B'nai Mitzvah

Bet Torah's goal is to help every family celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah to find meaning and enjoyment in this special milestone. 

Our clergy, and those who assist us, strive to individualize each student’s training and each family’s preparations.  It is our hope that every Bar or Bat Mitzvah synagogue celebration also reflects personal connection and participation. Click the button below to read Bet Torah’s new and improved manual with all the important information to help with your planning! If you have any questions along the way, please contact our Executive Director, Seth Young (syoung@bettorah.org).

B'nai Mitzvah Manual 

Training with Cantor Ezring and Nili

Training for the actual Bar or Bat Mitzvah begins approximately nine months in advance with a meeting for you and your Bar/Bat Mitzvah child with Cantor Ezring and Nili. In your family’s initial meeting, you will share a more personal orientation to your upcoming celebration and review the various things that need to be achieved over the ensuing months.  Each Bar/Bat Mitzvah will continue to meet on a weekly basis until their big day. 

Meetings with Rabbi Brusso and Rabbi Sacks

Each Bar or Bat Mitzvah will meet with Rabbi Brusso and/or Rabbi Sacks prior to his/her Bar/Bat Mitzvah. These meetings provide opportunities, as necessary,  to prepare for the Bar or Bat Mitzvah child's D’var Torah (speech).   

Service Attendance Requirement 

Familiarity with the Shabbat morning worship Service is a basic necessity for each Bar and Bat Mitzvah student as they anticipate their own special celebration. Our goals for each of our students are: to understand the Service of which they will be an important part; to become skilled participants and comfortable members of our larger religious community; to feel a personal sense of meaning and connection with the service on the day of their becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah; to be of support and assistance to one another in sharing their common experience. Toward those goals, we have established a policy of REQUIRED attendance at Shabbat Services for the period of months preceding each student’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah date.