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The kids' companion to the award-winning Putting God on the Guest List, 3rd Ed.: How to Reclaim the Spiritual Meaning of Your Child’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah
Used as an inspiring part of bar/bat mitzvah preparation for parents in hundreds of congregations around the world.
Jewish youngsters and their parents need to turn inward at bar and bat mitzvah time and ask themselves these hard questions: "Why are we doing this? What does it all mean?"
At last, a guide especially for kids, to help them spiritually prepare for their bar/bat mitzvah. Explains the core spiritual values of Judaism to young people in a language they can understand. Questions at the end of each chapter engage kids and let them offer their own thoughts. A special section helps parents and kids find places to perform acts of tzedakah to honor the event—newly revised and updated.
"A great resource for kids with every kind of Jewish background, even if you are a kid with two parents who are rabbis—like me!"
—Joshua Zecher Ross, Age 13, Bar Mitzvah Parshat Noah 5759
"Reminds our young people that becoming b'nai mitzvah is less about the quality of their performance than about the quality of their lives. It is an important contribution in helping our youth make coming of age a sacred passage."
—Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso (Reconstructionist), author of In God's Name, God’s Paintbrush and other books
“A sensitive work that will help a young Jew be more aware of God’s Presence on the day of bar/bat mitzvah and remain aware of that Presence in the everyday experiences of life that follow.”
—Rabbi William H. Lebeau (Conservative), vice chancellor, dean of the rabbinical school, the Jewish Theological Seminary
“We’ve used Putting God on the Guest List in our b’nai mitzvah program for many years. I’ve always wished for a companion book that could talk to the kids themselves. This is the book I’ve been waiting for!”
—Rabbi Laura Geller (Reform),Temple Emanuel, Beverly Hills, CA
“Hey kids—between learning your portion and writing your speech, read this book. Then you will have a bar or bat mitzvah to remember!”
—Dr. Ron Wolfson, author of God’s To-Do List: 103 Ways to Be an Angel and Do God’s Work on Earth; Fingerhut Professor of Education, University of Judaism, Los Angeles
“This wonderful book has the capacity to inspire and transform tens of thousands of bar and bat mitzvahs, and they in turn will inspire and transform future Jewish life in America.”
—Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal
“Does it for kids! Provides lots of powerful answers to their real questions.”
—Joel Lurie Grishaver, author of Shema Is for Real, and editor of Hanukkah: The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 7
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11
1 • Beyond "Today I Am a Man/a Woman"
THE REAL HISTORY OF BAR AND BAT MITZVAH 15
2 • “Speak to the Children of Israel”
THE SECRET MEANING OF BAR AND BAT MITZVAH 28
3 • Why Are These People Crying?
WADING IN THE RIVER OF TEARS 34
4 • Hearing God's Voice
THE MEANING OF TORAH 43
5 • Putting the Mitzvah
Back in Bar and Bat Mitzvah 59
6 • Rites and Wrongs of Passage
PUTTING THE PARTY IN PERSPECTIVE 77
7 • To a Skeptical Jewish Kid 86
8 • A Road Map to the Shabbat Morning Worship Service
FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE WORDS 95
9 • After the Thank-You Notes
LIFE AFTER BAR AND BAT MITZVAH 119
GLOSSARY 130
A LIST OF PLACES FOR YOUR TZEDAKAH 132
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING 138