Each year our Rabbis officiate at hundreds of egalitarian bar and bat mitzvot ceremonies for Israeli families and visitors to Israel. Whether traditional, secular or intermarried, we invite all families to celebrate this special simcha with us!
At the Daniel Centers we provide:
- A meaningful religious experience with one of our rabbis in the spirit of Reform Judaism
- Bar/bat mitzvah training through Skype with an English speaking teacher (Spanish, Hebrew and Russian are also available).
- Coordination and guidance to tailor the ceremony to the needs of the couple/family
- Pre-ceremony meeting in Israel
- Optional addition of song leader/cantor at the ceremony
- Locations: Beit Daniel, Mishkenot Ruth Daniel, the Kotel in Jerusalem and elsewhere
- The experience of a lifetime!
For more information please visit the life cycles section here or contact Anat, our life cycle events coordinator, at tekes@beit-daniel.org.il
Bar and Bat Mitzvot for Intermarried Families
The Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism is very proud to be among the recipients of the The Genesis Prize – Avenues to Jewish Engagement for Intermarried Couples and their Families, in honor of Genesis Prize Laureate Michael Douglas. We are proud to be associated with Michael Douglas and his commitment to Judaism, as well as the Genesis Prize, and Jewish Funders Network, a leading institution that promotes positive change in the Jewish World of the 21st century. We are so proud that our program focusing on inclusive B’nei Mitzvah for mixed families was chosen.
Each year, over 200 families in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area and beyond, celebrate their children’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah at the Daniel Centers in an inclusive, egalitarian setting. As a Reform institution, we welcome . families in which the children are Jewish through their mother and father. That means that children who are Jewish solely through their father have an equal opportunity to celebrate their B’nei Mitzvah alongside their peers.
Why is this so unique? The Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism is one of few Jewish organizations in Israel that provide such an opening opportunity. We recognize that many of these children grew up in Israel, served in the army, celebrate the holidays, speak Hebrew and in general, identify as Jewish.
Very few synagogues and religious centers in Israel provide a welcoming and accepting space for Jews of patrilineal descent and intermarried families. With the largest non-Orthodox conversion school in the country, we welcome students from around the world who seek to join the Jewish faith in a less foreboding and Orthodox environment. Our Bar and Bat Mitzvah program is an integral part of our organization, inviting Jewish children of both patrilineal and matrilineal descent to celebrate this life cycle event. We do not discriminate between these two types of Jewish heritage and provide both types of families the same opportunities and ceremonies. In a country that oftentimes alienates Jewish families through patrilineal descent, we are among the leading organizations that confront this issue and provide a solution: through inclusive life cycle events, our conversion school, our Jewish education programs that interact with local schools in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Zulazu – our center at Beit Daniel for young families and their infants, and many other avenues of engagement.
To set a date today for your son or daugher’s B’nei Mitzvah, please contact our Life Cycle Events Coordinator at tekes@beit-daniel.org.il.
To receive further information on celebrating life cycle events with us, please click here.