This gallery of B’nai Mitzvah Innovations profiles cutting edge approaches to B’nai Mitzvah.
First, begin your exploration of our six areas of experimentation with a button below.
Second, enjoy browsing through each of the snapshots in the collections.
Mitzvoteinu
Fifth grade students choose from seven social action activities available at the congregation, including working in the community garden, cooking meals for the caring community committee, and volunteering at a senior citizens’ center. After an introductory session about what it means to volunteer, the students and their parents support the social action activities at least three times during the year and create a presentation (film, writing, speech, or any other medium they choose) to explain how they believe the activity relates to becoming a Jewish adult. After participating in Mitzvoteinu, students begin to plan their own mitzvah project to become a bar or bat mitzvah. Their educators guide them to think about what they learned in the Mitzvoteinu program and to apply it to their own mitzvah project.
Lessons Learned
The introduction of this new program was initially met with resistance because some congregants felt that it was too much requirement without enough choice. Keneseth Israel has adapted some of its plans to incorporate this feedback.
Program Info
Grade levels: 5
Learners: Children (pre-B’nai Mitzvah), Parents, Community Members
Families have the option of enrolling in this program in addition to the regular educational offerings.
Year Implemented: 2013
Areas:
- Repairing the World
About Us
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel
Elkins Park, PA
850 members
Reform Congregation
B’nai Mitzvah each year: 55