A 64-page workbook to help rabbis, cantors, education directors, and family programmers prepare b'nai mitzvah students and their families for that momentous life-cycle event—the bar or bat mitzvah. The manual is divided into six training sessions, called workshops, each devoted to a separate topic such as planning a mitzvah project, writing a d'var Torah, hosting a meaningful party, and what it means to live as a Jewish adult. The manual will help your congregation strengthen the 6-7th grade community as families work and study together with a common goal—celebrating a meaningful and memorable bar or bat mitzvah.

CONTENTS:

• Workshop 1: What Is a Bar and Bat Mitzvah?
• Workshop 2: The Torah Connection
• Workshop 3: Finding the Sacred in the Bar and Bat Mitzvah Ceremony
• Workshop 4: A Lifetime of Mitzvot
• Workshop 5: Let's Celebrate!
• Workshop 6: Living as a Jewish Adult

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• "The Real World" presents actual case studies of teens who transformed Jewish values and mitzvot into action.
• "Teen Talk" offers activities to engage teenage participants alone or in groups, for example, how to choose a mitzvah project that is personal and relevant.
• "Parent's Perspective" invites adults to reflect on what their child's bar or bat mitzvah means to them.
• "Focus on Text" presents the b'nai mitzvah ceremony through the lens of Jewish values, and grounds it in Jewish tradition.