Bar and Bat Mitzvah

Bar and bat mitzvah are the coming-of-age rituals that signal the transformation of a Jewish boy and girl into a Jewish adult. In Humanistic Judaism—one of the five branches of Judaism—each bar and bat mitzvah is a unique and meaningful event.

The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism’s Mitzvah Mentoring Program is a two-year program that prepares  young mitzvah candidates for this milestone event.  Families who don’t belong to a Jewish congregation (for whatever reason) but would like their child to experience the B’nai Mitzvah rite of passage are welcome to join CHJ with their child. Over the two years of  membership during which the child receives a Jewish education, adults in the family are encouraged to participate in all of the congregation’s many programs, culminating in a decision to remain members beyond the child’s Mitzvah ceremony.  Of course there is no obligation to do so.

More information about the Mitzvah Mentoring Program is available on the website under Education.

Watch as Mitzvah Ceremonial Leader Ellie Shafer explains how you can have a Humanistic Jewish Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Fairfield County, Connecticut in this video.