Bar Mitzvah (boys) and Bat Mitzvah (girls)

    
A Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah is an occasion for celebration. But there is much to be done beforehand so that the boy or girl is prepared for this important step in their religious "coming of age" and the responsibilities it entails.

Preparing for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah

NWSS has a full, demanding and rewarding programme for Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. Pupils come through Cheder, studying Hebrew and subjects related to Judaism. At 12 they enter the Senior School where there is a chance for them to take the GCSE Judaism course. During the year leading up to their ceremony, they also join the Bar/Bat Mitzvah class which meets before the service on Saturday mornings, and then stay on for the service together with their parents.

Not just one, but two

In order to acknowledge the maturing process, we have a two-tier system with a Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony at age 13, which we call Rishon (first) and another at minimum age 15, the Sheni (second).

For the Rishon ceremony the Bar or Bat Mitzvah reads a study passage of his or her own choice, with a personal commentary on the reasons for that choice, reads Torah blessings, a Torah portion with translation and the Haftarah with blessings. There is also a Bar/Bat Mitzvah prayer. The young person has a blessing before the open Ark together with his or her close family.

This ceremony can be solo or shared. The pupils are also asked to complete a project that involves them and their families in community events and research.

The second Bar/Bat Mitzvah

For the Sheni, the pupil leads the service alone up to the Torah service, reads or sings the full Torah portion and gives an in-depth d'rasha (commentary) on that portion. After a blessing at the Ark with the immediate family, the Torah scroll is handed from a parent to the young person, symbolising the passing on of our rich Jewish tradition to the next generation.

Each family chooses to celebrate either ceremony with whatever emphasis they wish - and the community enjoys the achievements of all their young people.

After Sheni

After the Sheni ceremony, the pupils may go on to help at Summer Week and become junior Cheder teachers. If a pupil does not wish to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah Sheni ceremony but attends the classes leading up to it, then he or she may also become a junior teacher and youth leader. We also continue the custom of presenting a book of Jewish practice or interest after each ceremony.

The standards we set and attain are high. Pupils are required to read Hebrew fluently as well as have a good knowledge of the contents of their Torah portion and of the service.

At NWSS we take particular pride in being able to include pupils with physical and/or learning disabilities in our programmes.

Our youngsters come out of this process skilled in many ways - with a greater familiarity with the Siddur, with greater comfort with services and with a stronger confidence in their Jewish identity.

Living as we do in a predominantly non-Jewish area, we need to give them all the support we can in strengthening their Judaism. We like to think that our programme and what it achieves does give them that help and that they go on to lead a full Jewish life and, in their turn, are able and keen to pass on our rich traditions.