How to make a Zoom bar or bat mitzvah work for your family
By Jennifer Zwilling and Jon Rosenwasser In March, just as the pandemic was forcing a shutdown of most routine social and economic activity in the U.S., we had to cancel plans to attend a bar mitzvah...
View ArticleFamily adapts to COVID by scheduling bar mitzvah ceremony, party for...
For 13-year-old Zachary Burrows, the pandemic hasn’t only changed the way he goes to school and socializes. To keep attendees safe from coronavirus, he and his family have rescheduled his bar mitzvah...
View ArticleFrom aliens to Coachella, b’nai mitzvah party themes entertain
In the more than 25 years that her company has been planning b’nai mitzvah, Heidi Hiller, the CEO and creative director of Innovative Party Planners, has quite possibly seen it all when it comes to...
View ArticleUnaffiliated Jews get Creative for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
There was no question that the Danskys of Livingston, N.J., were going to have their children bar and bat mitzvahed. There was also no question of joining a synagogue to do so. “We’re not that...
View ArticleKetubah Artists Continue a Centuries Old Craft
The ketubah, the marriage contract for Jewish weddings outlining the responsibilities of the groom to the bride, has long been an outlet for artists who sought to do something special with a simple...
View ArticleYoung Holocaust Victim Remembered in Bar Mitzvah Project
Gavin Jacob Kaplan may be a young man of few words, but he has dedicated himself and his recent bar mitzvah project to making sure the tragic story of a young Holocaust victim is never forgotten....
View ArticleFrom Trampolines to Monkeys: Choosing a Venue for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah
When it comes to a child’s bar or bat mitzvah, it can be a stressful time. So many choices to be made! One of the biggest decisions families contend with is where to have the celebration after the...
View ArticleFinding Her Voice: Why These Women Chose to Have Bat Mitzvahs as Adults
In the Jewish community, there are some axioms (perhaps unspoken) that we don’t think about much. Rugelach is best right out of the oven. Never argue with your mother. A bar or bat mitzvah marks a...
View ArticleWhen Emergencies Strike B’nai Mitzvahs
It’s the morning of your child’s big day. The caterers have started cooking, the venue has put up decorations, and family is starting to arrive. But then the worst happens. A heart attack. A blizzard....
View ArticleOf Birthright and B’nai Mitzvahs: Israel Trips Offer a Coming-of-Age Experience
It is of course a momentous day whenever a maturing Jewish boy or girl has their bar or bat mitzvah and, with it, takes their first steps into adulthood. But that day becomes all the more special when...
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