BNAI MITZVAH
Our 13 STAGE Bnai Mitzvah programme carefully guides students through conquering a challenge in which they are the central actor, their first steps into adolescence and eventually adulthood. In addition to learning about Humanistic Judaism in a personal way, students build confidence and pride in their own beliefs and values; they are able to speak with confidence on a topic of their own choosing.
Why do our programme?
Our programme is designed to help the bnai mitzvah explore themselves and their values in the process of planning a ceremony that is meaningful to them and their family.
Since this process is designed to help them make the ceremony a form of their self-expression, the students can decide what they want to do on their big day, be it to tell a story from family history, play an instrument, perform a speech of a historical figure, or something else that shows who they are, and what family members and friends they wish to be a part of their service. This offers them a chance to incorporate the values that are important to them, and to make the process meaningful to them as individuals.
COURSE AND STUDENT OBJECTIVES
Students will learn to:
Contribute time and effort to a community service project identified as meaningful to the students’ studies.
Bnai Mitzvah students will hopefully emerge from the process with strong critical-thinking skills, laying the groundwork for intellectual inquiry for the rest of their lives. It can provide these young people with a deep connection to their heritage, and their families with a deeply moving, original, unforgettable coming-of-age ceremony.
nai Mitzvah students will hopefully emerge from the process with strong critical-thinking skills, laying the groundwork for intellectual inquiry for the rest of their lives. It can provide these young people with a deep connection to their heritage, and their families with a deeply moving, original, unforgettable ceremony.
Through this preparation no one will tell the student what to believe, only “this is what many modern Jews now believe.” Humanistic Judaism encourages people to think rationally about Jewish beliefs and practices, to experience elements of Jewish life, to gather new facts, to question, and to be open to developing their own perspectives over the course of their lives. The program emphasises the intersection of Humanism and Judaism , but is not limited to it, and students are encouraged to learn about Reconstructionist Jewish thinking as well as to explore the history of Britain’s two progressive movements, Liberal and Reform Judaism, as well as learning about Orthodox Judaism, Sephardic as well as Ashkenazi.
Family Responsibilities
Families are responsible for supporting their children, as needed, to prepare for their tutoring sessions, finding a Hebrew tutor if needed for reading/chanting a Torah portion, booking the facility, hiring or choosing musician/s to play, sing, and lead the music, if desired, printing the ceremony programme.
Cost
The B’Mitzvah program costs £2500 with half the fee payable upon signing a learning contract. We meet online with the parents first and then our first session includes getting to know your child and introducing them to Step One. We continue to meet online for each session. Students are expected to complete all tasks set by the tutor and parents are expected to ensure their child studies appropriately and completes each task. The total includes a fee of £300 for the ceremony.
Additional sessions cost £50.
Here is a guide to our B’Mitzvah Programme: