How to manage the process with grace, joy and good sense. A practical guide that gives parents and teens the "how-to" information they need to navigate the bar/bat mitzvah process and grow as a family through this experience. For the first time in one book, everyone directly involved offers practical insights into how the process can be made easier and more enjoyable for all. Rabbis, cantors and Jewish educators from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, parents, and even teens speak from their own experience. - What's it all about? - Preparation for Parent and Child - Tutoring, stress, expectations, enjoyment, planning for children with special needs - Negotiating the ceremony and celebration - Designing a creative service, heightening the spiritual exercise, special issues related to divorced and interfaith families, planning a party that neither breaks the bank nor detracts from the inherent spirituality of the event.

How to manage the process with grace, joy and good sense. A practical guide that gives parents and teens the "how-to" information they need to navigate the bar/bat mitzvah process and grow as a family through this experience. For the first time in one book, everyone directly involved offers practical insights into how the process can be made easier and more enjoyable for all. Rabbis, cantors and Jewish educators from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, parents, and even teens speak from their own experience. • What's it all about? • Preparation for Parent and Child • Tutoring, stress, expectations, enjoyment, planning for children with special needs • Negotiating the ceremony and celebration • Designing a creative service, heightening the spiritual exercise, special issues related to divorced and interfaith families, planning a party that neither breaks the bank nor detracts from the inherent spirituality of the event.

Ideas and activities for leading a pick & plan your mitzvah project workshop. A companion to The Mitzvah Project Book: Making Mitzvah Part of Your Bar/Bat Mitzvah ... and Your Life, this workshop leader's guide is packed with fun activities to choose from or to use as inspiration for crafting your own activities. Clear instructions, materials lists and goals will help you lead a meaningful workshop that shows participants how to make the world a better place through good deeds—big or small. Participants will: Become familiar with the meaning of "mitzvah" Learn about different mitzvah types and topics Explore mitzvah project ideas relating to their interests Start planning a doable mitzvah project of their own

A practical and friendly guide for students and parents -- a guide that focuses on both the service and the reception, incorporating the experiences and rituals of families from all traditions.

Whether it's finding the right synagogue and selecting a mitzvah project or choosing party favors, this original new guide to planning a bar or bat mitzvah is filled with inspiring ideas.

Like Judaism itself, the ritual of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah has developed over time. As with all rituals, participants need to invest it with meaning if it is to move beyond mere performance. In a time when we seek to strengthen Jewish continuity and identity, the bar and bat mitzvah provide opportunities to create meaning in our children's lives. It is the moment when the Jewish community grows by one. A Spiritual Journey is at once a guide to the practical issues of becoming a bar or bat mitzvah and an exploration of the deeper emotional and spiritual elements, inviting young adults and their families to appreciate the ritual's inherent richness and beauty. B'nai mitzvah and their parents will benefit from this thoughtful examination of the ceremonies that lie at the heart of Jewish identity. A Spiritual Journey ensures that the ceremony sets Jewish young adults on a lifelong path toward wisdom, faith, justice, and peace.

An indispensable, modern-day guide to planning the perfect bar or bat mitzvah, celebrating substance and style There used to be only two approaches to the bar or bat mitzvah party -- a low-key event that reflects the solemnity of this sacred rite of passage or a big bash that has no connection to the religious service. For many, it was an impossible dilemma. Will a big bash trivialize and overshadow the bar or bat mitzvah experience? Will too much spirituality suck the life out of an otherwise fabulous party? MitzvahChic is the first book that proves that if you want a truly amazing experience, you can and must have it all! Blending meaningful Jewish elements with high-style contemporary party planning, this inspiring and useful guide will show you how to have the ultimate bar or bat mitzvah -- a profoundly moving service followed by an unforgettable party. The MitzvahChic approach also shows how to honor your child in a big way, rather than reducing him or her to an overused pop culture theme or a single cliché: He's into baseball! She loves horses! This must-have guide gives advice on the major decisions, the basics of the service, and the party details that really matter. It also features: A complete guide to the Torah, including dates and summaries of the portions and supplementary materials Eight complete, themed parties, including party favors, decorations, and photographs of sample tables A time line to help plan the bar or bat mitzvah up to two years ahead Instructions for being MitzvahChic on a budget Advice on how to include non-Jewish friends and family members in the ceremony A practical guide to all things mitzvah from the Torah to the tablecloth, MitzvahChic will help create a beautiful, powerful, resonant, and unforgettable rite of passage.