Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
Booking a date
It is important that you book a date in your synagogue diaries as soon as possible to make sure that you get a bat/barmitzvah date as close to your child's Hebrew birthday as possible.Barmitzvah Tutors
Rabbi Yechiel Conway and Rabbi Mendel Sufrin are both barmitzvah tutors under the auspices of the Talmud Torah. They will help with all aspects of barmitzvah preparation including the leining and haftorah.Info on other barmitzvah tutors coming soon...
"Welcome to the Community" Project
Whilst preparing for the big day is an important part of a bar or batmitzvah celebration, it is also key to consider what happens after the celebrations. Whilst this certainly includes religious education, it should encompass so much more. It is often the case that after their 12th or 13th birthdays, a child's involvement in the community falls away.The Leeds Jewish Representative Council has started a welcome to the community project to meet this problem head on. The project involves children from across the community, coming to three sessions over the course of the year in which their bar/batmitzvah is held. These sessions are a chance to socialise with new people, learn a bit about the community, have some delicious food (!), think about their new responsibilities and to begin to form an attachment to the Leeds community.
Past sessions have included a "Magical Mystery Tour" of Leeds where they experienced the history of Jewish Leeds. The next event is on Sunday 10th May 2009 with a free screening of the Hollywood comedy "Keeping Up with the Steins" followed by a small discussion and food.
Celebrations
Check the community provisions pages for a list of approved caterers under the supervision of the Leeds Beth Din. You will soon find a comprehensive simcha guide on this section of the website.WIZO Bar/Batmitzvah Campaign
Leeds WIZO has relaunched its bar/batmitzvah campaign to encourage families to donate towards the celebration of a poror family in Israel at the same time as their child's ceremony. The donation goes towards making a bar or batmitzvah in Israel for single parent families on welfare; and new immigrant children, some of whom are orphans.Many of them have received no Jewish education in their own countries and WIZO's help in making their Bar/Batmitzvah a joyous occasion ensures that their introduction to such education is a happy one.