B Mitzvah

How is Kol Hadash B Mitzvah Different from All Other B Mitzvahs?

A Kol Hadash B Mitzvah (gender-neutral, non-binary term for “Bar Mitzvah” and/or “Bat Mitzvah”) is unique, meaningful, and personal to the student in many ways:

Meaningful: Rather than be automatically assigned the Torah or Haftorah portion that falls on their B Mitzvah service date, our students choose their own Hebrew reading based on what they find to be most inspirational or meaningful. Their focus can be on a Hebrew text and commentary, or they can speak on a topic, issue or person from the wide sweep of the Jewish experience with a Hebrew reading supporting their presentation.

Inclusive:  All family members of B Mitzvah students can participate fully in our ceremonies. We are fully welcoming and inclusive of modern families in all their diversity. Service readings are in English and sensitive to a diverse audience, enabling attendees of all cultural and religious backgrounds to participate equally and meaningfully.

Customized: Families customize their B Mitzvah celebration service by working with our Rabbi to choose their favorite readings and music from an array of options. Families may honor other family members and friends by having them read selections from the service, hold the Torah, or light candles on our congregational menorah.

Single-Focused:  The B Mitzvah is the only reason for the gathering.  Every B Mitzvah service is devoted to only one student (unless families choose to have siblings celebrate together). 

Manageable: Our B Mitzvah preparation fits into the busy lives of today’s middle-schoolers and their families. Students learn Hebrew efficiently and effectively through one-on-one tutoring sessions. Our families almost always get their first choice of date. Ceremonies can be held on a Friday evening, ay morning or Saturday evening.

Throughout the year we have B Mitzvah FAQ sessions with parents to talk over our unique B Mitzvah program. The next B Mitzvah FAQ sessions are Thursday, September 15 at 7:00-8:00pm on Zoom, and, Sunday, January 15 at 9:30-10:30am at Kol Hadash Sunday School at Deerfield High School (1959 N. Waukegan Road, Deerfield).

To register for the FAQ session, please click the button below.

You may also schedule a one-on-one information session in-person or by Zoom, phone or email with Rabbi Chalom, our Youth Education Director, or our B Mitzvah Coordinator.

Contact our B Mitzvah Coordinator, Leah Sosewitz with questions at mitzvah@KolHadash.com.

We Wanted Our Kids to Have a Choice
by Marla Davishoff

  Learn more about Kol Hadash B Mitzvahs: 

   JUF article featuring our B Mitzvah program

Sample B Mitzvah Speeches

Jewish Humor:  One day, the special golden phone on the desk of the Orthodox Israeli Chief Rabbi rings for the first time. Amazed, the Chief Rabbi picks up the phone and asks in a halting voice, “Who is there?”  “This is God speaking. I have two very important messages to give you. Would you like the good news or the bad news first?”  Read entire speech. 

Rehoboam & Politics: By looking at the passage I read, what can we tell about who wrote it, and when, and why? It must have been written some time after the events took place; it couldn’t have been written before they happened, of course, and it doesn’t sound like it was written like a newspaper article right afterwards. It sounds much more like a later interpretation…Read entire speech.

Leviticus: An Eye for an Eye: In Humanistic Bar Mitzvahs, we are able to choose our Hebrew reading. When it was time to choose my passage, I was considering multiple options. Passages from Genesis, other parts of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, but “lex talonis,” or “the law of an eye for an eye,” caught MY eye. Read entire speech.

Jacob + Esau: One of the interesting details of the story is how Jacob sends his family to meet Esau –first he sends his servants…. Then he sends Leah and her children, and then Rachel and Joseph…He is putting who he likes the best in the back, so they will be the safest…If you had been in front, you wouldn’t have liked it, but in the story they don’t say anything. In Humanistic Judaism, it is important to say what you believe, even if others disagree with you. You have to stand up for what you think. Read entire speech.