How to Incorporate Jewish Traditions Into a Bar Mitzvah

A bar mitzvah is first and foremost a celebration of a boy's Jewish identity and religious coming-of-age. Incorporate Jewish traditions into a bar mitzvah to keep the meaning and sanctity of the event alive.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Understand and Choose Jewish Bar Mitzvah Traditions

1. Know that during a bar mitzvah, a young man is called to the Torah to read the weekly passage and lead the congregation in prayer. This is his rite of passage from child to adult, as well as the culmination of a year of studying and preparation.

2. Give your son a tallit (prayer shawl) that will be his to wear in prayer for the rest of his life. Typically, this ritual takes place during the service, just before the boy is called to read from the Torah. It's presented by the boy's parents and is accompanied by a short prayer of blessing.

3. Consider holding the bar mitzvah party in your synagogue's social hall instead of an outside venue. You may be required to observe the laws of the Jewish Sabbath, adding additional meaning to the event.

4. Incorporate Jewish prayers into the party to recognize and honor Jewish commandments. The hamotzi (blessing over bread) and kiddush (blessing over wine) provide commonly used starting points.

5. Have a candle-lighting ceremony to honor special people in the bar mitzvah boy's life. Read a small passage about each honored guest, calling them up to light candles and offer blessings to the bar mitzvah boy. Traditionally, 13 candles are lit, for each year of life.

6. Include Jewish dances like the hora and a chair dance. Ask the DJ or band to play some Jewish songs.

7. Incorporate Jewish traditions by having a Jewish theme for the bar mitzvah party. Let the bar mitzvah boy pick an aspect of the religion he likes and decorate the party around that theme.

8. Think about hiring a klezmer band to play Yiddish and Hebrew music for the party.

Tips & Warnings

• Think about incorporating the Jewish ideals of Tzedakah (charity) and Tikkun O'lam (healing the world) into the bar mitzvah. You can make a charitable donation in honor of the bar mitzvah boy, raise awareness for a cause, donate part of the bar mitzvah gift or do a volunteer project in the community. Many organizations offer projects in which bar mitzvah students can participate.
• The traditional bread used for the hamotzi is a braided challah.