Logistics for BE Mitzvah Parents
Shabbat Evening Service
Shabbat Evening Service begins promptly at 6:30 pm on Friday evening. Mother and female family members are invited to light the candles at the Shabbat evening service. BE Mitzvah will chant the Kiddush and Motzi.
Shabbat Morning Service
Time of Service: The BE Mitzvah service is part of our regular Shabbat worship. The service begins promptly at 10:30 am on Saturday morning and ends approximately 12:15 pm.
Siddur: Mishkan T’filah, the temple’s Shabbat prayer book, is our siddur for Shabbat morning services.
Torah Service
We encourage the BE Mitzvah students to chant approximately 9 to 21 verses of Torah. The total number of Aliyot will be determined by how many verses of Torah your child is able to learn. Students sharing a BE Mitzvah date will each chant 9 verses of Torah. Cantor Elana will discuss the number of Aliyot with each individual family. If there are remaining verses not read by students, they can be read by family members.
The BE Mitzvah family is welcome to invite family and friends of the Jewish faith, and members of the congregation to have the honor of an Aliyah (blessings over the reading of the Torah). The BE Mitzvah and the parents usually recite the last and second to last blessings respectively. Please provide the names of the honorees and their Hebrew names using the Service Info and Double Service Info forms
Service Supplement
The temple provides a printed supplement/program with basic information on the Torah and Haftarah portions, the BE mitzvah, family and friends taking part in the service, a detailed guide to the service, and transliterated prayers and songs. Please complete the Service Info and Double Service Info form and give it to Anita Siu at least 2 weeks before the service date.
Class Representatives and Class Gift
The entire family will usher and hand out service supplements from 10:15 am till 10:45 am. Your child will be a class representative for the BE Mitzvah service preceding their own on the service calendar. Please arrive by 10:15 am and join the morning service. Your child will be called to the bimah at the end of the service to congratulate and present the class gift to the BE Mitzvah. If you will not be able to attend, please let Anita Siu know in advance. Please consider inviting your class representative to join your after-service celebration.
Every student in the class will receive a Class Gift—an engraved miniature Torah encased in a Lucite stand on the day of his/her service. The Torah scroll is opened to display the assigned portion. This tradition started in PTBE 24 years ago to de-emphasize gift exchanges among students. The cost of this gift is included in the BE Mitzvah Fee. Your child’s name, service date, and assigned Torah portion will be engraved on the class gift. For the gift to be properly engraved, please provide Pam Abraham with your child’s full name (English only), Torah portion, and service dates via email at pkashops@aol.com by July 1 prior to the beginning of the 7th grade year.
BE Mitzvah Fee
The 2022-2023 BE Mitzvah fee is $2,100, payable in three payments of $700 in July 2020, July 2021 and July 2022. This fee covers the costs related to BE Mitzvah preparation and your service, including time with the clergy, one-on-one tutorial, staff assistance, service supplement printing, video recording of morning service, event support, and a class gift. This fee will not cover your child’s registration for the temple’s 7th grade education program.