This is the Forward’s coverage of b’nai mitzvah (also called bat mitzvahs for girls and bar mitzvahs for boys), Jewish coming-of-age ceremonies typically done at age 13.
B’nai Mitzvah
The Latest
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Books Girls Celebrating Bat Mitzvah, Around the World
My Dear Sweet Daughter: We’ve come a long way in making our place in the synagogue. When I was a little girl I once told my grandfather—my very old-fashioned Abuelo — that I wanted to be a rabbi. “That,” he said to me, “is very ugly.” He said the word in Spanish—fea. I despaired. The…
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The Schmooze Google’s ‘Bar Mitzvah’
If you did an online search yesterday, chances are you saw Google’s homepage decorated with an animated cake, candles and other images celebrating the company’s 13th birthday. Given the search engine’s Jewish parentage, it makes sense that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used the occasion to congratulate the site on a major religious milestone,…
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The Schmooze $1 Million For a Bar Mitzvah? No Way, Kanye
Former NBC CEO Jeff Zucker threw his son Andrew a lavish bar mitzvah at the Four Seasons this weekend — complete with sushi, a celebrity guest list that included Katie Couric and customized Converse sneakers handed out to Andrew’s pals as party favors. But if there was one thing missing from the bash, it was…
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Life Insisting That Young Girls Dress Like Children — Not Kardashians
Jennifer Moses wrote a recent and much-discussed Wall Street Journal essay titled “Why Do We Let Them Dress Like That?” It opens with the writer listening in on a clutch of 12- and 13-year-old girls in the ladies room at a bat mitzvah party as they discuss other girls. The girls are, as you might…
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The Schmooze 13-Year-Old Bar Mitzvah Mensch Helps Struggling Theater
New York’s newest theater producer has zero experience and no deep-pocketed backers. He doesn’t even have a driver’s license. In fact, Jesse Naranjo is barely 13. But the new bar-mitzvah is donating $2,700 of his coming-of-age loot to help a struggling theater production reach the New York stage. According to the NY Daily News, Naranjo…
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Life When ‘Pre-Simcha Stress Syndrome’ Overcomes You
I was always certain that I was never going to be one of those mothers. A bar or bat mitzvah isn’t a wedding, after all. The important thing is that your child is reaching the age of maturity and reading from the Torah. It’s not about the color of the napkins, the quality of the…
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The Schmooze In Israel, Kindness Amid Devastation
Amid all the heartbreak and devastation as a result of the fire in Northern Israel, there have been some remarkable stories of human kindness. Today, many of the members of the moshav Nir Etzion will be starting the Sabbath in their own homes. But this time last week, they were under police instructions to evacuate….
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Food Foodie Passions Take the Bimah at Bar and Bat Mitzvahs
The guests at Jack Cohen’s recent bar mitzvah enjoyed gefilte fish. Sounds familiar. But Cohen’s friends and family were not only treated to it at the kiddush lunch, but also by way of an in-depth PowerPoint presentation on the traditional Jewish food as part of Cohen’s ceremony. By choosing to delve into the complex history…
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