Bar and bat mitzvah parties so dominate the social lives of teens in New York City that, according to a New York Times article, non-Jewish families are holding "faux mitzvahs" for their envious offspring.
As part of bar mitzvah training, boys should brush up against some of the “traditional” values that have defined Jewish men—a love of communal learning and debate, an understanding of the powerful role that comedy plays in coping with oppression, a responsibility to bury one another and to mourn together. Even in egalitarian communities, there are times when men benefit specifically from the support of other men.
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"May your eyes sparkle with the light of Torah and your ears hear the music of its words" — a prayer for our children based on a talmudic passage [more]
