Welcome to 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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News Gabby Giffords’ bat mitzvah was as joyous and tearful as you’d expect
As former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords stood before the congregation of Temple Chaverim in Tucson, Ariz., and kissed her tallit, preparing to chant from the Torah for her bat mitzvah, Rabbi Stephanie Aaron placed her hand atop Giffords’ hand, her voice rising and falling along with Giffords’ own. It was an emotional moment two decades…
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The Schmooze Crushing on your bar mitzvah dancer? Rachel Bloom has a show for that
If you’ve ever harbored tender feelings for an adult your parents hired to help you and your peers get down on the dance floor during the most awkward period of your life, you probably never wish to contemplate that individual again. You may feel uncomfortably seen by this Key and Peele sketch. You may destroy…
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Community When the ideal bar mitzvah is a Zoom Mitzvah
When the world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic and we were forced to have my twins’ b’nai mitzvah on Zoom, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. Truly, I believe that we would not have had the same level of success in person. Why? Because one of my twins is autistic. How…
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Community How a Silicon Valley mindset helped us host an epic Zoom bar mitzvah
“We could play a YouTube version of ‘Adon Olam’ to a really catchy tune!” “We could play personal messages for him from family all over the world!” “We could have an Israeli rock star sing him a song!” These were the “What ifs” that drove the conversation between me and my wife after we decided…
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Community I’m jealous of the pandemic bar mitzvah
Sweaty palms, fresh new shoes and a streak of Bubbie-red lipstick was smeared across my cheek. My bar mitzvah had arrived, the ultimate coming of age. Walking into the synagogue on Shabbat morning I recall a grab-bag of emotions, mostly felt in my stomach. The pews were the Who’s-Who of my life; family, close friends…
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Life What happens when your bar mitzvah is canceled?
The celebration of a Bar or Bat Mitzvah has always played an extra-special role in my family. My father was unable to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah since he spent his 13th year in Auschwitz. That fact and the family history that comes with it was central in my upbringing, my own Bar Mitzvah, and my…
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Culture Q & A: She’s Sarah Silverman’s Sister — And Just Officiated Tiffany Haddish’s Bat Mitzvah
Sure, there are a lot of Jews in Hollywood. But not one of them has ever had quite as memorable a showbiz bat mitzvah as Tiffany Haddish. Haddish, whose father is an Eritrean-born Ethiopian Jew, became bat mitzvah on December 3, her 40th birthday, and simultaneously premiered her new Netflix special “Black Mitzvah.” The actress…
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News 91-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Has Bar Mitzvah
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – At 91, Holocaust survivor Andor Stern no longer fears the Nazis who imprisoned him in Auschwitz. Living in his native Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest metro area of nearly 25 million, what scares him today are burglars – his modest house has been broken into twice in the city where he…
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