Adult B’nai Mitzvah

A New Chance

Our members come from a diversity of backgrounds, each with a different level of formal Jewish education. Some have never had the chance to learn Hebrew or become a B’nai Mitzvah. This is particularly true for women and those who converted to Judaism. We offer these members the chance to do both.

The Program

Guided by our rabbi, our adult B’nai Mitzvah class meets together in a small group over a two-year period. Learning to read Hebrew, parsing Torah, and studying and discussing Jewish laws and customs in the context of the Reform Movement, the group moves toward its B’nai Mitzvah.

Unlike our traditional B’nai Mitzvah program through the Religious School, the B’nai Mitzvah class is geared toward adult learners. The class forms a cohesive support group, and provides a warm space in which to explore one’s Judaism.  If you are interested in joining a future B’nai Mitzvah class, please contact Rabbi Berkowitz at rabbi@kolamielkinspark.org.

The Ceremony

The culmination of the class is the B’nai Mitzvah service at which time participants are called to the Torah, and family, friends and fellow congregants kvell over the accomplishment of the class.

Like our teenage B’nai Mitzvah students, our adult students are invited to choose which Torah verses they would like to read or chant, based on the verses that speak to them. Each celebrant delivers a dvar Torah, talking about what they found meaningful in those verses and explaining what led to commencing the journey to B’nai Mitzvah as an adult.