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
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Opinion Ending violence at the Western Wall will take empathy from all of us
Harassment of anyone at the Western Wall is unacceptable. To end it, every Jew needs to understand the perspective of those unlike themselves, writes a Haredi rabbi
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Opinion I went to Israel for my bat mitzvah at the Kotel but an angry ultra-Orthodox mob tried to stop it
I came as a girl wanting to read Torah, and left as a woman ready to fight for everyone’s right to pray as they choose
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Sports At Maccabiah Games, 300 Jewish American athletes become bar and bat mitzvah
As kids, many spent more time on sports than in Hebrew school. The "Jewish Olympics" give them a chance to go through the ceremony in Israel.
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Film & TV ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ is a charmer – but its Jewish characters need some work
Cooper Raiff's film, on Apple TV+ follows a non-Jewish b'nai mitzvah hype man
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The Schmooze Adam Sandler’s daughter’s bat mitzvah was a who’s who of celebrities
Imagine turning the big 13 and having Jennifer Aniston — or, even better, the biggest TikTok stars — show up to your party. I can't decide if it's mortifying or amazing.
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Opinion On the 100th birthday of the bat mitzvah, an artist remembers their own coming of age
View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Forward (@jdforward) To contact the artist, email [email protected].
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Fast Forward Which member of Congress is using his bar mitzvah photo for fundraising?
In what may be that rare political fundraising email that evokes an actual “Awwww,” a California Democrat sent out his bar mitzvah picture along with a pitch for funds. “I’ll admit, it’s easy to chuckle at this photo — the classic 1970s bow tie, the braces, the yarmulke, the looks — but it reminded me…
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Opinion The bat mitzvah turns 100 — a history of the female trailblazers who paved the way
Two years before my bat mitzvah, I dressed up as a bar mitzvah boy. It was the holiday of Purim, when costumed revelers celebrate biblical Esther’s derring-do. I wore a red blouse with an oversized collar tucked into chocolate brown Levi’s corduroys, a wrinkled yarmulke borrowed from my father, and a blue-striped magic-markered muslin “prayer…
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