For parents of B. Mitzvah Academy students

B. Mitzvah is a journey for parents no less than for our children. It is a moment when we wonder where we sit in the tradition and what claim it has on us. Whether we are required to have specific beliefs for it to be meaningful. And how to engage in this inquiry while responding to the needs of parenting a pre-teen.

Nitzanim B. Mitzvah Academy is offering a 4-part learning and exploration series for our parents only called Mama Mitzvah (please sing with the ABBA melody). This is a chance to do some actual Jewish learning together with Reb Mia and Rabbi Irwin, to get to know each other better, and to ask the questions we haven’t had a place to ask.

February 6: Anatomy of a Prayer Service

What is happening in a Jewish prayer service? What are these words? What is the arc? What do we do about all the Hebrew? How do we hold prayer in the absence of a belief in a God that looks like the one described in these words?

February 20: History of B.Mitzvah

How and when did this rite of passage arise? When was Bat Mitzvah created and by whom? What changes for parents with B.Mitzvah in terms of our obligations toward our children, at least according to traditional sources?

March 5: The God Question

Jewish liturgy and Torah describe a certain kind of deity. But even before the ink was dry on Torah, Jewish philosophers were reacting against that storybook God. We will look at some of the thinking of Maimonides, Spinoza, Buber, Mordecai Kaplan, Aviva Zornberg, and others to see the wide range of ways that Jews have envisioned and experienced the Divine.

March 19: Blessing Our Children

If your child has a B.Mitzvah ritual, you will be called upon to offer them a blessing. Tonight we will discuss what a blessing is and what you might convey in a blessing that conveys that you really see your child. We will also look at some blessings that appear in Torah and explore what we learn from their example.