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B'nei Mitzvah

Congregation Ner Tamid’s goal is to help every family celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah to find meaning and enjoyment in this special milestone.  Our clergy, and those who assist us, strive to individualize each student’s training and each family’s preparations.  It is our hope that every Bar or Bat Mitzvah synagogue celebration also reflects personal connection and participation.

B'nei Mitzvah Date Scheduling 
For our members, the synagogue office should have already notified you regarding the date of your child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  Our synagogue’s practice is to assign dates in chronological order on a Shabbat morning as close as possible to your child’s 13th Hebrew birthday.  Dates for each B’nei Mitzvah are scheduled roughly 24-36 months in advance in order to accommodate all of our children and coordinate the use of our beautiful synagogue for all of our member families’ celebrations.  If you have joined our congregation after this period and are interested in scheduling a B’nei Mitzvah date for your child, please contact Ami Berlin at aberlin@nertamid.com.

Training with Cantor Jaffe 
Training for the actual Bar or Bat Mitzvah begins approximately nine to eleven months in advance with a meeting for you and your Bar/Bat Mitzvah child with Cantor Jaffe. In your family’s initial meeting, you will share a more personal orientation to your upcoming celebration and review the various things that need to be achieved over the ensuing months.  Each Bar/Bat Mitzvah will continue to meet with Cantor Jaffe on a weekly basis until their big day. 

Meetings with Rabbi Graetz 
Each Bar or Bat Mitzvah will meet four times with Rabbi Graetz prior to his/her Bar/Bat Mitzvah.  The Bar/Bat Mitzvah should be accompanied by their parents.  These meetings provide opportunities, as necessary, for Rabbi Graetz and the family to become better acquainted, to prepare the D’var Torah (speech) and review the Tikkun Olam Project.  
 
Service Attendance Requirement 
Familiarity with the Shabbat morning worship Service is a basic necessity for each Bar and Bat Mitzvah student as they anticipate their own special celebration. Our goals for each of our students are: to understand the Service of which they will be an important part; to become skilled participants and comfortable members of our larger religious community; to feel a personal sense of meaning and connection with the service on the day of their becoming a Bar or Bat Mitzvah; to be of support and assistance to one another in sharing their common experience. 
Toward those goals, we have established a policy of REQUIRED attendance at Shabbat Services for the period of months preceding each student’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah date. 

Tue, March 19 2024 9 Adar II 5784