How to manage the process with grace, joy and good sense. A practical guide that gives parents and teens the "how-to" information they need to navigate the bar/bat mitzvah process and grow as a family through this experience. For the first time in one book, everyone directly involved offers practical insights into how the process can be made easier and more enjoyable for all. Rabbis, cantors and Jewish educators from the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements, parents, and even teens speak from their own experience. - What's it all about? - Preparation for Parent and Child - Tutoring, stress, expectations, enjoyment, planning for children with special needs - Negotiating the ceremony and celebration - Designing a creative service, heightening the spiritual exercise, special issues related to divorced and interfaith families, planning a party that neither breaks the bank nor detracts from the inherent spirituality of the event.

A 64-page workbook to help rabbis, cantors, education directors, and family programmers prepare b'nai mitzvah students and their families for that momentous life-cycle event--the bar or bat mitzvah. The manual is divided into six training sessions, called workshops, each devoted to a separate topic such as planning a mitzvah project, writing a d'var Torah, hosting a meaningful party, and what it means to live as a Jewish adult. The manual will help your congregation strengthen the 6-7th grade community as families work and study together with a common goal--celebrating a meaningful and memorable bar or bat mitzvah. CONTENTS: Workshop 1: What Is a Bar and Bat Mitzvah? Workshop 2: The Torah Connection Workshop 3: Finding the Sacred in the Bar and Bat Mitzvah Ceremony Workshop 4: A Lifetime of Mitzvot Workshop 5: Let's Celebrate! Workshop 6: Living as a Jewish Adult SPECIAL FEATURES: "The Real World" presents actual case studies of teens who transformed Jewish values and mitzvot into action. "Teen Talk" offers activities to engage teenage participants alone or in groups, for example, how to choose a mitzvah project that is personal and relevant. "Parent's Perspective" invites adults to reflect on what their child's bar or bat mitzvah means to them. "Focus on Text" presents the b'nai mitzvah ceremony through the lens of Jewish values, and grounds it in Jewish tradition.

Delve deeper into spiritual practice to find the power and meaning waiting there for you. “Spiritual practice reveals that the Garden of Eden is right where you are standing and helps you to be here, now. Therefore, Jewish spiritual practices cultivate joy, hope, resilience and understanding so that you can undertake your soul’s work in this lifetime with vision, passion and integrity.” from the Introduction This innovative guidebook makes accessible Judaism’s spiritual pathways, principles and applications, and empowers you to test their value within your own life. Each chapter provides step-by-step, recipe-like guides to a particular Jewish practice or group of practices, gives examples of how they might unfold inside your life, and shows how each can help refuel your spirit throughout the day. You’ll discover: Prayer practices for embracing the body and creation with awe, limbering up your mind, and preparing for compassionate action How to draw sustenance from the Great Mystery, the inexplicable and unknowable Source of Life How to mine the Torah’s stories, commentaries, symbols and metaphors for meaning Ways to develop your Hebrew vocabulary so you can formulate your own interpretations of sacred text How to explore and practice mitzvot as meaningful, compelling parts of your spiritual life How to view the Jewish people as a precious human resource and as a model for resilience ... and much, much more.

If your marriage must come to an end, do it the right way--with wisdom, practicality and understanding. What does Judaism tell you about divorce? What guidance, strength and insight can Judaism provide? In this first-of-its-kind handbook, Perry Netter--divorcé, father, congregational rabbi and pastoral counselor--shows how wholeness can be found in the midst of separation and divorce. With a title drawn from the words of the eleventh-century biblical commentator known as Rashi, Divorce Is a Mitzvah provides practical wisdom, information and strength from a Jewish perspective for those experiencing the challenging life-transition of divorce. Drawing on wisdom from centuries of biblical and rabbinic teachings, as well as modern psychological research, Netter offers suggestions for transitioning through the stages of separation and building a new life. This indispensable guide for people in crisis--and the family members, friends and counselors who interact with them--shows us how to transform a traumatic time of life into one of growth, right behavior and greater spiritual understanding.

Like Judaism itself, the ritual of the Bar and Bat Mitzvah has developed over time. As with all rituals, participants need to invest it with meaning if it is to move beyond mere performance. In a time when we seek to strengthen Jewish continuity and identity, the bar and bat mitzvah provide opportunities to create meaning in our children's lives. It is the moment when the Jewish community grows by one. A Spiritual Journey is at once a guide to the practical issues of becoming a bar or bat mitzvah and an exploration of the deeper emotional and spiritual elements, inviting young adults and their families to appreciate the ritual's inherent richness and beauty. B'nai mitzvah and their parents will benefit from this thoughtful examination of the ceremonies that lie at the heart of Jewish identity. A Spiritual Journey ensures that the ceremony sets Jewish young adults on a lifelong path toward wisdom, faith, justice, and peace.

Be-midbar (Numbers 1:1-4:20) and Haftarah (Hosea 2:1-22): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary shows teens in their own language how Torah addresses the issues in their world. The conversational tone is inviting and dignified, concise and substantial, direct and informative. Each pamphlet includes a general introduction, two model divrei Torah on the weekly Torah portion, and one model davar Torah on the weekly Haftarah portion. Jewish learning--for young people and adults--will never be the same. The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin's book The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).