Bar Mitzvah

Advice for B’nai Mitzvah

The first time I officiated at a bar mitzvah was when I was the visiting rabbi at a young congregation in ...

The Year of the Bar Mitzvahs

The “Derby Bunch”, or “Six Pack” as my parents like to call them, are a motley crew of grandkids – ...

Beyond the Bimah

Tawonga just launched our very first bar and bat mitzvah training in the Bay Area, and I am so excited ...

A Bat Mitzvah Gives Voice to a Woman in Science

While the model is generally that students learn from teachers, yesterday I was reminded that teachers learn from students as ...

Is the Bar Mitzvah Over?

The simple answer, of course, is no. Bar/Bat Mitzvah is one of the most popular Jewish rituals in the United ...

A Bat Mitzvah Hand-Me-Down

I wore a white eyelet dress for my 1971 bat mitzvah. My mom bought it at a discount shop on ...

The Other Cries of War and Peace

About me: I’m a judicial officer. I’ve served on presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, and as counsel to my state Senate. I earned one ...

Torah From Life, or Life From Torah?

One of the conversations that I had early in rabbinic school about how we connect to the wisdom of Torah ...

Drake & YOUR Multicultural Bar or Bat Mitzvah

Drake’s recent SNL skit (see below), perhaps unwittingly but then again perhaps not, highlighted how a bar or bat mitzvah ...

My Children Won’t be Jews Like Me

I’ve done everything “right”: given my children Jewish education, sent them to Jewish camps, spent time with them in Israel ...