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.
What is a bar or bat mitzvah supposed to be? How did it end up like this? Read our overview to learn more, and check out the many new ways families are meaningfully enhancing their bar and bat mitzvah celebrations.
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A Recollection of the First U.S. Bat Mitzvah | Article
By Judith Kaplan Eisenstein, z"l
Mordecai Kaplan's daughter describes her bat mitzvah in 1922 in New York.
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Bat Mitzvah: Preparing Girls for Womanhood in a Changing Judaism | Article
By Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell
A program involving text study, the creation of blessings, and tzedakah, welcoming girls into the rich continuum of Jewish women's experience
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Twelve Ways to Make Your Bat Mitzvah Meaningful | Article
This list, compiled for Orthodox girls, has good ideas for anyone planning a bar or bat mitzvah.
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Toward a Meaningful Bat Mitzvah | Article
A guide to creating a meaningful ceremony within the framework of traditional Judaism
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Misheberach Prayer for a Bat Mitzvah Girl | Prayer
Various congregrations in Israel recite this prayer in synagogue for a bat mitzvah. It is adapted from the standard Siddur Rinat Yisrael.
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Misheberach Prayer for a Bat Mitzvah Celebrant in the Florentine Tradition | Prayer
A traditional bat mitzvah prayer from the community of Florence, Italy
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Prayer for a Bat Mitzvah According to Italian Ritual in Turin and Milan | Prayer
A traditional bat mitzvah prayer
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Feminist Haftarah Blessings | Prayer
By the Dorshei Derekh Women's Haftorah Group (Ellen Frankel, Elizheva Hurvich, Lori Lefkovitz, Miriam Senturia, and Rivkah Walton).
Readings by Jewish women selected to complement the weekly Torah reading
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The Voice of a Mother | Prayer
By Renee S. Septimus
A mother's prayer, written for her son's bar mitzvah
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Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman | Poem
By Anne Sexton
A beautiful poem about a daughter's coming of age
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Candle-Lighting Ceremony for a Bat Mitzvah | Complete Ceremony
By Rabbi Danielle Upbin and Mindy Solomon
Riffing on the now-traditional candle-lighting, this ceremony offers a candle for eight women in Jewish history.
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Cup of Life Ceremony | Complete Ceremony
A beautiful alternative to a candle-lighting ceremony
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Welcoming Ceremony for the Bar/Bat Mitzvah Celebrant | Complete Ceremony
By Joseph G. Rosenstein
Following the synagogue service, a minyan of community members conveys what membership in the community entails.
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Bat Mitzvah Battle | Poem
Anonymous
A mother's poem describing her experiences with divorce as they affected her daughter's bat mitzvah
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