The B’nei Mitzvah Journey at Beth Chaim
At Beth Chaim we stress that the B’nei Mitzvah (the plural of Bar Mitzvah) is a beginning rather than the conclusion of a person’s involvement with Jewish life and Jewish education. The B’nei Mitzvah is a very special rite of passage to the next step in each student’s relationship with the Jewish community and with each person’s own spiritual life. The ceremony celebrates the student’s readiness to begin to accept responsibility for his/her moral behavior and life as a member of the proud and meaningful Jewish spiritual tradition.
Through our program we create a community of students and families who learn together, celebrate together, and accompany one another through their B’nei Mitzvah year and beyond. We create Journey groups, which are groups of 10 families who meet together throughout the year, to learn together and walk this process with one another. We understand that this rite of passage greatly impacts the spiritual life of the family.
Students learn to chant Torah with a mentor, and learn to write a dvar Torah (words of Torah or oral teaching) with one of the rabbis. In addition to traditional Torah learning, we explore how our encounter with Torah interfaces with our own lives and our own relationship with God and spirituality.
In the video below, Rabbi Chaya Gusfield talks about the B'nei Mitzvah program at Beth Chaim:
