LOS ANGELES (JTA) – More and more families planning bar and bat mitzvahs are taking the advice of Jeffrey Salkin, author of “Putting God on the Guest List,” by making sure to incorporate spiritual ...

There are few events in Jewish life as significant as a bar or bat mitzvah, the coming-of-age milestone often celebrated alongside a party for family and friends. And for such an important occasion, ...

I rarely pay attention to walls when I’m in a synagogue. I’m usually more focused on the people, the prayers and the rabbi’s sermon. On a recent Shabbat, though, I couldn’t stop looking at the walls.

For those of us who love ritual, it has been quite a dry spell. Judaism is an ancient, ritualistic religion, and while some happily adapted to Zoom services where they don’t have to even get dressed, ...

AT Eli Kapsack’s bar mitzvah, he chanted in the ancient tones of the Hebrew Bible about a sorcerer named Balaam, the angel of the Lord descending to earth and a talking donkey who tries to clue her ...

I clearly remember the first time I imagined my son’s bar mitzvah. I had just changed his sagging diaper in the temple bathroom and was returning to my seat in the back row of the sanctuary. “Linda, ...

So began my bar mitzvah pshetl (bar mitzvah boy’s Talmudic discourse delivered in Yiddish) 50 years ago. The setting, a basement shteible (small shul) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The congregants were ...

BELLAIRE, Texas (AP) — A 13-year-old boy and his family opened his bar mitzvah service — typically an invite-only affair — to anyone from the larger Jewish community who wanted to come. BELLAIRE, ...

Here is a guide to planning a bar/bat mitzvah from a parent who has been there. Plus, what guests attending need to know. Recently, I began the process of planning my son’s bar mitzvah. With so many ...