Family Bar/Bat Mitzvah
The Bar/Bat Mitzvah is the Jewish coming of age ceremony.
Since the people of Israel are the people of the book, the ceremony focuses on reading the Torah.
What do I suggest?
Conducting personalized family ceremonies in the square of the Equinox Wall in Jerusalem, or in a synagogue of your choice.
Accompanying the family in preparation for the ceremony while personalizing its components.
Online preparation of the boy for the Bar Mitzvah.
What does a family bar mitzvah ceremony include?
In today's Israel, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah is a family opportunity to touch the family Jewish tradition, get to know it and start passing this tradition on. "Jewish tradition" is a broad concept that belongs to all the people of Israel, and to every Jew regardless of who he is - the farmer from the kibbutz and the farmer from Bnei Brak have equal shares in the Jewish project.
The traditional ceremony includes:
A reading from the Torah to the tune of the Bible (on Mondays, Thursdays or Saturdays)
Wrapping in a battalit and putting on tefillin (girls can too)
Delivering a sermon, which is a short study that the boy/she teaches the public
Congratulations parents and family members to the child
I would be happy to accompany you in the process of preparation and study for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and in the ceremony - in your synagogue or with the help of Israel - the Western Wall Square in Jerusalem
Recommendations for the bar mitzvah family
First of all - choose a place and time for the ceremony.
Place - If you want an egalitarian bar mitzvah at the Western Wall, it is important to reserve the time with " Ezerat Yisrael " - the egalitarian extension.
Time - it is customary to conduct the ceremony as close as possible to the boy's Hebrew date of birth, and it is possible to delay/earlier by several days. Torah reading takes place on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
It is recommended to check with relatives in Israel and abroad that they can come on the date you have chosen.
Try to make the Bar Mitzvah more than a "child's ritual" :
In the ceremony itself - parents, siblings or grandparents can also read aloud from the Torah
Add an Israeli Jewish study of concepts to your family meal.
Take the teenager once a month to see a Shabbat reception/Sabbath morning prayer , at a synagogue in your neighborhood, at your grandparents' or when you visit friends elsewhere.
Take the boy/girl to see a concert of forgiveness, tikkun on the night of Shavuot, a transition ceremony between remembrance and independence .
Prepare a map of significant Israeli/Jewish points on your family trip, and take the child to visit them (for example - Rabin Square, Metula, the refugee camp in Atlit, Mahane Yehuda Market, Masada, the first place that grandparents came to in Israel, etc.).
Send the child to talk to grandparents about their family tradition - what is Judaism for them? What is Israeliness? Why do they live here? What are the roots of the family? Recommendation : reserve a joint time for them for a first meeting.
Online preparation for the bar mitzvah ceremony
In the modern world, children have a busy schedule. Sometimes they live far from the place where their bar/bat mitzvah ceremony will take place. That's why I offer online learning for my sons and daughters mitzvah.
I had the privilege of teaching my sons and daughters a mitzvah in the Nablus to Nablus study, and also in the "far away" study (Israel-Europe), so I know that this is possible. It is very important to me to share the parents in the learning process.
Online preparation for the Bar Mitzvah ceremony includes 12 lessons of 45 minutes:
Studying the flavors of the Bible, their names, their role and their melody
Studying the Torah reading of the passage from the bar/bat mitzvah parshat.
Preparing a sermon on the relevant parsha of the week
Familiarization with Tefillin and Talit mitzvot (even girls can)
Exposure to basic spiritual concepts in Judaism - prayer, Shabbat, the Jewish bookcase, social justice in Judaism, mitzvot and more.
One or two sessions will be in joint study with the parents (tefillin and tallit for example, good to study together).