Bar/Bat Mitzvah is neither the "goal" nor the "end" of a Jewish education. It is a milestone in the life a Jewish young person, marking the traditional age at which the transition from childhood to Jewish adulthood with all its attendant spiritual responsibilities takes place. By this age, it is assumed, children have become adequately familiar with the Jewish pattern of Mitzvot and ethical behavior. It is also assumed that they have acquired sufficient knowledge about Judaism to enable them to accept and fulfill the religious and spiritual responsibilities of an adult member of the Jewish people.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah is not the focus of our educational program, and our students are expected and encouraged to continue their formal Jewish studies on a more advanced level in our Hebrew High School. Nevertheless, much of what is taught in the elementary Religious School program does help prepare the student for his/her entrance into adult Jewish life, equipping him/her to participate fully in those activities and observances that characterize a positive, meaningful Jewish existence. In this sense, the Religious School program prepares the student not merely for the synagogue ceremony marking the attainment of the age of Jewish responsibility, but more significantly, for its aftermath: a life as an informed, knowledgeable, committed and responsible Jew.

This package has been prepared to assist you in the preparation of your child's Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Within this package you will find the following:

1. Bar/Bat Mitzvah Standards

2. Procedures for Bar/Bat Mitzvah

3. A Guide For Bimah Etiquette

4. Friday Night Service Format - Acrobat Reader required

5. Saturday Morning Service Format - Acrobat Reader requirede

6. Aliyah List - Acrobat Reader required

7. Torah Blessings - to come - Acrobat Reader required