to help us create a meaningful ceremony means the world to our family.