PTBE BE Mitzvah

• BE Mitzvah Timeline

• BE Mitzvah Team

• BE Mitzvah Preparation Component

• Logistics for BE Mitzvah Parents

• Double BE Mitzvah

• Frequently Asked Questions

We welcome you to Peninsula Temple Beth El’s BE Mitzvah program, designed to provide a meaningful and memorable experience for each and every family. The clergy and staff look forward to our partnership at this exciting time. All of us involved are committed to guiding you and your child through this important life-cycle event.

Traditionally, a Bar Mitzvah acknowledges a male, a Bat Mitzvah acknowledges a female, a B’nai mitzvah is plural, and B’not Mitzvah is plural female. Our new program name—BE Mitzvah—includes all gender identity! Your family and student are welcome to choose a name for your service based on your comfort and identity. You can choose BE Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, or Bar Mitzvah.

In Hebrew the word “Mitzvah” has come to mean a good or a holy deed. Its true meaning is commandment. According to Jewish tradition, the age of responsibility is reached at age thirteen. This means that a young person takes his/her first step toward autonomy and responsibility by becoming literally a child of the Commandments and is counted as an adult in the Jewish community.

Your child is continuing on what we hope will be a very rewarding journey to becoming a BE Mitzvah. At Peninsula Temple Beth El we take a holistic approach to the process of preparing our students to become BE Mitzvah with the involvement of the whole family. This serves to enhance the feeling of community among the families and to impress upon the students that life-long learning is a highly regarded value in Jewish life. This handbook is provided to help acquaint you with the basics of the program, answer as many of your questions as possible, and to let you know whom to call with additional questions that may come up in the process.

Welcome, and Mazal Tov!

Students preparing for BE Mitzvah at Peninsula Temple Beth El will:

1. Explore the meaning of BE Mitzvah within the Jewish tradition.

2. Learn the meaning of the Shabbat service through formal study as well as regular participation in worship services.

3. Study and participate in the performance of mitzvot, tzedakah, and gemilut chasidim (acts of loving kindness).

4. Study a Torah portion and prepare a d’var Torah (a written summary and interpretation) for the service.

5. Learn to chant from the Torah and Haftarah and participate in leading the Shabbat service.

6. Build community with peers and families through sharing Jewish experiences, studying and praying together, and celebrating one another’s simchas.