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Bnei Mitzvah

Three people smiling and holding a Torah scroll, with colorful clothing and a warm setting.

Bar/bat mitzvah parties so dominate the social lives of teens in New York City that, according to a New York Times article, non-Jewish families are holding “faux mitzvahs” for their envious offspring. What is a bar/bat mitzvah supposed to be? How did it end up like this? Read our overview to learn more, and check out the many new ways families are meaningfully enhancing their bar/bat mitzvah celebrations.

Latest Rituals

Learn the blessing after the Torah reading in Hebrew and ASL

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Learn the Reconstructionist blessing before the Torah reading in Hebrew and ASL

woman sings and man signs torah blessings

Learn the blessing before the Torah reading in Hebrew and ASL

woman sings and man signs torah blessings

“As I now hold the Torah so I once held you”

mount sinai

Blessing for passing the Torah scroll from generation to generation

Three people smiling and holding a Torah scroll in a synagogue, with colorful curtains in the background.

Original song based on Pslams for a baby girl blessing, bat mitzvah, or wedding

A person with a backpack stands on river rocks, surrounded by a lush forest.

A ritual for tying tzitzit in a communal, reflective, and healing context

person wearing brown tallit silhouetted against the sunset

Torah blessings to be used by non-Jewish partners

Three people holding a Torah scroll and smiling inside a synagogue.

Learn what to expect at a bar or bat mitzvah

what to expect at a bar or bat mitzvah

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

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